The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Citroen continues SUV march
Full details on new mid-size C5 Aircross.
Citroen is continuing its offensive into the SUV market.
The French company has announced details of its new mid-size model, the C5 Aircross.
Order books open next month with prices beginning at £23,255. First deliveries will start in February of next year.
The company’s range topping SUV will go up against established players in the sector, including the Peugeot 3008, Mazda CX-5 and Kia Sportage.
From launch, the C5 Aircross will be available with petrol or diesel power and in three trim levels: Feel, Flair and Flair Plus.
The initial line-up will consist of two petrol and three diesel engines.
On the petrol side of things, the 128bhp 1.2-litre PureTech 130 comes with a six-speed manual gearbox, while the 1.6-litre PureTech 180 offers an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.
Diesel options cover the 1.5-litre BlueHDi 130, with six-speed manual gearbox, or with stop start technology and the automatic gearbox. The latter is also offered with the range topping 2.0litre BlueHDi 180 diesel unit.
A petrol-electric hybrid version has been confirmed by Citroen and will join the line up in 2020.
The hybrid model will be a plug-in and Citroen says it will offer a 37-mile range in fully electric mode.
Entry-level Feel models come with a choice of the PureTech 130 petrol or BlueHDi 130 diesel engines, with the latter available with an eight-speed automatic gearbox.
Flair and Flair Plus models can be had with the more powerful PureTech 180 and BlueHDI 180 engines, each with a choice of manual or automatic gearboxes.
The cheapest diesel model is the BlueHDi 130 in Feel trim with a manual gearbox, starting at £24,725. Meanwhile, the most expensive diesel model – the BlueHDI 180 in Flair Plus trim with an automatic gearbox – sits atop the range with a price tag of £32,725.
There’s no four-wheel drive option but buyers can add in Grip Control which gives improved traction on difficult terrain. You can choose from Sand, All-road and Snow modes.
All models come with a 12.3in digital instrument cluster, and an 8in touchscreen with Apple and Android compatibility.
Standard safety features include autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring and collision risk warning.
Flair trim adds a reversing camera and sat-nav with TomTom Live updates.
Go for the range-topping Flair Plus trim and you add extended traffic sign recognition and speed recommendation, intelligent beam headlights, wireless smartphone charging and a panoramic sunroof.