C5 Aircross is full of Citroën character
AFTER a two-year hiatus from South Africa, the legendary French marque Citroën - renowned for several automobile innovations - continues to live up to its slogan, “creative technology”. The brand recently made a comeback to our shores with three new Citroën models, the C3, C3 Aircross and C5 Aircross SUV.
My first memory of a Citroën dates back to my high school days when a friend’s dad picked us up in his pride and joy, a Citroën DS. I can’t remember the exact model year, but it was one of the DS 20s built sometime in the 70s, and looked rather different among the cars of the 80s with its low stance and space-age design. What held my attention was the way the car floated along the road. I later discovered that the dreamlike drive was thanks to Citroën’s hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension that adjusts the ride height to allow for a softer drive across uneven roads.
Since Paul Magés designed this innovative suspension, introduced on the DS in 1955, it had been used under licence by many car manufacturers and adapted over the years. About two years back, Citroën introduced the Progressive Hydraulic Cushion suspension, and I’m happy to report that Citroën still retains its “magic carpet ride” touch, as we recently experienced while testing the new C5 Aircross SUV.
The latest suspension includes hydraulic buffers at either end of the suspension setup – one for rebound and the other for compression – and indeed, ride quality is still superior and comfortable.
Our test model was the top spec Shine derivative, powered by a 1.6 THP 121kW turbo petrol engine and coupled to a six-speed automatic gearbox. It was dressed in Arctic Steel, a colour that boosted its unique styling detail especially against the red/orange housings found on the front lower grille, and around the single airbump on the lower front doors.
Elements that add to the strong styling are split headlights, that feature narrow LED daytime running lights, and are situated above halogen headlights, a raised ground clearance of 230mm, large 720mm-diameter wheels and the red and black gloss roof bars.
The design and features in the airy cabin with its full glass roof, also have their own unique French flair. Exterior styling shapes of horizontal and vertical rectangular frames are tastefully presented in the cabin with the only accent colour being a minimal amount of red top stitching, found on the cushy cloth covered seats, in contrasting grey fabric with black leather strips. The quality fit and finish, and touches of chrome throughout the cabin, give a sense of sophistication mixed with extreme comfort in the C5.
There are three individual sliding, folding and reclining rear seats that offer great versatility and practicality as they allow for the boot to increase from 520 litres up to 1,630 litres of space. The seats, which Citroën calls comfort seats, have been designed using different types of foam and replicate the feeling of sitting in an armchair. Although the rear seats certainly felt wider and roomier than other French models, our bigger South African okes might find three-up a bit of a squeeze. The front seats are generous and there is more than enough shoulder and head room all around.
A feature we appreciated were the separate touch-button function keys situated below the sleek 8-inch touchscreen, with the latter including functions for all the usual audio and multimedia mod cons. There are also separate controls for some of the ventilation functions and a standalone volume control knob, which we always prefer.
The C5 Aircross comes with a load of standard comfort, convenience and safety features and includes a 180° reverse camera, front and rear parking sensors, electrochromic rear-view mirror, paddle shifters behind a leather covered steering wheel, wireless charging station, panoramic glass roof with electric interior blind, keyless entry and start, driver attention alert, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, a full house of airbags and a full spare wheel.
With superb driving qualities, the engine produces enough grunt (121kW at 6,000rpm and 240Nm at 1,400rpm) to propel the C5 SUV along comfortably, while the auto box is seamless and quick to change gears at the appropriate times. The best combined fuel consumption figure we achieved was 10-litres/100km at an average speed of 55km/h.
If you are wanting to drive something that looks different from all the other SUVs out there, the C5 Aircross has ample to offer. The Shine derivative costs R509,900 and includes a five-year/100,000km warranty and service plan. Citroën vehicles can be serviced at any Peugeot Accredited Dealership nationwide.
