Citroen C5 X review

As a result, the powertrains are all units we have seen before. Having introduced the car with marginally more ICE options than electrified ones, Citroen has now rationalised the car's engines to one entry-level, 1.2-litre, 129bhp petrol-only option, one 134bhp conventional hybrid, and one range topping, 222bhp PHEV. The car we elected to test when the C5 X was new - the 178bhp four-cylinder petrol - has now been discontinued.

Like on all C5 Xs, the stalwart eight-speed automatic gearbox from Aisin is the only transmission option.

One of the areas where Citroën tries to differentiate itself from the other Stellantis brands is with its suspension. The signature hydropneumatic suspension is, of course, long gone, but in its place are conventional struts with coil springs but also ‘progressive hydraulic cushions’ - or hydraulic bump stops. They allow the regular springs and dampers to be softer than normal, providing progressive support at the extremes of travel.

Unfortunately, it can’t quite finish the job. When the wheels thump through potholes or over expansion joints, you can feel that there is enough tyre sidewall to avoid the impacts being overly harsh, but the damping isn’t fully up to controlling the full force of the wheel’s movement, and as a result the C5 X never feels as perfectly isolated as promised.

At this price point there isn’t too much to complain about with the seats. An extendable thigh bolster would have made them even better, but the cushion is relatively long anyway. Even so, for all of Citroën’s talk about ‘advanced comfort seats’ with memory foam, it’s worth noting that the seats in some Mercedes and BMWs are still better for avoiding fatigue on long journeys.

One area where there is room for some improvement is the noise isolation. By no means does the C5 X disgrace itself – the noise readings we took were on a par with rivals. It just seems like road noise can resonate through the interior a touch too much.

But these complaints are only worth highlighting because of the focus on comfort in Citroën’s messaging and the compromises to the car’s handling, which mean the secondary ride should really be that bit better than it is. For anyone after a car in this class that cossets rather than excites, the C5 X is still a strong choice.

Assisted driving

Like the infotainment, the assisted driving systems in the C5 X are shared with other cars from the group and, as a result, have similar behaviours.

The lane keeping assistance can be a little intrusive on country roads but is easy to turn off and we had no false interventions or warnings from the collision avoidance system. Shine and Shine Plus cars have blindspot detection, but this takes the form of quite a subtle and small light in the door mirror, whereas a more obvious audible sound would be better.

The adaptive cruise control is smooth and intuitive, but some systems are better at anticipating. The Citroën can be a little late to slow down for a queue on the motorway and tends to brake a bit too suddenly if another car cuts in. Engaging the lane following could be easier, since there is no dedicated button to do so, but once activated, it does fairly well at positioning itself within the lane.

The PHEV 225, meanwhile, returns a typical 25 miles of electric range in real-world running. Its aggregated petrol-only fuel economy will depend how often you charge it, but over a week's loan with some home charging, our C5 X Hypnos Hybrid 225 averaged 53mpg.

Unfortunately, Citroën’s finance rates aren’t quite as attractive as those of some other manufacturers and the firm doesn’t currently offer a deposit contribution, so the C5 X isn’t as good value on a PCP deal. Another slight negative is that Citroën offers only a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty, while Kia, for instance, provides cover for seven years.