Citroen C5 X Review (2022-present)
Citroen C5 X cars for sale
3.0
Expert review
Pros
Very practical interior
Good value
Excellent ride comfort
Cons
Plug-in hybrid could be smoother
Infotainment can be clunky
No diesel option
The CarGurus verdict
The Citroen C5 X is a rather charming and interesting car; a refreshing change from the SUVs that dominate the new car market. On top of that, it’s decent value on list price and finance, is very comfortable, has a huge boot and will cost a similar amount to own as most of its chief rivals. Sure, the handling and performance is middling at best, so if you want a plug-in hybrid that’s fun on a good road and a bit different to the norm, the Cupra Formentor is a better shout.
Even so, the big Citroen C5 X has lots going for it, and while it isn’t objectively the best big estate, nor the best plug-in hybrid for efficiency or performance, it’s still overall a thoroughly likeable and recommendable family car.
The Citroen C5 X is a mid-sized estate car that’s similar in size to a VW Passat Estate, Peugeot 508 SW or Audi A4 Avant. Where it differs from those more conventional alternatives is in its funky, almost shooting-brake styling and rugged-looking, black plastic body cladding that hopes to blend something of an executive luxury dynamism with SUV-ish usefulness. By throwing in this touch of ruggedness, and with some very competitive pricing, Citroen hopes to mop up some of the buyers who might be shopping in the big-selling family SUV market but want something a bit less conventional, as well as those rather rarer buyers who set out for an estate car.
It’s front-wheel drive only, though, so there’s not much off-road prowess beyond a slightly raised ride height and the chunky, 55-section tyres: enough to shrug off the potholed gravel roads and muddy car parks that is the extent of many buyers’ off-road ambitions.
It’s offered with a 1.2- or 1.6 petrol engines, and a plug-in hybrid with a WLTP electric range of up to 34 miles, all with an eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard.
Up front there are broad, cushy ‘advanced comfort’ seats with more cushioning than you typically get, and plenty of adjustment. They are splendidly comfortable on a long journey, even if you haven’t added the massage function. The digital driver’s dials are also clear to read, even if the graphics are a way off what you get in some other cars, and there’s a very good extended head-up display that shows navigation instructions, speed limit and more on all but the entry-level car.
The tactile materials look good as well as feeling good, especially in top-spec Shine Plus trim, which gets some really nice textile inserts. There are also straightforward, physical air-con controls and they don’t ruin the simple, modern lines of the dashboard. It’s a shame that the view out of the narrow rear window is a little limited, there’s no rear wiper, and there’s quite a big blind spot at your rear corners. At least a blind-spot warning system is standard on all plug-in hybrids, and on the top two trims for the rest of the range.
Those in the back get plenty of space, so two tall adults or three kids will be fine for leg- and headroom. It’s worth pointing out that the Citroen C5 Aircross SUV will be a better option if you routinely carry three children in the back seats, as they have three individual seats and Isofix points in the back, compared to the C5 X’s two Isofix mountings. More than that, the rising windowline in the Citroen C5 X does make for quite small rear windows, so it feels dark back there, even if you’ve got the optional sunroof fitted.
Boot space is plentiful. The plug-in hybrid gets a bit less boot space than the standard petrol cars, at 485 litres compared to 545 litres, but even the Citroen C5 X PHEV is still on a par with the VW Passat GTE plug-in hybrid, not to mention most family SUVs including the Nissan Qashqai. The low load lip, long boot floor and practical hatchback boot opening all help to make this a really practical car if you’ve got a big dog to ferry, or just lots of stuff to lob in the boot all the time.
Very comfy, thanks to the French manufacturer’s trademark Advanced Comfort Suspension, which features hydraulic cushions for the suspension bump stops, bringing extra waftiness. The plug-in hybrid model also has electronically controlled adaptive dampers, or ‘active suspension’.
It works well, too, making the Citroen C5 X almost limo-like in the way it rides. However, comfort doesn’t begin and end with suspension: it’s about noise, vibration and control responses, too, and in all of these the Citroen C5 X is less ideal. The 1.6-litre petrol that features in the Plug-in Hybrid PureTech is coarse and noisy if you rev it even moderately hard, and sometimes the eight-speed automatic can feel a touch slow to respond, too (although wheel-mounted paddles give you better control). There’s also a fair amount of wind noise, and the brakes could be easier to modulate for smooth stopping, so there are a number of niggles that mean it still falls short for ultimate all-round comfort.
It’s never a car that you’re going to relish driving enthusiastically, either, as that engine gets noisy and the outright performance (0-62mph in 7.9 seconds, despite a combined power output of 223bhp) is average at best. In many ways the perky, 128bhp 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol may be the better bet, not only as it’s usefully cheaper to buy, but also because it’s happy to rev and has more predictable pedal responses.
We’re yet to try the 178bhp 1.6 turbocharged petrol, which is the same engine that you get in the plug-in hybrid but without the addition of the 108bhp electric motor.
The light steering is great about town and on the motorway but doesn’t offer enough feedback and weight to satisfy on more challenging roads, and there’s a fair amount of body lean, too. Ultimately, the Citroen C5 X is a car that is unashamedly comfort-oriented, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
The Citroen C5 X is really good for standard equipment. Even the entry-level Sense Plus model gets 19-inch alloy wheels, automatic wipers and LED headlights, front and rear parking sensors with reversing camera, cruise control and lane-keep assist (adaptive cruise with semi-autonomous drive mode on every PHEV version), part-leatherette seats, climate control and more. Mid-spec Shine adds a head-up display, USB C chargers in the back seats, leather upholstery, a heated steering wheel and that previously mentioned adaptive cruise with semi-autonomous drive feature. Top-spec Shine Plus brings a power tailgate, full leather upholstery, heated and electrically controlled front seats with lumbar support and a 360-degree parking camera.
A 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system features on entry-level Sense Plus, while the Shine and Shine Plus get a 12-inch touchscreen, all featuring satnav with charger search function (for the PHEV), Android Auto, wireless Apple CarPlay, Bluetooth and all the other features you’d expect.
The graphics aren’t as sharp as those on rivals like the VW Passat, BMW X1 and Kia Sportage, for instance, but the screen does respond quickly enough and is easy to find your way around when you’ve got used to swiping across the screen to access different menus.
The Citroen C5 X is very well priced, especially in 1.2 PureTech 130 guise, and given the generous equipment. While it’s close in size and remit to a VW Passat, the C5 X list prices are closer to those of a VW Golf, so Citroen is certainly offering good value. Depreciation forecasts are also very healthy, and finance deals are good as a result, so even a high-spec PHEV can come in at around £400 per month quite easily, while a 1.2 PureTech 130 Sense Plus will cost under £300 per month with a reasonable deposit.
As for fuel economy, the 1.2 PureTech 130 does up to 48.6 mpg in official WLTP tests, while the 1.6 PureTech 180 manages up to 43.9 mpg. We’d estimate that you’ll see more like 40mpg in real-world use in the 1.2, and some 38mpg in the 1.6. As for the Plug-in Hybrid, ignore the figure of 236 mpg, as it’s very misleading. You can achieve that if you run on electricity quite routinely, which is the best way to get the most out of any plug-in hybrid. If you normally do journeys of some 25 to 30 miles (which it should cover in real-world use), only do long journeys occasionally and can charge regularly, then the plug-in hybrid could be ideal for you.
Citroen offers competitive, fixed-price service packages, so overall it’ll be an affordable car to run.
The Citroen C5 X is too new for owners to have given any feedback on reliability yet. It is a shame that Citroen only provides a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty since rivals like Toyota, Kia, Renault and Hyundai all offer much better standard warranty than that. You can pay to extend the warranty up to five years and 100,000 miles, if you wish.
As a brand, Citroen fared well in the 2021 What Car? used car reliability survey, where it was placed 11th out of 30 brands. It’s not such good news from the 2021 Driver Power new car survey, which rates owner satisfaction as well as reliability, where Citroen came 28th out of 29 brands featured.
- The Citroen C5 X PHEV uses a European standard Type 2 socket that will be compatible with the vast majority of AC public chargers. It comes with 7.4kW charging, and will fully charge the 12.4kWh battery in some two hours from a standard 7kW home wallbox. Plug into a three-pin domestic socket (you have to pay extra for this cable) and the car will be fully charged in some six hours.
- The Citroen C5 X Plug-in Hybrid gets regenerative braking, just the same as any electric car. This means that it harvests energy from braking or coasting in order to top up the battery as you drive, helping to increase the car’s electric range. What it means is that many EVs feel like they’re braking quite heavily when you lift off the throttle, but in the Citroen C5 X the regenerative braking (also known as kinetic energy recovery system, or KERS) is very mild and actually feels very similar to normal engine braking that you’ll be used to from driving a petrol or diesel car. You can increase the brake regeneration by toggling the gearshifter switch to ‘B’ mode, which brings a heavier setting that’s great for keeping your speed down on a descent, or is useful for around town even if it’s not the heavy ‘one pedal driving’ mode that some electric cars offer.
- Citroen is now owned, together with Peugeot, DS, Fiat, Vauxhall, Alfa Romeo, Jeep and more (all of the brands that were previously PSA and Fiat Group) by parent company Stellantis. Part of the group’s plan is to cut costs by parts sharing, so the C5 X sits on the same platform as the Peugeot 308, and even shares its windscreen and windscreen pillars with the Peugeot, not to mention the engines on offer. Currently there’s no word on whether there will be a pure electric Citroen C5 X, and company execs have hinted that it’s unlikely, so look to alternatives like the VW ID.3, MG 5 EV, Renault Megane E-Tech and Skoda Enyaq iV if you want a pure electric family car.
- If you’re on a tight budget: Go for the entry-level 1.2 PureTech 130 Sense Plus model, which is comparable to similarly equipped yet smaller (and rather more boring) family hatches like the VW Golf and Vauxhall Astra, such is the value it offers. It’ll still be comfortable and really pleasant to drive, as the 1.2 is a decent little engine.
- If you’re a company car driver: The Citroen C5 X Plug-in Hybrid 225 is the best bet, despite a much higher list price, as the electric running puts it in a low company car Benefit in Kind tax band, bringing far lower tax payments than any non-electrified rival or C5 X variant. We’d go for mid-spec Shine, as that standard head-up display is a very rare feature at these prices, and the rest of the additional equipment that we’ve mentioned above also adds up to a luxury feel that you don’t generally get in this price range.
- If you want the sporty one: The plug-in hybrid version is the fastest in the range, and gets uprated suspension, so is the one to go for if you want a sporty feel. Avoid the 1.6 180; we haven’t tried it in the C5 X yet, but in other installations it’s a noisy and not terribly enjoyable engine. Even with the C5 X PHEV in mind, it has to be said that anybody wanting an interesting and fun family car would be much better off looking at something like a Cupra Formentor – or, indeed, the pure electric Cupra Born – both of which are usefully more fizzy to drive than the Citroen, if not as comfortable.
- If you want the best family car: Unless you’re confident that the plug-in hybrid will make up for its higher purchase cost in fuel savings with your lifestyle, we’d plump for the 1.2 PureTech 130 and spend the money you’ve saved on top-spec Shine Plus, which is the only trim you can have with the optional £1300 sunroof; a good option to have since it’ll bring a little light to the rear seats for the kids.
