WHAT IS IT?
The car tested is the Citroen ë-C5 electric Aircross mid-sized SUV. It has two all-electric powertrains. One has a 210hp motor combined with a 73-kWh battery. It has a claimed range of 520 km (price from €39,939) and that is the one I tested.
There is also a 230hp motor model with a 97-kWh battery and 680 km WLTP range but the 73-kWh is sufficient.
With fast charging you can expect a boost from 20per cent to 80per cent in around 27 mins. Critically there is a heat pump which feeds waste heat from the car’s battery to the interior and improves efficiency.
Built on the Stellantis STLA medium platform it is 4,652mm long (up 152mm on previous), 1,902mm wide, 1,660mm tall, 2,780mm wheelbase (up 54mm), ground clearance 200mm. Boot has 565 litre capacity; 1,668 litres with rear seats down.
THE COMPETITION
Key rivals include the Kia EV5/EV6, Peugeot E-3008, Skoda Enyaq, VW ID.4, Renault Scenic E-Tech, Toyota bZ4x and Nissan Ariya, Opel Grandland etc.
TRIM
Entry level (called YOU) has 19ins diamond-cut alloys, adaptive cruise control, dual zone air con, rear parking sensors, 13ins waterfall touchscreen, automatic LED headlamps wireless smartphone charger.
PLUS spec adds reversing camera, keyless entry and start, front/rear parking sensors, privacy glass.
MAX top-of-range versions (test car) get head-up display, heated front seats/steering wheel, 8-way driver seat, heat pump, 360 vision parking assistance, front, rear camera and sensors, matrix LED headlights, electric tailgate (hands-free access).
OUTSIDE
It was lower than I’d expected but you certainly don’t lose you headroom when you get in.
Some would say it needs a bit more visual zing. I think it’s got plenty. It might be that its unfussy look enhances it. If you want something with a knock-out ‘wow’ factor look, you might have to trawl elsewhere.
The real strongest feature is, strangely, the rear-light clusters which jut out dramatically. It leaves, as one young fellow said to me, a grand couple of shelves to rest your cup of coffee and pastry.
The front design, with the Citroen emblem at its centre, slopes away. There was a time we’d view that as a minus but with all the sensors, cameras and beeps in today’s cars, it was super easy to park. A light steering helped.
The driving position showed the way too. Easily among the top three in its segment. I only had to adjust once and that was at the start. I hadn’t to readjust it one bit over the course of my drives. I wish I could say the same about the rear which was shallow and meant visibility wasn’t great.
INSIDE
The top-of-range MAX trim in the test car, added another layer of comfort. It would be hard to quibble much with the approach of a luxury feel and sense of space. A help in that regard is how they have increased the depth of foam in the seats. The Advanced Comfort system made a difference, I reckon.
The materials were of good quality, even in places away from prying eyes.
But while there is plentiful room front and back, any more than two adults at the rear of the test-car trim would mean a third occupying a central seat that, believe me, serves better as an arm rest. Don’t ask me how I know.
The dominant feature of the cabin is the ‘waterfall’ effect of a long, sloped pathway of display and adjustments.
Right the way from the top of the 13ins main infotainment screen to slotting in the gear shift, mode selector etc on the lower, flat part, to a deep slot between the front seats which served me by being able to stash valuables away from view.
Underneath all that, however, there is a lot of open space. There’s so much room (lost?) down there that I didn’t know what to do with it. There are cupholders, and USBs and . . . well, space really.
The most pleasing thing about the infotainment main display and driver’s information screen is that the icons and text are large and clear. It has taken them a while but this is a greatly improved combination.
The wheelbase of 2.78mm contributes to loads of interior space as does its 160mm increase in length (to 4,652mm). It is 1,936mm wide and 1,688mm tall.
It’s surprising what an apparently small amount can do. So don’t turn up your nose at 51mm more for knee room and 68mm more head space at the back. You can recline the seat backrests between 21° and 33°.
The boot didn’t look mega spacious but they claim it can take 651 litres – the same as its other powertrains.
THE DRIVE
The Advanced Comfort suspension – about which they talk a lot – has double hydraulic stops on the front suspension and single on the rear. I mention them because they represent one of the major contributors to the manner in which the car responds and behaves.
Putting all that to the test on a variety the roads, I found it to be what I’d say was a comfortable drive. The suspension was a little too soft for my liking but there was no doubting its ability to make you feel in luxury mode. Grand and smooth on motorway roads, but less so on twisty, knobby routes where it wasn’t quite as accomplished.
I stayed in Sport mode (there is Normal and Eco too) for most of my drive. It improved matters somewhat.
Brakes, as is a trait of many EVs, felt a bit soft. When you apply the brakes in an ICE, the pedal immediately pushes brake pads against rotors. That’s why you feel the grip. In an EV the pedal, at first, engages the electric motor to slow the car down, thereby generating electricity, so there’s longer pedal travel. You get used to it.
The three-stage regenerative system (braking, slowing down) mops up use of the car’s kinetic energy to recharge the battery. I used the paddles behind the (smaller) steering wheel (great) to let me decide what level of re-charge I wanted. They have nailed it with that system.
Important too, I felt, was that the 520km range they claim between refills isn’t too far off what you get in everyday driving. Say 470/460kms. Indeed, I beat the 17.1kWh/100km official consumption figures on a few occasions. It really is all a matter of how we drive these cars.
The driving position showed the way too. Easily among the top three in its segment, it adjusted perfectly. And I hadn’t to readjust it one bit over the course of my drives. I wish I could say the same about the rear. Visibility wasn’t great.
PROS
A big, comfortable, roomy practical SUV that is well set to cope with the demands of young and growing families. Understated on looks. Comfortable at all times. Loads of room, plenty of tech and spec, well priced and good range between fills.
CONS
Cuts out minor road obtrusions exceptionally well but not so good on side-to side rigidity. Conservative looks. Lot of competition in a tough, packed, segment. There are numerous rivals for your money.
OVERALL
You’d have to think potential buyers would take a second, longer, look.
