BUYER'S GUIDE: Citroen C5 Aircross

FROM £15,000 French firm runs with the pack with its conventional SUV, but it's still a decent pick

- Richard Dredge

YEARS ago, Citroen wasn't afraid to go its own way when it came to designing and engineering its cars. Fast-forward to more recent times, and the French firm lost its mojo for innovation, and when the world started to go mad for SUVs, Citroen focused on more established segments.

In 2007 it made a half-hearted attempt at embracing the SUV craze by teaming up with Mitsubishi to offer its first product in the segment, the C-Crosser. But this sold poorly and Citroen stuck with more MPV-like cars until the C4 Cactus arrived in 2014, although this was little more than a high-riding hatch.

Incredibly, it wasn't until 2019 that Citroen fully embraced the SUV segment with the C5 Aircross. But was it worth the wait?

History

THE C5 Aircross went on sale in February 2019. Buyers could pick between 132bhp 1.2-litre three-cylinder PureTech 130, and 178bhp 1.6-litre four-cylinder PureTech 180 petrol engines. For diesel fans there was the 132bhp 1.5-litre BlueHDi 130 or the 174bhp 2.0-litre BlueHDi 180.

A year later, Citroen added a plug-in hybrid to the range, sold as the C5 Aircross Hybrid. This was essentially a PureTech 180 with battery assist, to give a peak power output of 222bhp. A C-Series trim level, between Shine and Shine Plus, was added to the range in December 2020, then a rangetopping Hybrid Black Edition appeared in September 2021, based on the Shine Plus.

A facelifted C5 Aircross arrived in April 2022, with a refreshed exterior design, additional options, improved multimedia and extra driver-assistance systems.

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