Back to Page 1: Introduction and interior

Driving Experience and Competitors

It’s still a decently comfortable car to drive, thanks to the car’s progressive hydraulic suspension dampers that give the car a ride that’s pillowy soft on the highway, but stiffens up appreciably on the very rough stuff and high speed bumps as it dives deeper into the suspension travel. It’s not exactly a ‘magic carpet ride’ as Citroen claims, but the good thing is that it leaves enough feedback coming into the chassis for the driver to read how the car is handling the road.

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The car’s driving dynamics are competent, though it feels more detached and less involved than its mechanical relation, the Peugeot 3008. The top gear in the transmission won’t see much use on the roads in Singapore as the car only seems to shift into eighth gear when going faster than 95km/h and on a very light accelerator input. For a family driver though, there’s really little to complain about as it’s quick enough, and pretty quiet on the go. After a couple of days in all sorts of driving conditions, we got an average fuel economy of 8.8l/100km out of it, which for a car of this size is pretty decent.

It also has a full suite of up-to-date active safety systems, including front collision and lane departure warning.

As far as competing products go, the Peugeot 3008 is the obvious competition and while both cars are mechanically similar the ergonomics and styling are different enough that they do feel quite unique individually. The very much pricier Volkswagen Tiguan is of a similar size but its existence does go to show what good value the C5 Aircross really is. Even the Skoda Kamiq appears to be a lot less car for more money, though it’s a more dynamically engaging car to drive. 

Or else there’s Mitsubishi’s recently updated Eclipse Cross, which costs more but is also bigger and perhaps holds more appeal for people buying into Japanese brand familiarity.

The Citroen C5 Aircross is a very comfortable, though not entirely remarkable family urban crossover. Its most interesting feature is actually the very smooth and efficient engine that punches well above its weight. It’s a standout component that is likely to be lost on many commuter drivers, but when compared with the many other ‘normal’ petrol engines in other urban crossover SUVs it certainly stands out. 

Citroen C5 Aircross

Drivetrain Type	Petrol engine
Engine	1,199cc, turbocharged inline 3
Power	129hp at 5500rpm
Torque	230Nm at 1750rpm
Gearbox	8-automatic
0-100km/h	10.3 seconds
Top Speed	188km/h
Fuel Efficiency	4.9L/100km
VES Band / modifier	A2 / – $15,000
Agent	Cycle & Carriage
Price	S$127,999 with COE and VES
Availability	Now
Verdict	While not exactly the razzle-dazzle product it was a few years earlier, the new engine does make the car more efficient with while giving away very little

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