Comfy and chic
Citroën C5 Aircross has the goods
Many critics have expressed the view that cars these days look the same. That our roads are a mishmash of amorphous crossover and sport-utility vehicle blobs. Depends on who you ask, really, but the notion of derivative designs is nothing new. Simply a matter of trends and how they change.
Just look at those early “horseless carriages” with their single seat templates, wooden wheels and big, circular lights. They look pretty much the same. In the 1930s carmakers were chasing teardropshaped aerodynamic designs. Think the Beetle was an original? Nope, there were many similar insect-inspired creations preceding it. The ‘50s was about crazy fins, the ‘80s had pop-up headlamps.
Today? Carmakers are doing interesting (sometimes questionable things) with lighting signatures, ditching traditional grille templates (no need for open slats when there’s a battery instead of an engine); and experimenting with variations of the crossover and sport-utility vehicle formats.
The latest Citroën C5 Aircross is a nice example of how things change. You may recall that the first C5 was an executive sedan, rival to the likes of the Renault Laguna, Volkswagen Passat and Ford Mondeo, a segment that is now basically dead in SA. In reinvented Aircross guise, the C5 lives on as a characterful C-segment sportutility vehicle. It rivals the Volkswagen Tiguan, Mazda CX-5, Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage. Looking at the French contender, you can hardly accuse it of blending into this pack of competitors.
It first came to the local market in 2019. Late last year an updated version was launched, which we recently sampled. On the styling front, it gains a neater frontend, ditching the serpent-eyed look of before for larger headlamps that create a somewhat more approachable look. As usual, the prominent double chevron emblem takes centre stage, complemented by a shapelier bumper design and new 18-inch alloys in a cookie-cutter pattern.
The model boasts what Citroën dubs Airbumps: puffy-looking plastic mouldings to protect the body from wayward shopping trolleys and other urban hazards. At the rear, new 3D lighting clusters have been fitted. Inside, buyers will note a slimmer 10-inch infotainment screen and a minimalistic centre console. A conventional shifter has been ditched in favour of a toggle switch to select gears.
As with the previous C5 Aircross (and virtually every big car to come from Citroën), comfort is a major strength. Within a few minutes of being behind the wheel, you can tell that there is more in the way of insulation than before as the cabin is extremely quiet. Those seats are amply padded, soft and simply wonderful to luxuriate in on the traffic commute after a full day on an unforgiving office chair.
The suspension is tuned for suppleness. At each corner, hydraulic cushions are fitted to both ends of the shocks, filtering road imperfections while offering a character that strikes a balance between bouncy and absorbent. Okay, the experience is not quite like an original DS of course, but probably the closest to it you could get to from a Citroën in 2023. The 1.6-litre turbocharged motor is carried over, producing 121kW and 240Nm. It works well in tandem with the six-speed automatic, driving the front wheels.
Ground clearance is a useful 230mm, meaning gravel roads can be tackled with confidence. The luggage space of 720l is also hard to fault, increasing to 1,630l with the seats folded down.
Rear passengers benefit from a trio of individual seats. On the equipment front, our range-topping Shine grade model was packed with everything you would expect. A sunroof, adaptive cruise control, leatherette upholstery, digital instrument cluster and navigation are among the highlights.
At R683,900 it is competitively priced in relation to equivalent peers. The slightly more basic Feel model grade comes in at R633,900. As a do-it-all family sport-utility vehicle, the C5 Aircross is a lovable thing, delivering supreme comfort and a great deal of charisma.