2022 Citroën C5 Aircross review: An Air drop under the bonnet

Singapore

IF the cost of bread has gotten out of control, what's a sandwich maker to do but raise prices or start skimping on the tuna and mayo? Cycle & Carriage France, which peddles no victuals but is Citroën's importer here, chose the latter option with the C5 Aircross.

Nearly 3 years ago this globular sport utility vehicle (SUV) came with a 180 horsepower engine and all manner of bells and whistles, from automatic parking to fancy seats with cushions made up of different density foams.

Since then, certificate of entitlement (COE) premiums have soared to where the air is thin. That's made it sensible, perhaps even necessary, for the car itself to be cheaper than before, thereby offsetting the rising COE prices.

That being so, it's been downsized in the engine department and shorn of frills.

Out has gone the previous version's 1.6-litre, and in has come a 129 horsepower, 1.2-litre turbo, which has the double benefit of sneaking the Citroën into the Category A corner of the COE market, where prices are much lower, while bestowing a S$15,000 clean air rebate on the car's buyers.

Other features are no more, such as roof rails, a panoramic glass roof, wireless smartphone charging and so on.

Yet, what hasn't been stripped away is how practical the C5 Aircross is as a car. The rear doors may be slightly narrow, but once you make it past them you're inside an airy, roomy cabin. It has 3 individual chairs in the back that slide and recline, although that's more to expand the boot than add rear legroom.

What a boot, though. It's large to begin with, at 580 litres, but tipping the back seats down gives you up to 1,630 litres, which is surely enough to haul half the cheese in Paris around.

The front of the cabin also has plenty of space for odds and ends, in the form of various bins and compartments - the one between the front seats looks large enough to conceal a bottle of Burgundy, maybe two.

Chances are, the main touchscreen will annoy you with how many finger taps are needed to adjust the air-con, but on the upside it offers (wired) Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity.

That was always the case with the C5 Aircross, however. The heart transplant is the thing most worth noting here. The new three-cylinder engine is actually pretty plucky, pulling with lots of gusto when asked to, but its thrummy voice and low-speed vibeyness take getting used to. It's characterful, but so is your loud, bawdy uncle, and people either adore or despise him, too.

The transmission is less likeable, on account of its occasional jerkiness, and some of the cabin plastics feel low-rent, but the Citroën is an otherwise pleasant car to be in, assuming yours is a character that can gel with the engine's. The chassis is passably surefooted, while the suspension still offers a pillowy ride over bumps.

The C5 Aircross has no shortage of rivals, from Honda's family friendly new HR-V to the well-equipped Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, but if nothing else, it offers distinctiveness. You'll never lose it in a car park, and it's a nice break from the template of overly firm suspension and geometrically crisp styling set by the German brands.

For that very reason, the Citroën isn't a car to everyone's tastes, but it's worth sampling if you're in the market for an SUV in this class. Having been stripped down to offset eye-watering COE premiums, it's not as appealing as it once was, but at least it's priced at a level that buyers can still stomach for a French car.

Citroën C5 Aircross 1.2 PureTech

Engine 1,199 cc, turbocharged in-line 3 Power 129 hp at 5,500 rpm Torque 230 Nm at 1,750 rpm Gearbox 8-speed automatic 0-100 km/h 10.3 seconds Top Speed 188 km/h Fuel Efficiency 4.9 L/100 km Agent Cycle & Carriage France Price S$132,999 with certificate of entitlement Available Now