Citroen C5 Aircross Hybrid 2021 long-term review
There have been a hell of a lot of firsts within the car world in recent years, and the deluge shows no sign of slowing. The C5 Aircross PHEV was one of them, arriving last year as Citroën’s first plug-in hybrid – and already the French firm has followed it up with another: its first mainstream electric car, the ë-C4.
The ë-C4 will probably come to be viewed as much more of a landmark in Citroën’s long history, but I would argue that the C5 PHEV is probably more important through the lens of the typical buyer right now.
That’s because SUVs are the cars in by far the greatest demand, while PHEVs are a more secure stepping stone into the future than EVs. Plus, they incur similarly low VED and BIK tax bills, thanks to their unbelievably high official fuel economy and low CO2 emissions figures.
‘Unbelievably high’ sounds quite strong, but the C5 PHEV officially should achieve as much as 222.3mpg. In its time with ex-road tester Simon Davis and then with me, it returned an average of 64.1mpg. That’s a more realistic figure for most people, because we weren’t able to charge the 13.2kWh battery especially regularly, due to our living circumstances. Mind you, had I been able to charge the battery at home, I reckon I could have chased the ‘unbelievable’ figure, because I only ever drive in town these days – and there are plenty more people who would get much better returns, if not quite 222mpg.
When there was some charge in its battery, I found that the C5 operated slickly as a mock EV, being whisper- quiet and as nippy as some full EVs. Plus, its regenerative braking was very strong in B mode, allowing me to eke out that energy.
Back in the depths of winter, Davis was managing only around 17 miles in EV mode from an official 33, but I estimate that I got into the mid-20s at a minimum in the warmer weeks. That’s decent, although there are more efficient PHEVs, plus some (pricier ones) with bigger batteries and thus longer electric ranges.
If you have to pay £8 to top up the battery streetside, as Davis did in London (no surprise there), it’s probably not even worth it – and that’s troubling. But there are definitely cheaper public plugs to be found, and charging at home (if you can) overnight is a no-brainer.
Aside from the practicalities and economies of the powertrain, I must confess that although I found the C5 PHEV pleasant to drive at first, its shortcomings became ever more noticeable as time went by.
Most significantly, the primary reason why I couldn’t see eye to eye with my C4 Cactus a few years ago hasn’t fully been remedied. Citroën’s main point of brand distinction is meant to be supreme comfort. It even names the hydraulic bump stops in its otherwise regular EMP2-platform suspension ‘Advanced Comfort’. I’m sorry, but that’s a misnomer. The C5 has a very relaxed gait, but at times you feel as though you’re in a boat, and it makes you wince as it shudders across broken asphalt and thumps over potholes. Comments from rear seat passengers certainly weren’t anything about a magic carpet ride.
Of course, the flipside of a focus on ride is usually that the handling isn’t remotely sporty, and so it wasn’t here. The inclusion of a driving mode labelled ‘Sport’ in a car whose tyres squeal if you attack a roundabout at more than 20mph, which tones your abs when cornering and which enthusiastically nods if you brake sharply is an amusing little joke, even if the C5 PHEV can pull off surprisingly rapid acceleration.
And that’s not to mention the fact that the automatic gearbox is often about as quick to pick a gear as the government is to shut our borders when a new Covid variant emerges.
These gripes are unfortunate, because the C5 is otherwise a comfy car. It’s particularly spacious, the seats are large and well padded and there are three of them in the back – no little lump in the middle. The boot is big, too, and it contains a number of smart little containers in its floor for keeping your groceries in place.
The touchscreen proved easy to operate and never once glitched out, in stark contrast to the utterly confounding one in my previous car, a Seat Leon. It’s just a shame that it also makes you adjust the air-con on the screen – even more so when there actually are some physical buttons.
Also of note is the interior: I’m fond of Citroën’s cabin designs, because they don’t chase the zeitgeist. In the C5, the ‘chocolate bar’ appearance of the seats is very welcoming, and the interesting variety of shapes on the dashboard and doors creates interest.
I see quite a few C5s on the roads, and I’d love to know how many of them are PHEVs. Because while I’d pick a petrol, I can see how the hybrid would be ace for certain drivers. Mind you, I imagine that it will be picked primarily from the angle of ‘I want a C5’ rather than ‘I want a tax- buster’, given that there are PHEVs out there that are sharper to drive and/or make greater use of electricity.
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