Citroen C5 Aircross Road Test Review: Comfort Over Dosh?

Citroen kicked off its India innings with the launch of the C5 Aircross premium midsize SUV. While the SUV boasts some French ‘flair’ it all comes at a pretty hefty starting price for its segment at Rs 30.30 lakh (ex-showroom). The question is, is all the comfort and practicality it offers really worth the dosh to consider it as something you’ll want to use in everyday life? We put it to the test in the real world.

A Showstopper?

The C5 Aircross boasts a quirky and tasteful crossover-like stance with pleasant proportions all over. Things that surely stood out for us were the split dual-beam LED headlamps with LED DRLs, the muscular bonnet, the swanky 18-inch alloy wheels, as well as LED taillights that get a sexy 3D effect. The unit we had was finished in a Pearl White body shade, which came with red accents as a nice little touch. Despite the C5 Aircross being a size bigger than segment rivals like the Jeep Compass and the Hyundai Tucson, you hardly notice its larger proportions. In fact you could probably mistake it for a Hyundai Creta at a distance.

Despite all this, the SUV rarely garnered eyeballs while driving it around through Pune city. That might be partly due to this white paint, which doesn’t really stand out amongst the sea of other white cars popular with transport or government agencies. Thankfully, Citroen does offer the SUV in three other paint options, namely Cumulus Grey, Tijuca Blue, and Perla Nera Black which we feel would probably stand out a tad bit more.

Peace Of Mind Inside? 

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For anyone that has a busy everyday life, and has to go long distances, travelling in comfort is a major bonus. The C5 Aircross ticks that box with seats that are nicely wide, with enough foam to keep you comfy enough to sit hours upon end whether in traffic or long-distance road trips without breaking a sweat. That being said, Citroen could have done with better footroom for the co-driver’s seat compared to its rivals. One thing odd about the SUV is that it gets soft-touch materials just about everywhere other than the top of the dashboard which is plastic. 

Complementing this comfy feel are double laminated front windows and an acoustic front windshield that gives the cabin a serenity of silence that you can only hear the AC unit blowing away. So you’ll have no issues blasting away Pink Floyd or taking calls in loud while driving in bustling traffic conditions. Speaking about sound, the 6-speaker unit does the job adequately, but it could have been even better with a surround effect.

Head to the rear though, and the C5 Aircross could have benefitted from better knee room and wider seats compared to its rivals. The rear cabin is just about enough for a six-foot passenger and while it can seat three adults in a pinch, when there are just two passengers the experience is not as comfortable as the competition. This is owing to the fact that the rear bench is equally divided into three segments with contouring to match. This gives three people equal comfort but when there are only two people or even just the one, the contouring of the cushioning leaves you with a narrow sweat spot and slightly compromised comfort. The door pockets are fairly narrow, and the armrests are quite low, and a bit too thin to rest your arm comfortably. 

It covers the necessities in safety with bits such as six airbags, ABS with EBD, blindspot monitoring, electric parking brake, and a reverse camera. While it doesn’t get a 360-degree camera, it does have front parking sensors which aren't on the Jeep Compass. Its current safety kit also garnered a 4-star Euro NCAP safety rating. That being said, the SUV could’ve done with a bit of parking assists, which is there in the Hyundai Tucson.

Easy To Use? 

Driving a vehicle is one thing, but how user-friendly it is in regards to using all the  instrumentation and the features is another thing.  For the C5 Aircross, it’ll take a little bit of time to get used to things as the dashboard layout is clearly meant for a left-hand drive setup. The push-button start stop, the gear lever, and the electric parking brake are all positioned towards the left side of the cabin. Even the stalks around the steering wheel are inverted with the indicator/lighting controls on the left and the wiper controls on the right. Thankfully it's just very minor inconveniences and not deal breakers.  

As for the features it just about covers the basics, so you might think it eases usability. Well not exactly.  For example the 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system may have basic features, and shortcut keys right below, you really have to sift through the menus to access features. There’s lag during operation, which isn’t helpful when the dual-zone climate control can only be controlled via the touchscreen. Plus there’s no home screen either, which makes sifting through the menus in the infotainment system that much harder.  

That being said, the 12.3-inch digital driver’s display gets cool graphics and provides the necessary readouts. Unfortunately, that’s just about it for the instrument cluster with the option to slightly rejig certain data via three profiles (Personal, Dual,and Minimum). There was room for potential with navigation details as well as more customisation and themes. 

Road Trip Worthy? 

Other than comfortable daily driving, the C5 Aircross can be pretty handy if you decide on a road trip. It gets 580 litres of boot space with all the rear seats up. It increases to 720 litres when sliding the three individual reclining rear seats forward. Fold them entirely, and that space increases to 1,630 litres. Also accessing the boot while you have your hands full isn’t an issue either with a foot-sensing powered tailgate doing the job. 

For cabin storage, the glovebox may not be the best place to put your things with an odd shape and not a lot of storage capacity. But that deficit is more than made up for by what’s essentially a mini-bar below the front armrest that’s also nicely cooled. Also, sitting in that comfy driver seat, you can drive for hours on end with ease, which is a boon especially in highway conditions. 

Fun To Drive?

 

On paper alone, the 177PS/400Nm 2.0-litre diesel engine is a tasty offering, considering its 5PS and 50Nm more powerful than the Jeep Compass, and matching torque figures with the Hyundai Tucson. While we had a glimpse of what it's capable of during our first drive, it's only after spending a fair amount of driving time in the SUV that we really experienced its punch and fairly responsive throttle. Testing out the Eco and Sport drive modes, it was good to see some consistency in performance, with no sudden differences in response in either of the driving modes. The brake pedal feels spongy, which may not be ideal under highway conditions, but is more preferable for dealing with bumper to bumper traffic in cities. 

The 8-speed automatic gearbox manages to flick through gears with relative ease, and enables crawling through traffic and inclines without breaking a sweat. That being said, you’ll only really get to experience eighth gear when you’re at higher speeds on the highway. The SUV also gets three ESP-based traction modes instead (sand, snow and mud), in case you want to go off the beaten path.

That comfy ride means it's not really a surprise that the C5 Aircross isn’t something you’d want to attack corners with. The steering feels a bit lazy, the tyres start screaming out pretty quickly and it does roll around the corners. For those wanting to really test an SUV’s handling prowess, the Jeep Compass would be a better fit.  

So how does the C5 Aircross fare on pure performance runs? Well we fired up the VBox and despite the wet conditions not being the most representative, it's a decent match against the Jeep Compass and Hyundai Tucson.

* Hyundai Tucson figures taken from pre-BS6 model 

Kitna Deti?

Citroen claims the C5 Aircross can garner 18.6kmpl of fuel efficiency, and these matched up with our highway test figures tested from our VBox. In fact the C5 Aircross is the most frugal on fuel in its segment, which is a welcome bonus considering we’re in times where petrol and diesel prices are flying through the roof in the country.

* Hyundai Tucson figures taken from pre-BS6 model 

A Match For Our Roads?

Since its monsoon season here in India, what better way to really test out what Citroen calls the ‘Progressive Hydraulic Cushions’ suspension? We can safely say that it passed through with flying colours, with a comfy ride quality that you'd think you were riding on clouds. 

While the comfort effect isn’t very noticeable on highways, it's in everyday city roads that the C5 Aircross really came into its own. Throw anything at it from big potholes, high speed breakers, broken tarmac, village roads to gravel itself, and the SUV tackled all that without any tossing around inside. At most you’ll feel a loud thunk on really bad surfaces. So it is more than a match for our roads in quite possibly their worst conditions of the year. 

What You’re Missing

While the Citroen C5 Aircross certainly gains points on its comfort and ride, there are some odd emissions. For instance while the driver’s seat gets powered adjustment, it doesn’t have a memory function. The co-driver’s seat is only manually adjustable, and neither of the front seats are ventilated. You also miss out on connected car tech, wireless charging, and a 360-degree camera. What's more, it is only specced with a front-wheel drivetrain, while its rivals, the Jeep Compass, and the Hyundai Tucson both get an all-wheel-drivetrain as an option. But honestly speaking we don’t think the C5 Aircross is really intended to go on rough terrain, and neither does Citroen.

Worth The Dosh?

Bluntly put, the Citroen C5 Aircross’s price range isn’t appropriate for what’s on offer, and ideally should have been closer to the Jeep Compass. But this hurdle also enters every Citroen owner into a rather exclusive club which in itself is a trait that is attractive to some. So who’d consider it? 

If you’re considering a daily driving,  quiet and comfortable SUV experience without an overload of frills, the Citroen C5 Aircross SUV is the one to pick. That is, if you have the odd 35 lakhs to spend. Daily driving aside, it's also road-trip ready with oodles of cargo space and comfort that will make you want to drive for hours on end. Let’s not forget that punchy performance that doesn’t compromise on frugality. And while some of the colours on offer may not turn heads at first glance, when people do recognise the badge on the car you should get some approving nods.