Citroen e-C5 Aircross Review 2025

Yes, it’s yet another electric family SUV from the giant Stellantis group of brands, sharing much in common with other similarly sized models. Yet this one does a great job of distinguishing itself from its Peugeot- and Vauxhall-badged relatives. Find out how in our full Citroen e-C5 Aircross review. 

For the first time, there’s an all-electric Citroen e-C5 Aircross. It’s arrived as part of a second-generation Citroen C5 Aircross range, those other models featuring combustion engines and different degrees of hybrid assistance. 

That the e-C5 Aircross exists comes as no surprise at all. It’s based on the same Stellantis underpinnings as the Peugeot E-3008 and the Vauxhall Grandland Electric, both of which also have petrol-engined counterparts, all of which makes this electric Citroen as inevitable as a rainy forecast for a Bank Holiday weekend. 

The thing is, of these three, the e-C5 Aircross feels like the ne most befitting of an all-electric drive system. The outgoing Citroen C5 Aircross had a focus on comfort, so ditching the engine to make for an even more relaxing drive makes perfect sense for its replacement. 

If you’ve looked at the credentials of either of its cousins, the numbers associated with the Citroen e-C5 Aircross will feel very familiar. The entry-level Comfort Range 210 version uses a 213PS motor with a 73.7kWh net capacity battery pack, while an Extended Range version joins the line-up later. 

Where the e-C5 Aircross particularly differs from the Peugeot and the Vauxhall is in the way it drives. Citroen’s Advanced Comfort Suspension provides a much more supple ride quality than its close relatives — and everything else it competes against, for that matter.

Advanced Comfort Seats with thicker padding on the bases, which are also wider than usual, help further. It's easy to imagine a long drive being undertaken without getting a sore bum. 

The Citroen e-C5 Aircross's interior is great on the whole. Yes, there are some cheaper-feeling parts and we find the way Citroen refers to it as a C-Zen Lounge cringeworthy, but the minimalistic design works well and it’s a brighter, more fun space than the comparatively dour cabin of the Vauxhall Grandland Electric.

It also hasn’t gone too far the other way, as seen in the smaller Citroen e-C3 Aircross, the interior door pulls of which are labelled with affirmations such as‘have fun’ and ‘be cool’, which might just push you over the edge before starting a wintery early morning commute. 

It’s more spacious than its predecessor with an increase in wheelbase length giving rear seat passengers more legroom. Headroom has also improved, but boot space has actually decreased, which is a shame, but the 565 litres capacity — plus 80 litres of under-floor storage — is competitive. 

From the outside, it’s remarkably different from before, with the friendly, rounded looks of the old C5 Aircross replaced with lots of creases and a general sense of aggression. We’re less sure about this as it doesn’t sit well with the car’s relaxed character. It’s much fussier-looking on the whole. 

According to Citroen that’s because it’s what SUV buyers are after — winning such folk over is vital as the e-C5 Aircross has no shortage of rivals, including, of course, the aforementioned E-3008 and Grandland Electric, plus another close relative in the form of the Jeep Compass Full-Electric. 

There’s also the slightly shorter Renault Scenic E-Tech, the Skoda Enyaq and its Volkswagen ID.4 cousin, plus the Hyundai Ioniq 5, despite it not having a traditional SUV shape. 

In terms of its range figures and charging capacity, the Citroen doesn’t exactly dazzle amongst that company, but it does set itself apart by being so darned comfortable. When jiggly suspension is so common, the Citroen e-C5 Aircross really is a breath of fresh air — and costing from around £32,500 once the government’s Electric Car Grant (ECG) is factored in, it’s great value as well.

Citroen e-C5 Aircross: Range and charging

The Citroen e-C5 Aircross Comfort Range can cover up to 320 miles on a full charge according to the official WLTP tests. Given how hard it can be to achieve such numbers in real-world driving situations, we reckon you’ll struggle to get more than 300 miles even in optimal conditions, while around 250 miles is a more realistic target during colder months. 

The DC rapid charging rate of 160kW makes for a 20-80% recharge in 30 minutes. This isn’t exactly spectacular when a Hyundai Ioniq 5 manages up to 350kW, but it’s on terms with a Skoda Enyaq, which only manages a slightly better time than the Citroen. 

When plugged into a 7kW home wallbox, a 20-80% charge should take 6 hours 45 minutes. Using a three-pin socket generally isn’t advised — your home electrics aren’t designed for such a long power draw, but if you really must, it takes 22 hours 55 minutes to do the same level of top-up.

If you want to travel further without stopping for a charge, the forthcoming Extended Range version has a provisional range of 422 miles.

Although the Citroen e-C5 Aircross weighs a whopping 555kg more than the Hybrid versions, it hides it well, as a lot of EVs do, thanks to the way the battery pack sits low in the car’s structure. 

As a consequence, it doesn’t really drive any differently, maintaining a clear focus on comfort over sportiness. We wouldn’t have it any other way, with the car’s soft setup and Progressive Hydraulic Cushions in its suspension dampers making for a smooth, relaxing time whether you’re behind the wheel or a passenger. 

The ride will occasionally jiggle over harsher road surface imperfections, but to iron things out any smoother you’ll need to spend a lot more on a much pricier EV with air suspension. We suspect the e-C5 Aircross would be better still on smaller wheels with chunkier tyre sidewalls, but unfortunately 19 inches are as small as they get. 

The flipside of this comfort-focused approach is that there’s a fair bit of body roll if you corner quickly, only taking negotiating a roundabout too enthusiastically to get a bit of squeal from the front tyres. It’s a price we’re happy to pay, particularly because the e-C5 Aircross doesn’t exactly encourage you to drive like that anyway. 

Its steering is vague, but again, with what this car is trying to be, that’s just fine. It’s more important that it's quiet on the move and, sure enough, wind and road noise at cruising speeds are well-suppressed. 

From launch, the Citroen e-C5 Aircross is only available with one choice of fully electric drive system.

Despite being called Comfort Range 210hp it actually produces 213PS — PS and hp are interchangeable terms for the same metric — plus 343Nm of torque. This makes for a 0-62mph time of 8.9 seconds, which sounds reasonable enough but the e-C5 Aircross never feels that quick. It’s adequate but nothing more. For reference it has an electronically capped top speed of 106mph.

The fortchoming Extended Range 230hp model has a 17PS power increase but it’s unlikely to be any quicker, because it’s hauling around a heavier battery. 

We’re not sure if Citroen will ever offer the e-C5 Aircross with a dual-motor option as Peugeot has with the E-3008, but based on our experiences with that car, it wouldn’t be worth the additional outlay anyway.

The Citroen e-C5 Aircross hasn’t been specifically crash-tested by Euro NCAP, it still has a rating. How? Because the organisation considers the Peugeot E-3008 it has tested a ‘corporate twin’ with the same fundamental structure level of safety equipment, so the score is carried over for the Citroen — and the Vauxhall Grandland Electric, for that matter. 

That score is four stars, which is decent enough, but many rivals, including the Skoda Enyaq achieved the full five-star rating. The performance of the Peugeot’s safety assistance systems looks to have been a large factor in it being marked down, with a score of 62% in that category. 

On that front, all e-C5 Aircrosses get autonomous emergency braking, a driver attention monitor, lane-departure warning and extended traffic sign and speed limit information as standard.

The Citroen e-C5 Aircross Comfort Range can tow braked trailer loads of up to 1250kg. That's 50kg more than the C5 Aircross Hybrid, but 300kg less than the Plug-in Hybrid manages.

A removable towbar is a £700 extra-cost option.

You don’t lose any boot space compared with the petrol-powered equivalent here in the Citroen e-C5 Aircross, but you don’t gain anything either as there’s no frunk storage area under the bonnet. There is, however, a handy storage area under the boot floor you can use to stow your charge cable. 

The boot itself is good for 565 litres, which is on par with rivals, with the similarly sized Skoda Enyaq doing only slightly better at 585 litres. The old C5 Aircross had a bigger boot at 580 litres plus with its sliding rear bench seat, this increased to an impressive 720 litres. 

You don’t get a sliding rear bench in the Citroen e-C5 Aircross but its rear seat backrests do independently recline from between 21 to 33 degrees on Plus and Max trim levels, which should keep anyone sitting in the back happy, as should the very noticeable 51mm increase in legroom. Headroom has also increased by 68mm. 

Folding the rear bench opens up a 1668-litre load space, with an additional 40 litres of space if you count all the cubby holes. The glovebox is particularly roomy, being big enough to fit a 1.5-litre bottle. You’ll fail to do that in the E-3008 — the Peugeot's swoopy dashboard eats into glovebox room significantly. 

There are some tough, cheap-feeling plastics used inside the Citroen e-C5 Aircross, especially for the inner door panels and the lower parts of the dashboard, but your eyes are more likely to hit the smart-looking fabric-covered sections of interior first.

We particularly like that there’s a soft layer of padded material beneath it rather than the fabric merely wrapped straight over hard plastic. Everything’s screwed together well and, thankfully, our least favourite interior finish — scratch–prone, shiny black plastic — is used sparingly.

The plinth that the Citroen e-C5 Aircross's 13.0-inch infotainment system sits upon is called the Waterfall Screen by its maker. It's positioned diagonally rather than vertically, falling in a natural place for your hand to prod. We’d rather it didn’t also have to be used for the climate control functions, but the key adjusters are permanently displayed along the bottom of it, so it could be worse. 

The portrait orientation of the screen feels more useful than the ultra-widescreen setups seen in the related Peugeot E-3008 and the Vauxhall Grandland Electric, especially for navigation, because a map isn’t especially helpful if you can’t see that far forwards of your current position. There’s nothing wrong with the screen in terms of responsiveness, but you might find yourself annoyed at the lag that occurs when features boot up. 

The navigation system works just fine and seems to have accurate traffic reporting but it’s not good enough to stop us wanting to use Google Maps via the standard-fit wireless Android Auto or Apple CarPlay smartphone connectivity.

You won’t have any trouble keeping devices charged on the move, with all models getting a wireless phone charging pad plus two pairs of backlit USB-C ports — two each in the front and rear — plus a trio of 12-volt sockets located in the front, rear and boot. 

Like most eligible EVs, the Citroen e-C5 Aircross receives the lower £1500 government ECG rather than the higher £3750 allowance, but that’s still enough to make the car look especially tempting. 

With the money knocked off, it’s £32,565 for the Citroen e-C5 Aircross Comfort Range 210 in You specification, which is about £2000 more than a similarly configured Hybrid model. It’s then £35,205 for the mid-range Plus version and £37,845 for the range-topping Max. We don’t yet know how much the Extended Range versions will cost. 

That looks like good value when the Vauxhall Grandland Electric ranges from £35,455 to £38,495 with the ECG taken off. Only two versions of the Skoda Enyaq are available with the ECG, the cheaper of which looks expensive compared to the Citroen at £37,510 with its £1500 discount lopped off.  

EVs are no longer exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), so the Citroen e-C5 Aircross is liable for the same £195 a year flat rate of car tax as anything else. The same is true of the £425 annual Expensive Car Supplement fee charged from years two to six, which you might fall foul of if choosing the top-of-the-range Max version with extra-cost options added.

It’s likely to cost a fair bit more to insure than the C5 Aircross Hybrids, sitting eight-to-nine groups higher depending on the trim level. Get yourself on a variable electricity tariff and predominantly charge at home when the rate is lower and you should be able to more than offset those higher insurance premiums. 

The e-C5 Aircross will make for a very affordable company car, with a low Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) tax rate of just 3%. That compares with a much less tempting 18% for the C5 Aircross Plug-in Hybrid.

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

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

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

Opting for the Citroen e-C5 Aircross Plus adds:

• Dark-tinted rear windows
• Auto-dimming interior rear-view mirror
• Door mirrors with LED downlighting
• Reclining rear seat backrest
• Interior ambient lighting
• Front parking sensors
• Rear parking camera

The top-of-the-range Citroen e-C5 Aircross Max adds:

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