Citroen C5 X review

You get a choice of three different engines with the new C5 X. The most affordable option is based around a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, which develops a modest 130hp. Next comes the larger 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol that churns out 180hp.

Then, at the top of the range sits the 225hp plug-in hybrid. This adds an electric motor and a 12kWh battery into the mix, which allows for a claimed electric-only range of up to 34 miles. All of these engines drive the front wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission – there’s no option of a manual here.

For most people, the two regular petrol engines will likely do the trick. The 180hp engine is generally pretty smooth and quiet when you’re up and running, and we saw an economy figure of about 37mpg – which isn’t too shabby.

It doesn’t pack a huge amount of punch when you need to quickly get past slow-moving traffic on a country road, however, and because of that you might want to avoid the lower 130hp model altogether.

At low speeds the eight-speed gearbox can also feel a bit lumpy and awkward, and will occasionally give you a soft kick in the back as it swaps gears. Try and bring the car to a gentle standstill, and you’ll find the stop-start system that automatically cuts the engine to reduce emissions to be a bit overly keen too. This results in you lurching to a halt at times, which is a bit undignifying.

The plug-in hybrid model has a bit more punch when you put your foot down, thanks to the instant torque provided by its electric motor. It’s obviously also extremely good at silently wafting around town when you’re running on electric power alone. Citroen says you should be able to get 34 miles of range from the battery, but we saw closer to 18 miles on our test route.

Given the hybrid’s higher price, you’ll probably only want to go for this model if you’re going to be running it as a company car, as you’ll be able to make the most of its far lower benefit-in-kind tax rating. You’ll want to make sure you have access to a home charger too – otherwise you won’t benefit from the lower running costs that plug-in hybrids can bring.

Speaking of charge times, it’ll take you just over 1.5 hours to top the battery up when plugged into a 7kW home wallbox. Use a regular household socket, and that time increases to 5.5 hours.

With its super soft suspension set-up, the Citroen C5 X is generally a supremely comfortable car to mooch about town in. It deals with lumpy stretches of road really nicely, with a souffle-like squish to its body movements. More sudden ruts and bumps can send a bit of a jolt through the cabin, however.

The plug-in hybrid model gets fancy adaptive dampers that let you soften- or firm-up the car’s suspension as you see fit, too. It’s very good, but not good enough that you’ll find yourself justifying the extra cost of the hybrid just to get it. The normal setup works just fine, so we’d stick with that.

Its steering is extremely light, which can take a bit of getting used to. But once you’re keyed in you’ll find it makes the process of navigating the C5 X around tight corners an easy process. Rear visibility isn’t the best thanks to its fat rear pillars, but the standard-fit front and rear parking sensors, as well as its standard-fit reversing camera, step in to help out here.

Out on the motorway it really settles down nicely. The engines all purr away very quietly, and very little wind or road noise is allowed to make its way into the cabin. Adaptive cruise control (standard fit on range-topping ‘Shine Plus’ models) makes life easier on long journeys too. All you need to do is select your preferred speed and the car will automatically maintain a set distance between you and whatever vehicle is travelling in front of you.

Given its soft, spongy suspension setup you might be surprised to find that the C5 X is actually pretty fun on a twisty road. It’s by no means as sporty-feeling as, say, a BMW 5 Series or even a Cupra Formentor; but it controls its roll nicely through corners and grips well. The lightweight steering is completely devoid of feel, but you get used to it eventually.