Citroën C5 Aircross review

Leg room is ample in the front of the C5 Aircross, but head room isn’t among the class best. That said, we’ve only tried cars fitted with a panoramic sunroof (optional on Flair, standard on Flair Plus), which comes at the expense of headroom. Even so, our 6ft-tall testers weren’t exactly hemmed in. The interior width is good, too, and the large central armrest is big enough for both you and your passengers to lean on.

Underneath said armrest is a space big enough to, well, stick your whole arm into, which is good, because the glovebox is pretty small. There are plenty of other storage spaces dotted around as well.

The panoramic sunroof we mentioned above really devours head room in the rear, to the extent that anyone tall will have to cock their head to fit in. Among taller families, that may be the strongest reason yet to choose the Feel or Flair trim level, where it isn’t fitted as standard.

Leg room is ample across the range, though, with enough room for a couple of six-footers to sit,  perhaps with knees lightly brushing the back of the front seats. It’s similar to the CX-5 in this respect, so if you want more space, opt for the massive Hyundai Santa Fe or five-seat Honda CR-V.

Speaking of five seats, the C5 Aircross only has that number. Unlike in many of its rivals, there’s no third row ready for that occasional school run emergency where you need an extra seat. For some, that will preclude the C5 completely and send you instead looking at the 5008 and Santa Fe, which are among the best in class for usable third-row seats.

The passenger seat has a basic level of adjustment, including height but not lumbar, and you can’t fold the backrest flat to accommodate really long loads.

One of the C5 Aircross’s best features is the modular equally-split rear seats available as standard across the range. They all fold and slide independently so you can prioritise boot space or leg space in any number of combinations.

The C5 Aircross's boot isn't the biggest in the class (that would be the Hyundai Santa Fe's), but it is at least it sits towards the top of the table. To put it into context, it’s similar in size and shape to the boots of the Peugeot 5008’s and Honda CR-V’s and will take around nine carry-on suitcases comfortably.

Being tall and square, with a large, flat load area when you drop the rear seats, it's very easy to get bulky items in through the large aperture. By comparison, the Mazda CX-5’s boot is noticeably smaller.

One omission is that there are no handy levers by the boot opening for lowering the split rear seats, you have to open the rear doors and pull the relevant levers instead. Optional on the Flair and standard on Flair Plus, though, is an electric tailgate with hands-free opening – you simply waggle your foot under the rear bumper and it pops up.