► An excellent STLA Medium SUV now on sale
► The 400+ mile Long Range driven
► Spacious, comfortable and reasonably efficient
Here’s some good news for industry watchers and EV fans – Stellantis has actually made a properly recommendable electric SUV on the STLA Medium platform! Like its underwhelming platform partners, the Citroen e-C5 Aircross is but one prong in a trident of powertrains for the chevron’s flagship SUV. If you don’t fancy volts, you can have a mild or a plug-in hybrid instead.
This is the third Citroen to receive styling inspired by the Oli concept car, following on from the e-C3 hatchback and e-C3 Aircross, and usefully undercuts the Vauxhall Grandland Electric and cramped Peugeot e-3008 on price, especially with the news that the larger-battery version attracts the full uk £3750 electric car grant.
We’ve driven a Long Range e-C5 Aircross on the international launch held on smoothly surfaced roads of Mallorca and in the less-than-perfect Cotswolds, potholes, undulations, divots and all. That gives us all we need to know about whether the firm has made this one ride as a Citroen should. If you want to know more about how we test at CAR, have a look at our explainer page.
Should you buy a Citroen e-C5 Aircross? If you think family transportation should be calming and comfortable not stiff and shouty, then yes. The e-C5 makes most rivals feel like skateboards in comparison, and there’s plenty of space for kids and cargo. Range and performance isn’t best in class, but it’s certainly competitive.
At a glance
Pros: plush ride, good rear space, big boot, keenly priced
Cons: rivals go farther for similar money, numb steering, sluggish infotainment
What’s new?
A move to the STLA Medium platform was inevitable for the C5 Aircross family, and brings a fully electric model for the first time. The battery pack hides beneath the floor to ensure boot space isn’t encroached upon with power transferred to a motor powering the front wheels.
Living up to the firm’s glorious heritage, aero has been focused upon with a tapering roofline and upper body to help get every last mile out of every kWh on board. This is accentuated by wider haunches and those neat floating rear lights that should make the C5 an easy spot at night. It’s certainly a more conventionally appealing shape to its oddly proportioned predecessor.
Inside too is a big departure from the old car. A 13.0-inch portrait oriented touchscreen dominates the centre of the dash and flows into the central console. Sofa-inspired design can be seen in the thickly padded fabric that covers much of the door cards and dashboard, and Citroen’s delightfully soft Advanced Comfort seats are present and correct.
What are the specs?
You get a choice of two battery sizes in the e-C5. Comfort range gets a 73kWh pack that’s good for a WLTP range of up to 322 miles – comfortably up on entry-level versions of the Skoda Elroq and Nissan Ariya. Power is a reasonable sounding 207bhp, if only enough for an 8.9 second 0-62mph time.
Opt for the Long Range and battery capacity jumps to 97kWh for a range of up to 421 miles officially. You get another 10bhp although this will likely be offset by the additional weight of the bigger battery.
Citroen cheekily only quote 20-80% charging times for the e-C5. Comfort range takes six hours 45 minutes for a 7.4kW wallbox and four and a half for a stronger 11kW unit. Rapid charging takes 30 minutes on a 160kW charger. Long range ups the AC figures to eight hours 55 minutes and six and a half hours, but a rapid charge takes 27 minutes, still at 160kW.
What’s it like to drive?
Wonderfully relaxing, even on the roughest of roads. The e-C5 is significantly softer than the related e-3008 and Grandland Electric so it feels a lot less jittery over imperfect surfaces, and far less sudden over bumps and potholes. Considering our test cars were wearing optional 20-inch wheels, that’s rather impressive, and promising for those who don’t mind smaller wheels in exchange for the most cossetting ride.
Perhaps the added weight of the 97kWh battery helped – this is the first time we’ve tried anything on STLA Medium with the Long Range pack. Performance is utterly fine once you’re rolling, although there is a slow build up of power from a standstill. A couple of brief moments of wheelspin and scrabbling from the helm answers why the e-C5 has been set up this way.
There’s very little sensation of the road’s surface coming through the slightly-squared off steering wheel, and it’s a bit too light in Comfort mode. Sport mode adds some more weight without getting too heavy and perks up the throttle response a little. Brake pedal feel is better than you’d get from anything Volkswagen group.
Turning up the wick on more demanding roads soon reveals that Citroen’s persuit of excellent ride comfort has been at the expense of body control. There’s plenty of bodyroll and a soggy turn-in which makes smooth and accurate quick driving more of a challenge, but as there’s plenty of grip you can lean on it, and calm your inputs and still keep your average speeds up.
What’s it like inside?
It turns out the latest generation of MINIs and the e-C5 have a few things in common here. Both have rolled back the amount of soft-touch plastic used, leaving the tops of the doors and dash covered in hard stuff.
Instead, there’s a huge expanse of fabric that runs the width of the dash and flows into the doors. Unlike the MINIs, this is heavily padded to give the sofa vibes the designers were after and gives you a comfy spot to rest your elbow.
I’m not so sold on the touchscreen. Our pre-production test car’s system was laggy at times, with even the shortcut icons for stuff like the defroster taking a moment or three to register a prod. The permanent heater controls at the bottom of the screen are welcome, but more buttons and switches would be even better.
Both the main screen and driver’s display looked plenty sharp enough, and there’s a clear head-up display on Max trim that allows you to keep your eyes on the road for longer.
As for space, the e-C5 is longer than many similarly priced rivals. That means enough rear legroom for a six foot three adult to sit behind their own driving position with space, and adequate headroom even with a panoramic roof. Sadly, the old model’s clever individual rear seats have been binned, although the 40/20/40 split is still useful.
Boot space is an impressive 651 litres, and the space is a lot more usable than the old car’s. Where that load area was tall and not that deep, the new car’s boot has a much bigger footprint that should make it a great choice for families.
Before you buy
You can have the e-C5 in all three trim levels, starting off with You! at a little over £34k. This still gets decent kit, including dual-zone climate control, rear parking sensors and 19-inch wheels. Mid-range Plus adds eight colour ambient lighting, front parking sensors, a rear camera, electrically folding door mirrors and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror.
Max sits at the top of the range but still ducks under £40k. This adds aluminium pedals, a head-up display, more advanced driver assist tech and a 360 degree camera. I’d want at least Plus at £36k, but even Max isn’t too pricey. On balance the Renault Scenic is still the best all-round family e-SUV for the money thanks to a plusher interior, even more interior space and a much bigger battery for the money.
Citroen e-C5 Aircross: verdict
That’s two testers who have come away wondering how well the e-C5 would fit into family life a few times on the road test – that is a very good sign for Citroen. Alan liked the focus on comfort over dynamics which is welcome in this class, and it’s not like it handles terribly, anyway. I’m more attuned to its value – the larger-battery model is confirmed for the £3750 government grant, which makes it seriously competitve.
Having said that, I am in complete agreement with Alan on the e-C5’s refinement – it really is a truly restful place to spend the day. I just wish the range and efficiency were a tad more competitive, as our tested efficiency never got better than fine at around 3.4 miles per kW.
Some may prefer a bit more plushness to the interior, although I rather liked the tasteful minimalism of the design – the perfect answer to some rather chintzy ‘premium’ rivals. So, as it stacks up, the e-C5 isa very likeable way to transport your family around. Given the keen pricing for the all models once the grants have been factorerd in, and it’s a fine choice in this class.