Think about it, if you’re in the market for a PHEV, because it’s a pretty good one. The C5 Aircross Hybrid looks pretty much identical to the normal car, save for the 'Hybrid' badges and (optional) blue details.
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Click here to read our full Citroen C5 Aircross review, which goes into more detail about the interior. Handy slot for your charge cable under the boot floor, too, so it doesn’t get in the way. The batteries and e-motor are hidden away, so you get just as much cabin- and boot-space as you do in the ICE car. The EMP2 platform that underpins this, the Pug 3008 and others is an impressive one. Still, it’s a nice thing to spend time in and a largely comfortable companion – great on the motorway, even if the body floats around a bit.
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Those clever dampers are great most of the time, but don’t particularly enjoy sharp surface imperfections, which can send a crack up through the body. It rolls through the bends and pitches on its soft suspension. It’s a bit heavier than the standard car because of the batteries so isn’t quite as agile. Finesse your inputs and you can make swift progress in the Aircross PHEV, but this car is far happier tootling along than it is haring. But the C5 is good at shutting it off as often as it can – when you’re braking or coasting up to a junction, stopped at the lights or even pulling away from a standstill.Īs I said – not sportily. When you’re low on e-juice the engine is on more of the time, obviously. Usually this happens at speed, so what little noise it makes is masked by wind and tyre-roar. Most of the time it fires up quietly and without any vibration through the steering wheel, pedals or seat. It’s not immediately obvious the engine’s started unless you really clog it, which you won’t need to do very often because there’s more than enough low-down. The brakes themselves are a bit springy and grabby at low-speeds, such is the hybrid way. There is regen-braking, with a ‘B’ mode for the transmission that harvests as much energy as it can when you’re braking or coasting. Sure enough in EV mode the C5 is very quiet and very smooth, though you may notice a few pulses in the power delivery as the eight-speed auto sorts itself out. The silence, smooth and uninterrupted power delivery, lack of vibration and, presumably, smug sense of self-satisfaction one usually gets from driving an EV. And electric drive is a component of this comfort, says Citroen. No, the C5 Aircross is all about comfort – it has flat, squidgy armchairs for front seats and clever hydraulic dampers for a pillowy ride. Sure it has a Sport mode, but it’s only there to summon max power from the drivetrain for overtaking or merging onto a dual carriageway from one of those teeny tiny slip roads, not for enjoying a spirited drive along your favourite ribbon of tarmac. The C5 Aircross is a rarity insofar as it’s a modern car with zero sporting pretensions.
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