The new Citroën C5 Aircross has arrived in Australia and is available in one trim level only, the Sport. Luckily then the Citroën C5 Aircross Sport comes standard with everything you are most likely to be looking for in a medium sized crossover SUV, and just a little bit more as well.
Aircross is a term used by Citroën to describe their crossover SUV models, which combine the practicality and versatility of an SUV with the comfort and driving experience of a sedan. Externally the C5 Aircross has a pleasant appearance and it is easily distinguished amongst its SUV rivals thanks to the Citroen Airbump body protection moulding. I found the ride in the C5 Aircross was comfortable with the suspension absorbing the bumps in the road nicely and sound proofing means the noise from those bumps was also unobtrusive in the cabin.
The C5 Aircross is powered by a 1.6 Litre, 4-cylinder, turbocharged petrol engine with a maximum power output of 133kW and maximum torque of 250Nm. The official combined fuel use is 5.7L/100km and for my time with the Aircross I used 8.5L/100km. The engine is paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission, which can be ‘manually’ operated using the column mounted plastic paddle shifters that were almost too far back for my fingers to reach. There are three standard drives modes available Eco, Normal, and Sport with a configurable 12.3” digital driver’s dash. Even though the C5 Aircross is only front-wheel drive, it also comes with a Hill Descent Assist feature and Grip Control, which features a choice of grip modes including, Sand, Mud or Snow.
On the interior you get seats trimmed in Paloma’ Mistral black leather with a perforated chevron design and both front seats are heated. The driver’s seat has powered adjustment for recline, forward/back, seat height front and rear, 4-way lumbar adjustment, and no memory positions. But for a little bit of luxury the driver does get five different massage types to select from with intensity adjustment as well. The passenger seat has manual adjustment only for recline, forward/back and seat height adjustment.
A particular feature I appreciated about the interior of the C5 Aircross was that there is no gloss black trim on the centre console or dash. I also really liked the graphics on the 10” central touch-screen for the climate controls, but the infotainment screen does get dusty and bad fingermarks on it. The C5 Aircross does have voice control and this worked well for me to make calls, sometimes change the radio station to the one I wanted and for setting a destination on the sat nav to street level.
There is a very deep storage cubby under the spilt folding central arm rest that would be suitable for a small handbag and the cubby has a light as well. In front of the arm rest are two cup holders with grippy sides and a removable rubber mat at their base for easy cleaning and another space for sunglasses or keys. The cubby in the front doors is shallow and not moulded so if you did put your drink bottle in it, you would need to lay it down.
At the front of the centre console is a deep storage area with a wireless charging pad for compatible smart phones and also has two USB-A ports and one 12V socket. The C5 Aircross comes with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and other media sources include AM/FM radio, DAB, Bluetooth, USB, and iPod.
The functionality of the C5 Aircross is most evident for rear seat passengers because each of the three seats have individual manual forward/back and recline adjustment. The base of the seats is high so I had support under my legs, but the downside of this was in the two outer seats my head was touching the side of the roof. Leg room was adequate for me, but taller individuals may find it tight. That being said three adults could potentially fit across the rear seat, but the person sitting in the middle will get the cold air blowing directly on their legs from the two central rear air vents.
These air vents have individual manual on/off and direction controls and below the vents is one USB-A port and one USB-C port. There are good sized drink bottle storage cubbies in the rear doors, but they are not moulded so the drink bottles could fall over. The rear floors have mats, but there is no mat over transmission tunnel even though it is quite low.
There are two ISOFix/three rear tether child seat restraint points available and ANCAP noted that installation of typical child restraints available in Australia and New Zealand showed that all of the selected child restraints could be accommodated in each of the rear seating positions and full points were scored for this assessment.
The boot of the C5 Aircross Sport has gesture open only or can be opened/closed from the button under the boot lid or on the key fob, but there is no boot opening button in the cabin. The boot is a good size and will fit the weekly shop or a pram and a smaller shop. The boot space has four substantial tie down points, one light, and one 12V socket, but no hooks. Under the boot floor is a space saver spare tyre with some room around it for storing occasional use small items. Each of the three rear seats can be lowered manually using the strap on the base of the seat if extra boot space is required.
Many active driving assist features come as standard on the C5 Aircross Sport including Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Blind Spot Detection, Lane Departure Warning with unmarked road edge detection and Active Lane positioning Assist. Adaptive cruise control is set using a stalk behind the steering wheel, but did not operate for me saying that activation was not possible due to conditions. ANCAP tests of the AEB system showed MARGINAL performance with collisions avoided or mitigated in most test scenarios. Overall, effectiveness of the AEB system performance in highway speed scenarios was rated MARGINAL. ANCAP tests of the Lane Support System functionality showed GOOD performance, with the system intervening in some of the more critical emergency lane keeping test scenarios and the overall ANCAP score for Safety Assist is 73%.
Passive safety includes front airbags for the driver and front passenger, side airbags for driver and front passenger, and curtain airbags for the first and second row. There is also a standard rear-view camera with a top-down view with front and rear parking sensors, and auto lights and auto wipers for convenience. This equates to a 4-star ANCAP safety rating for the Citroën C5 Aircross Sport with an Adult Occupant Protection score of 87% (33.4 out of 38) and a Child Occupant Protection score of 88% (43.6 out of 49).
All new Citroën passenger vehicles on sale now comes with a 5 year/unlimited km warranty with 24/7 Roadside Assist for the same period. The service interval for the C5 Aircross Sport is 12 months / 20,000km, whichever occurs first and a three- or five-year upfront service plan can be purchased for $1,100 or $2,000 respectively.
Pricing for the Citroën C5 Aircross Sport starts at $54,990 excluding on-road costs and as tested with Eclipse Blue Metallic Paint ($690) this particular C5 Aircross Sport was $55,680 plus on-road costs. Citroën Australia is currently offering the Citroën C5 Aircross Sport from $54,990 driveaway until 31 December 2023. You can Build and Reserve your C5 Aircross Sport online and visit your preferred Citroën dealer for more information.
| Pros | Cons |
| Clever interior details | Infotainment screen gets bad fingermarks |
| Good ride quality | Column mounted gear selector positioning |
| Versatile rear seats | Adaptive cruise control did not work |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.