Cars | The Citroen C5 Aircross represents better mediocrity – the smooth ride separates the usual lump from the competition

In the car world recently, two trends have rapidly converged. More and more middle-class family cars are medium-sized, chubby crossovers like the Sitika shown in the picture. In addition, more and more cars are plug-in hybrids.

In turn, the wltp standard used in emission measurements today directs manufacturers to optimize the battery size and the characteristics of the car so that in a laboratory test driven mostly by electric power, the gasoline consumption can drop below two liters.

For a car journalist, this makes test drives of plug-in crossovers pretty predictable. All of them are carved from the same tree in almost all their essential characteristics. Shall we make a little prediction?

Before the test drive, I bet that this new Citroën C5 Aircross will travel a little less than 50 kilometers on electricity on one charge, and with an empty battery it will consume about 8 liters of fuel per hundred. The luggage space is probably quite good, but behind a tall driver, the knees may hit the back of the front seat. But is there storage space for the charging cables under the bottom of the container, or does the driving battery take up all the space there?

The tension is tickling. At least one feature is positively surprising.

The Muhku C5 Aircross has been on sale for a few years now, and now it has received an intermediate model. So the car has been spruced up a bit here and there. At the same time, the range of electric driving has theoretically increased to 55 kilometers (in summer).

From its name however, this has nothing to do with the old C5-Citroën. Citroën C5X appeared this year as the successor to the big and soft C5 sedan and jeans. Its body design is – you guessed it – a medium-sized crossover.

However, the C5X is much lower and more gracefully sculpted than this Aircross, which is more like this slightly likable punk minivan.

Easy entry is one of the advantages of the body model. When getting into the car, you don’t have to bend over or twist into awkward positions. The moderate ground clearance of 23 centimeters and the black adventure plastics on the rims at least give you mental support on more difficult road sections. Unfortunately, Aircross is not available with four-wheel drive, but the car is always only front-wheel drive.

The cheapest model is a 130-horsepower gasoline automatic, and it costs just under 40,000 euros. The starting price of the 225-horsepower plug-in hybrid currently being tested is 46,000 euros.

According to the importer, 70 percent of Sitika’s buyers end up with this charging hybrid model.

Starting with the mid-level Shine equipment, the driver’s seat is electrically adjustable in many directions. Even in this expensive test model, the co-driver can manually pump himself towards the heights.

It’s easy to sit in the seat, and the padded benches provide good support. At least you can sit in front for a long time. The back seats are then shaped like slats. The patterned leather upholstery emphasizes their flatness even more.

Clever design is represented by the fact that the back seat is three-part and each backrest can be turned separately. This is convenient if you need to transport long objects. Folding down one backrest leaves room for two more rear passengers. In addition, the rear seat moves forward, so if necessary, you can fold down all the seats to get more loading space.

The trunk can load several boxes, and there is a hiding place under the bottom for one set of charging cables. So it’s either a Suko cable used for home charging or Type 2 used for business charging. For example, the Ford Kuga can fit both under the bottom. Whether this matters is another question.

And yes: as I guessed at the beginning, behind the 185-centimeter driver, another person of the same height cannot fit in the back seat without their knees rubbing against the backrest. That’s how it is in almost all cars of this size class.

Sitika’s cockpit is surprisingly straightforward and unadorned for a French car. A little color can be found in the benches, the shoulder parts of which in this model are embroidered with blue and white tones.

Stellar-the user interface of the large group is perhaps the most primitive in appearance in Sitika – the user interface of the screens consists mainly of different colored rectangles, from which the radio, air conditioning and other functions are controlled.

Five of Krumelur, the cockpit works well, but now the computer sometimes starts a little slowly. A special Plus must be given to the exceptionally deep storage space in the armrest, where you can shove and forget so many small items that the lowest trinkets start forms bottom sediment. Before long, they may already be pressed into oil.

That’s what’s needed in this car, after all, it’s a plug-in hybrid. So there is a 1.6-liter petrol turbo on the bow, which works together with a 110-horsepower electric motor. The total power is the mentioned 225 horsepower, and Sitikka moves with these power sources together and separately quite effortlessly.

This is also the case with competitors, but the one feature that sets Sitika apart from others is the softness of the ride. Citroën’s shock absorption is supported by a kind of bottom impact rubbers, which enable the basic tuning of the suspension to be adjusted to be softer than usual. In this way, the French brand tries to imitate the feel of the old Sitika gas liquid suspension.

It works: the C5 Aircross is really comfortable and just the right amount of fun to drive. Not exactly a water bed, but the chassis smooths out the bumps in the road so well that the car just glides along smoothly on the highway.

The charger of plug-in hybrids is typically only single-phase, and so is Sitika. Depending on the equipment level, charging is possible with either 1x16A (3.7 kW) or 1x32A (7.4 kW). Even a slower charger is sufficient for overnight home charging, but if you plan to charge your car from a public plug even remotely meaningfully during a shopping trip, you have to choose a higher power.

A full charge takes a couple of hours even with a more efficient option.

Did I guess the consumption correctly at the beginning? Almost! In the warm weather of October, the Aircross traveled 45 kilometers on electricity, which was slightly less than promised. On the other hand, the consumption of an empty battery was 8.2 liters per hundred in mixed driving.

Similar readings and a pretty similar experience in all respects can be expected in all similar charging hybrids.

Among them, Citroën stands out with its soft suspension. But this updated Sitikka seems to remain a bit of an intermediate model – why not buy the more stylish C5X with the same money?