Citroën C5 Aircross review

The Citroën C5 Aircross is undercut on price by the MG HS but still very cheap by large SUV standards. It'll cost cash buyers less than the Ford Kuga, Mazda CX-5 and Skoda Kodiaq, and, compared with the Honda CR-V, Kia Sorento and Peugeot 5008, it's a bargain.

List prices are low and you can save a significant sum on the brochure price (check out our New Car Buying service for more information). The Hybrid models are competitively priced among plug-ins, although not as much of a bargain as the other versions.

The depreciation is roughly in line with the 5008, Kodiaq and HS, so the C5 Aircross won’t break the bank when it's time to sell (the CX-5 is likely to retain an even bigger chunk of its list price). The C5 Aircross is usually very competitive if you’re taking out a monthly PCP finance deal, thanks to sizeable deposit contributions from Citroën.

Our favoured Puretech 130 engine emits relatively low CO2 emissions and should provide reasonable average fuel economy (about 35-40mpg depending on where and how you drive).

If you want the lowest benefit-in-kind tax bracket, you need the plug-in Hybrid, which takes advantage of the current tax breaks for hybrid vehicles. If you plug the Hybrid into a 7kW wall box, it should charge up from flat in less than two hours, or six hours if you buy the optional lead for a three-pin plug.

Entry-level Sense trim is our pick for the Citroën C5 Aircross because it plays to the car’s value for money ethos while still offering plenty of toys.

Along with the long list of infotainment gadgets and the visibility aids, it comes with electric windows front and rear, dual-zone climate control, 18in alloy wheels, cruise control and automatic lights and wipers.

Mid-range Shine adds plenty of useful extras, including privacy glass, part-leatherette seat trim, power-folding door mirrors, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror and keyless entry. It's worth thinking about, but we wouldn't spend more for a higher trim because then it will cost as much as more accomplished cars in the class.

The C5 Aircross didn’t feature in the 2020 What Car? Reliability Survey, but Citroën was one of the 31 manufacturers we surveyed.

Sadly it didn't do brilliantly, lurking in joint 16th place, below a multitude of key rivals including Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda and Skoda. Still, that was above MG and sister brands Peugeot and Vauxhall.

You get a two-year, unlimited-mileage warranty from Citroën and an additional one year’s cover provided by the dealer, but Kia's cover soundly beats that. Citroën allows you to extend your warranty for a fee.

All versions of the Citroën C5 Aircross get an alarm and immobiliser, and there's an optional dash cam, ConnectedCam, which records and stores footage of the road ahead. You can switch it off if you want to.

In terms of safety, the C5 Aircross is on the ball. Active safety features include a driver attention alert system, lane departure warning and automatic emergency braking. If you are involved in an accident, there’s an SOS call function that can contact the emergency services.

The Safety Plus pack is optional but not expensive, so we'd recommend it. It adds an improved automatic emergency braking system and a blindspot warning system, and lifts the Euro NCAP crash safety rating from four stars to the maximum five.

The Citroën is not as good as the Peugeot 5008 at protecting adults in a crash and marginally worse at keeping kids safe.