Long-term test: Citroen e-C5 Aircross Max Comfort Range
Second report: SUV’s focus on comfort is making some of our passengers feel a little green around the gills
Verdict
Citroen’s USP is clear: comfortable cars for all. And while that translates beautifully to the Citroen e-C5’s motorway manners, it can make the car feel a bit unwieldy through bends. Rivals may not cosset as well, but we’d trade some of that softness for more control in the corners.
- Mileage: 3,493 miles
- Efficiency: 3.4mi/kWh
My daughter is a pretty good passenger. She’s used to swapping cars and takes at least a passing interest in some of the stuff that magically appears outside the house.
Like her dad, her favourites aren’t always the fastest, the sleekest or the sportiest. She loves bright paint, and an opening panoramic roof is an instant win in her eyes, but at my stage of life, I lean more towards a big boot, and a car with enough space in the rear to stop my darling daughter kicking me in the back. Comfortable seats are another must, while reasonable range or efficiency helps with my sporadic work schedule.
On paper, the e-C5 ticks most of these boxes. The Ruby Red paint just scrapes into the list of my six-year-old’s suitable shades, and while there’s no glass roof, she’s adamant that warm pink cabin lighting suits the car just right.
Used - available now
2021 Citroen
C5 Aircross
48,343 milesManualPetrol1.2L
Cash £10,599
2023 Citroen
C5 Aircross
28,706 milesAutomaticDiesel1.5L
Cash £16,999
2020 Citroen
C5 Aircross
61,750 milesAutomaticDiesel2.0L
Cash £12,450
2019 Citroen
C5 Aircross
51,515 milesAutomaticPetrol1.6L
Cash £11,300There’s no arguing with the car’s ability to cosset its occupants on long motorway stints, either. Citroen’s ‘Advanced Comfort’ mantra extends to both the seats and the suspension, with the latter’s progressive hydraulic bump-stops resulting in a feeling akin to “floating over the road”, the firm’s engineers claim.
Sometimes, that’s fine. If I’m heading for our Bedford office from my home in London in the morning, the strong refinement and soft ride make the C5 one of the most relaxing cars I’ve driven. But if I’m returning from a job and take a less direct route, that floaty feeling can make the car feel detached and unwieldy.
It’s this lack of connection with the road that, I think, is causing many of the moans I hear from the back seat. As a driver you can compensate for the additional roll or the slightly lifeless steering, but my passengers – particularly those who like to look down at books or tablet screens on the go – sometimes find it difficult to hold down their dinner.
You might think the solution is to take things a bit easier. But actually, my daughter’s propensity to puke – or the mere suggestion she might – doesn’t seem to be affected by how fast I’m driving. I think it’s just that the e-C5’s floaty feeling creates a disconnect between the brain and stomach, which results in this nausea. Either way, it’s definitely had me seeking out straighter roads.
Otherwise, life with the e-C5 is very pleasant. I’m yet to find anything I can’t fit in the back – including a full-size road bike, which squeezes in alongside a chunky child seat. There’s no frunk, but there is space under the boot floor for the charging cable; I actually end up leaving it there most of the time because my home wallbox is tethered and doesn’t require a wire.
Efficiency has been another plus point. I’m averaging 3.4mi/kWh, which is good for a car of this size, although it’s worth remembering that electric cars perform best in warmer weather. The e-C5’s heat pump should minimise losses in the winter, though. The air-con is ice-cold, and despite the horrendous app, I have managed to pre-cool the cabin on particularly hot days.
I also like the row of physical buttons below the central screen, and the switch for the driver-assistance systems, which allows you to easily deactivate unwanted functions.
With a number of long trips on the horizon, I’ve still got plenty of time to get under the e-C5’s skin. Among those is a 1,200-mile jaunt to western France, which should be a stern test for Europe’s ever-expanding charge network.
Citroen e-C5 Aircross Max Comfort Range: First fleetwatch report
A scorching-hot gear selector proved the e-C5 Aircross’s cabin materials are anything but cheap
During a recent spell of warm weather, I hopped into my Citroen without pre-cooling the cabin, blissfully unaware of the fate lying in wait for me. I immediately hit the starter button before reaching for the gear selector – recoiling as I singed my index finger and thumb on a shifter that was hotter than the sun.
I’m being facetious, but it definitely caught me off guard. I’d wrongly assumed that the lever was made of cheap plastic, but having left the car in direct sunlight for a couple of hours, the metal finish had baked to what felt like 350 degrees.
It’s a good example of how Citroen has refused to cut corners when it comes to cabin quality in the e-C5. There’s a bit too much patterned piano-black trim for my liking, but the fabric on the dash adds character and despite being covered in fake leather, the seats are plush and incredibly comfortable.
Citroen e-C5 Aircross Max Comfort Range: first report
Can your mood be influenced by the type of car you drive? We’re already seeing strong evidence that it can
- Mileage: 2,265 miles
- Efficiency: 3.4mi/kWh
Over time, we develop unconscious habits that define the way we go about our daily lives. Whether it’s instinctively popping the kettle on when you come downstairs in the morning, always sitting in the same spot to watch TV, or eating an identical lunch every day of the working week, these seemingly small things happen without us even realising.
Since taking delivery of my shiny new Citroen e-C5 Aircross, it’s dawned on me how these kinds of subconscious behaviours have evolved over the course of a month.
Coming out of a petrol-powered hot hatchback into a comfort-focused electric SUV has completely transformed my driving style – for the better.
Rewind to last September, when the Volkswagen Golf R landed in my lap. I was excited to spend some time in something with such an unashamed performance focus; I’d long been a fan of VW’s fast-car flagship, and in range-topping Black Edition guise it came dripping with fancy kit and racy add-ons.
But as time ticked by, I developed what my wife might call an undesirable alter-ego – represented here by my angry mask. Each journey felt like a rush, as if I was being hurried along by every BMW and Audi driver in the outside lane of the M25 – all while I bounced about on my 19-inch wheels and low-profile Bridgestone tyres. I managed to ignore most of the rage-baiting boy racers, but eventually it all became quite tiresome – almost entirely without me even realising.
Yet the real revelation came when I swapped out of the VW and into the Citroen. The two cars couldn’t be more different – and I knew that would be the case – but I totally underestimated the effect it would have on my mental state. The calm, cosseting e-C5 has instilled a sense of zen (mask number two) that’s been missing for the past six months; the refined powertrain takes the strain around town, backed up by that typically comfortable Citroen ride quality that’s just perfect on the motorway.
I’ll admit it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, however. The counter-argument to the pillow-soft suspension is that the car does tend to roll about a bit through the bends, which on our usual route over the South Downs to visit my parents can result in a few groans from my daughter in the back. I’ve ended up defaulting to straighter roads and dual-carriageways wherever possible.
I’m also really struggling with the My Citroen smartphone app. Having previously run a Peugeot E-2008, though, I can’t say I’m surprised; the two brands’ software obviously shares a similar back end, but its intermittent refusal to connect means I’m often unable to monitor real-time charging or check how much range I’ve got ahead of a long trip.
I’m aiming to investigate this further and will relay my findings in a future report. In terms of equipment and value for money though, the C5 scores well. If you would prefer hybrid power or don’t want an EV, prices start from just over £30,000. That’s an awful lot of car for the cash, even before you consider the relatively modest £3,555 premium Citroen will charge you for the electric version we’ve got here.
The basic YOU trim comes with at least 18-inch wheels (19s on the EV), automatic LED lights and wipers, plus a 13-inch ‘Waterfall’ touchscreen with nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There’s wireless phone charging, four backlit USB-C ports and keyless start, too. PLUS trim, at the time of writing, costs £2,640 more but brings privacy glass, satin-chrome trim and keyless entry, as well as eight-colour ambient lighting, a reversing camera and Metropolitan Blue seats.
Top-spec MAX models like ours benefit from black 20-inch wheels, matrix-LED lights and an energy-efficient heat pump. On top of that, there’s a head-up display, leather-effect heated front seats and a hands-free tailgate. All this, for less than £40k? It’s not often we recommend the top trim, but with all the bells and whistles the e-C5 MAX feels like a steal.
You don’t feel particularly short-changed on the powertrain, either, even if our car’s 79kWh (73.7kWh usable) battery is averaging only 250 miles to a charge – some way shy of Citroen’s 320-mile combined claim. A bigger-battery model is on its way, although given my newfound calm-and-collected persona, helped by the impending warm weather, I’m confident efficiency will improve over the coming months.
We’ve already subjected the e-C5 to a demanding trip to Center Parcs, filling it to the brim with bags, bikes and enough batch-cooked Bolognese to feed a tribe of seven. The huge 565-litre boot was a boon compared with the load space in my previous all-wheel-drive Golf, although we did have to leave the bulky parcel shelf at home; I’d always favour a retractable roller-type cover, given the choice.
There’s plenty of storage dotted around the cabin, as well. Photographer Pete joked that I’d turned the central cubby into a snack drawer, but I maintain that its contents are mostly there to keep my near-six-year-old daughter happy on the move.
The single cup-holder on the main stack is only really big enough for a can of pop, but there are two more under the console that are big and, in an unexpected turn of events, there’s even a full-size glovebox; gone are the days when Citroen glove compartments were split in two by the car’s fuse box.
So here’s to an enjoyable few months at the wheel of the Citroen e-C5. I’m sure I’ll miss my hot hatch at times, but for now I’m happy to spend some time in something more relaxing.
| Model: | Citroen e-C5 Aircross MAX 210hp Comfort Range |
| On fleet since: | March 2026 |
| Price new: | £39,345 |
| Powertrain: | 79kWh battery, 1x e-motor |
| Power/torque: | 210bhp/343Nm |
| CO2/BiK: | 0g/km/4% |
| Options: | Two-tone Perla Black roof (£400), Puncture repair kit with compressor (£20) |
| Insurance: | Group 29/Quote £1,466 |
| Mileage/efficiency: | 2,265 miles/3.4mi/kWh |
| Any problems? | None so far |
*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.
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