Citroen C5 Aircross Review 2025

Citroen’s comfort-focused family SUV is back for its second generation and it looks a lot angrier than before. Don’t worry, the core comfort ethos of its predecessor hasn't been forgotten as you will find out in our full Citroen C5 Aircross review.

Some people would rather the 'S' in SUV didn't stand for 'sport'. Many of the breed attempt to compensate for their lofty ride heights by adopting stiff suspension setups that keep them relatively flat when cornering briskly, all at the expense of ride comfort. Is a bit of body roll so bad?

'No' would be the answer from the Citroen C5 Aircross, if it were sentient — it's been designed to maximise comfort within the price bracket it's sold in. In the best possible way, this made the previous-generation C5 Aircross stick out like a sore thumb among other SUVs of its size, both conceptually and aesthetically, thanks to its rounded, friendly-looking form.

Yet this latest version is all angular and aggressive — Citroen describes the C5 Aircross as having a 'powerful and assertive design', but is that something car buyers really want from the brand? If you're worried that Citroen has also made it more athletic and sporty to drive, we're pleased to confirm that it hasn't. 

Comfort is once again high on the agenda, thanks largely to Citroen's Advanced Comfort Suspension. This includes special hydraulic cushions you don't get in the C5 Aircross's close relatives, the Peugeot 3008 and the Vauxhall Grandland. 

It’s the best-riding of today's family-sized SUVs and helps cosset its occupants even further thanks to the use of ‘dvanced Comfort Seats, using wider bases and high-density foam. Judging from our experiences, you shouldn’t be getting a numb bum even after completing a very long drive. 

There’s a bright, friendly and unfussy interior to go with this pleasant driving sensation, including a better infotainment setup than in the C5 Aircross’s relatives from the huge Stellantis portfolio of brands. It’s interesting how all three cars can be made from largely the same box of bits, yet the Citroen ends up being the more appealing.

Its cabin is also roomier than before, with the second-generation C5 Aircross growing by 150mm, 60mm of which is between the wheels, contributing to an increase in legroom. Boot space is competitive, meanwhile, if not the roomiest overall. 

The weak link in all this is under the Citroen C5 Aircross's bonnet. The 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine used in Hybrid-badged versions isn’t hugely refined, with your only other non-electric option being the Plug-in Hybrid, which is expensive and still noisy when pushed hard. 

If you’d rather not have a combustion engine at all, there’s the all-electric Citroen e-C5 Aircross to consider, which we’ve covered in a separate review. It’s looking especially tempting, charged at only a slight premium over the regular C5 Aircross once the government's Electric Car Grant (ECG) is factored in. 

Along with its in-house Stellantis rivals, the C5 Aircross has to worry about all sorts of alternatives. These include the Hyundai Tucson and the recently facelifted Kia Sportage, which are also close relatives.

There are three other close cousins in the guises of the SEAT Ateca, the Skoda Karoq and the still-fresh Volkswagen Tiguan.

Plus you can also consider the Dacia Bigster, the Mazda CX-5 and the ever-popular Nissan Qashqai — and that’s not even half of them.

That’s a lot of noise to cut through, but with its clear focus on comfort the Citroen C5 Aircross has more than enough about it to stand out. It helps that it’s decent value, with a starting price of £30,500 and decent levels of standard equipment.

Citroen C5 Aircross Plug-in Hybrid: Range and charging

The Citroen C5 Aircross Plug-in Hybrid can cover up to 53 miles on a full charge according to the official WLTP tests. Bank on that being about 40 miles in reality but still could mean you might rarely need to use the engine. Combine that with a variable electricity tariff, timing your charging to suit the off-peak rates and the PHEV could be very cheap to run.

DC rapid charging is unavailable, restricting its 17.8kWh net capacity battery to a maximum recharge rate 7.4kW using a domestic wallbox. When using one a 20-80% charge should take 2 hours 55 minutes.

Although all sorts of components are shared within Stellantis, Advanced Comfort Suspension isn't one of them — it's used to great effect here with the Citroen C5 Aircross, the French brand having exclusive use of the technology.

It’s much more conventional than the sophisticated hydropneumatics Citroen finally dropped when the last C5 went out of production, yet it’s still very effective. 

It uses Progressive Hydraulic Cushions which replace traditional bump stops, taking much of the sting out of the road surface. To go with that, the setup of the springs and dampers is soft as well.

It doesn’t quite give the magic carpet effect of a much more expensive car riding on air suspension but it’s generally very smooth, with only the occasional shudder coming through the cabin when negotiating particularly harsh surface imperfections. This makes for a very relaxing driving experience.

You’re unlikely to be egged-on to drive the C5 Aircross in a sporty manner, even if it does have a token Sport driving mode that does… Not a great deal, really. Should you be tempted to push on along a twisty road or when negotiating a roundabout, you’ll find the Citroen does lean quite a bit. That’s just fine by us — body roll really isn’t a big deal and it’s a perfectly acceptable price to pay for that lovely ride comfort. 

Front-end grip is lacking compared with rivals such as the Skoda Karoq, with the front tyres starting to lightly squeal in protest if the C5 Aircross is driven enthusiastically. We’d like for the steering to feel a bit less vague, but given the more gentle pace the Citroen encourages, we’re not that bothered on either front.

Of more concern is refinement on the move and in this regard the C5 Aircross performs well, with wind and tyre noise kept to a minimum. 

Excluding the fully electric models, there are two combustion-engined power choices for the Citroen C5 Aircross. Despite this being an SUV, both engines drive the front wheels only.

Entry point to the range is Hybrid 145hp as found in various other Stellantis products, including the Citroen’s Peugeot 3008 and Vauxhall Grandland cousins. The Hybrid aspect of its name is somewhat misleading because rather than being a conventional self-charging hybrid, it's really a mild hybrid system, best thought of as a beefed-up stop-start arrangement.

We’ve never been especially impressed with its 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine. Together with a small electric motor it produces 145PS — note that hp and PS are interchangeable terms for the same metric — and 230Nm of torque. It feels underpowered for bigger cars such as the C5 Aircross, as evidenced by its leisurely 11.2-second 0-62mph. Top speed is quoted at 125mph.

It never feels as though it has much left in reserve, so it requires quite a thrashing to get it up to the national speed limit, even if you’re not in a rush, making a racket as it gets there. The standard-fit six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox is never in much of a hurry, which doesn't help. 

For the Plug-in Hybrid 195hp a much more refined 1.6-litre, four-cylinder engine is paired with a more substantial electric motor for a much healthier total of 194PS — we suspect Citroen's 195 figure has been rounded up for marketing neatness — and 300Nm of torque. This brings the 0-62mph time down to 8.3 seconds, while its top speed is elevated to 137mph.

It never feels especially fast but there’s more of a feeling of effortless performance when you want to increase speed without working the car too hard. Although the larger engine is generally much smoother than its smaller alternative, it is still a bit noisy should you call upon all of the available performance. 

The seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox still isn’t the fastest but the shifts are smooth. In Sport mode it holds onto gears a bit too long, but are many C5 Aircross owners likely to switch their cars into that setting very often? We doubt it. 

The transitions between the car’s power sources are generally seamless. It’s only if you suddenly put your foot down that the system does seem to take a moment or two to figure out what it wants to do about it. 

The Citroen C5 Aircross has a Euro NCAP rating of four stars, even though it hasn’t been specifically crash-tested by the safety body. Instead it's carried over the rating from the Peugeot 3008 assessed previously, as it’s considered a ‘corporate twin’, with the same structure and standard safety gear. 

A four-star result is underwhelming when rivals, including the Kia Sportage, manage the full five stars. Its disappointing 62% score in the driver assistance category may well be the chief culprit in missing out on a top ranking.

Speaking of which, all versions of the C5 Aircross have autonomous emergency braking, a driver attention monitor, lane-departure warning plus extended traffic sign and speed limit information fitted as standard.

Towing with the Citroen C5 Aircross is possible although neither of the combustion-engined choices are able to haul particularly heavy loads.

The Hybrid is rated to tow braked trailer loads of up to 1200kg although that's with Citroen's official towbar option at £700. Specify an aftermarket one and your maximum payload drops to 1000kg. The Plug-in Hybrid does much better at 1550kg.

The longer wheelbase in the Citroen C5 Aircross gives a 51mm increase in rear legroom over its predecessor and it's certainly noticeable when sat back there. Headroom is also very generous, with an extra 68mm available, plus a rear seatback that can recline anywhere from 21 to 33 degrees is a nice touch.

There's a 565-litre boot, which is 15 litres more than you get in the Vauxhall Grandland, but 23 litres behind the Peugeot 3008. It's considerably better in terms of load space than the Nissan Qashqai, which lags behind the C5 Aircross by 61 litres in its largest form. 

Folding the rear bench opens up a total of 1668 litres, with a further 40 litres of combined storage from various cubby holes and the glovebox, the latter being capable of housing a 1.5-litre bottle. You won't manage that in the 3008, which puts dashboard style ahead of function, evidenced by its modestly-sized glovebox. We're also impressed by the sheer size of the cubby under the front central armrest — it's massive. 

The Citroen C5 Aircross seems to be put together well and it's nice to see that the fabric-covered portions of the dash feature a squidgy layer of foam underneath. We wondered if Citroen might have just wrapped it straight over some hard plastic, but thankfully, that's not the case. 

Start to look below the fabric portions and you will see some cheaper-feeling plastics but nothing overtly egregious considering the car's modest price. 

Rather than using ultra-widescreen infotainment displays as seen in the 3008 and Grandland, the Citroen C5 Aircross features a 13.0-inch portrait infotainment touchscreen housed on an angled plinth that rises from the centre console, rather like the setup seen in some recent Mercedes models. Citroen calls it a Waterfall Screen, but name aside it feels like a more useful arrangement, particularly for the navigation display where a letterbox map view isn't especially helpful. 

The touchscreen responds quickly to inputs, but the operating system is sometimes a step or two behind, lagging a bit before functions load up. The navigation works well enough and has reasonably accurate traffic information. As ever, Google Maps is the preference of many and it's easy enough to switch to that thanks to standard-fit wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. 

Connecting a phone the cabled way is also easy, with a pair of USB-C ports provided in the front and a further two for rear-seat passengers. There are also three 12-volt sockets placed in the front, rear and boot. 

There's no premium audio option available but the standard six-speaker system used across the range is impressive. 

The Citroen C5 Aircross range starts at £30,495 for Hybrid 145hp in You trim, rising to £33,135 in Plus specification and £35,775 in the range-topping Max grade. This makes the Citroen's Vauxhall Grandland cousin seem quite expensive — with the same engine it costs from £36,600 to £39,725.

The Kia Sportage has a similar starting price to the C5 Aircross, although you can spend a lot more on one if you want, with the most expensive coming in at £43,725. The Skoda Karoq competes well in terms of value, starting at 30,940, although it's getting on a bit now. The related Volkswagen Tiguan is much fresher but is a more premium option, starting at £38,080. 

It's worth noting that things get a bit expensive if you're after the C5 Aircross Plug-in Hybrid 195hp as it's only available so far in the top-of-the-range Max trim. It's charged at a £3000 premium over a similarly equipped Hybrid 145hp, resulting in a £38,855 outlay before any optional extras are added.

Fuel economy for the Ctroen C5 Aircross Hybrid is underwhelming at 42.0-43.6mpg depending on your trim level of choice. You'll get a more out of a Skoda Karoq with its similarly powerful and smoother 1.5-litre engine.

The Plug-in Hybrid has a not very helpful economy range of 81.1-87.1mpg, which is best ignored. The current WLTP testing regime flatters PHEVs, which spend much of the assessment on electric power alone. What you achieve will vary greatly depending on several factors, including the kind of driving you're doing, how far you're going and the level of charge in the battery when you start your journey. 

That PHEV is the most expensive to insure sitting in group 29. The Hybrid ranges from group 18 to 20, depending on trim level.

All versions of the C5 Aircross will cost £195 a year to tax. Opt for the Plug-in Hybrid plus add a few options and it’s possible to push the car beyond the £40,000 threshold for the Expensive Car Supplement. That being the case, you’re in line to pay an extra £425 annually from years two to six. 

The Citroen C5 Aircross is available in three trim levels — You, Plus and Max.

The entry-level Citroen C5 Aircross You comes with the following equipment as standard:

• 18-inch alloy wheels
• Automatic LED headlights
• Automatic windscreen wipers
• Electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors
• 10.0-inch digital instrument cluster
• 13.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Wireless smartphone charging pad
• Chilled storage compartment
• Adaptive cruise control
• Keyless entry/start
• Rear parking sensors
• Dual-zone climate control

Upgrading to the mid-range Citroen C5 Aircross Plus adds:

• 19-inch alloy wheels
• Dark-tinted rear windows
• Auto-dimming interior rear-view mirror
• Integral door mirror downlighting
• Reclining rear seat backrest
• Interior ambient lighting
• Front parking sensors
• Rear parking camera

Upgrading to the range-topping Citroen C5 Aircross Max adds:

• Matrix LED headlights
• Driver's seat lumbar adjustment
• Artificial leather upholstery
• Proximity keyless entry
• 360-degree parking camera system