Citroen C5 Aircross Review & Prices

The Citroen C5 Aircross is a fantastic choice of family SUV. Not only is it comfortable and features a smooth plug-in hybrid engine option, but it looks great and offers stellar value for money. The interior plastics are a bit cheap, however, and the infotainment isn’t that slick.

Nonetheless, the C5 Aircross is such a brilliant all-rounder that it drove off into the sunset as the Family Values winner in the 2026 Carwow Car of the Year Awards. Compared to the somewhat frumpy older model, it’s like that shy kid at school who’s come back for a new year with an all-new look and a winning personality.

The C5 Aircross isn’t the only family car you can consider, though. Classic choices include the Nissan Qashqai and Hyundai Tucson, as well as the sensible Skoda Karoq, the head-turning Peugeot 3008 and the well-equipped Chery Tiggo 8, MG HS and Omoda 7.

Still, the Citroen is one of the best looking options going. It has a properly chiseled appearance, with plenty of sharp, defined creases, intricate headlights and subtle nods to Citroens of old in the rear pillar design. The fin-mounted taillights are achingly cool, too.

Hoist yourself up into the high-set driver’s seat and you’re greeted with an interesting funky interior. There are similarities to the entry-level Citroen C3 SUV, but that’s no bad thing as you get a nifty little driver’s display set into the ruler-straight dashboard, while the portrait-oriented infotainment screen seemingly rises from the centre console and leans against the dash.

There’s plenty of storage space in the centre console, with a trio of cupholders, a phone charging pad and a massive cubby between the seats. Not only that, but the front seats themselves are very comfortable and highly adjustable, while back-seat passengers have masses of legroom and headroom. The 565-litre boot is plentiful, and includes under-floor storage, too.

The only real interior downsides are the cheap-feeling plastics, of which there are plenty. Most surfaces are trimmed in fabric to cover this up, which works well, but when you do find a scratchy bit it spoils the illusion.

Engine options vary from an entry-level 1.2-litre self-charging hybrid to the smoother and more powerful plug-in hybrid - but this is only available in range-topping Max trim.

No matter which engine you choose, the C5 Aircross is supremely comfortable in urban environments. It’s so good at absorbing bumps, potholes and pock-marked roads that it feels as though it’s steam-rolling it all, while the light steering and pedals make it a strain-free car to drive.

This continues on the motorway, where the C5 Aircross wafts along serenely, totally unfazed by high-speed ruts and dips. There’s minimal noise, too, even on the biggest optional wheels. Don’t expect any fun on a twisty road, as the comfy Citroen is a bit wallowy around bends.

Verdict

The Citroen C5 Aircross is a superb family car. It’s exceptionally comfortable, highly practical and looks pretty darn cool. Better still, it’s a genuine bargain, costing less than many smaller SUVs - and far less than a Volkswagen Tiguan or Hyundai Tucson.

You can check out the latest Citroen C5 Aircross deals on Carwow, as well as C5 Aircross lease deals. There are used Citroen C5 Aircross examples for sale through our trusted dealer network, and other used Citroen models too. Carwow can even help you sell your car when the time comes to switch.

The entry-level Citroen C5 Aircross YOU! (yes, YOU!) starts at around £30,500 - which undercuts the mechanically-similar Peugeot 3008 by around £7,000. Both get a 145hp hybrid engine, but while the Peugeot is arguably better looking, it’s not as practical as the Citroen.

The Renault Austral hybrid starts at around £34,000, but it’s not as comfortable nor as well equipped as the C5 Aircross in top-spec Max trim. You can’t get it as a plug-in hybrid model either, but that being said you’ll pay almost £39,000 for the PHEV C5 Aircross, as it only comes in top-spec trim - not miles off the 3008 PHEV at £41,000.

While it manages to be tremendously comfortable in town and on the motorway, the Citroen C5 Aircross isn’t fun on a twisty road

In town

The C5 Aircross is even more comfortable than the previous model thanks to its suspension which has been developed with maximum comfort in mind.

That means that even on its largest wheels you barely feel speedbumps and potholes. Entry-level models with bigger tyres do an even better job.

The extra-light steering and pedals, good forward visibility and 10.9-metre turning circle make driving the C5 Aircross on narrow roads a low-effort experience. Rear visibility isn’t great, but you do get a standard rear-view camera.

On the motorway

Getting up to speed in the C5 Aircross is steady rather than rapid, whether you pick the 145hp hybrid or the 195hp plug-in hybrid. The former is quite noisy getting up to speed, and the PHEV is much the same with quite a roar when the 1.6-litre petrol engine kicks in.

Once you reach a cruise things settle down nicely, with a well-insulated cabin keeping wind and road noise at bay. Over-the-shoulder visibility could be better, but the suspension is so comfortable that you’ll learn to live with it.

The adaptive cruise control is perfectly capable, so you don’t have to worry about it bouncing you around your lane as some other family SUVs like to do.

On a twisty road

You’re better off staying on the motorway when you can, because the C5 Aircross sometimes leaves a little to be desired when the going gets twisty. While there’s plenty of grip for a car with no sporting pretension, the soft suspension can leave it feeling unsettled on rougher stretches of road.

The Citroen C5 Aircross is chock-full of room and clever storage spaces, but the low-mounted cupholders can be annoying

The C5 Aircross has a similar vibe to the C3 - one of our favourite small cars on sale because of its clever, roomy cabin - but now in super-sized scale. You get loads of space up front, with an airy feeling and lots of seat adjustment.

Underneath the bridge-like infotainment display that joins up the centre console and dashboard is a large storage cubby, complete with two USB-C chargers and a pair of cupholders. It’s even painted a bright colour so that you can see small items more easily.

It’s a bit annoying to reach your drink on the driver’s side, but there’s a smaller cupholder on the centre console itself. If you prefer large bottles, you can fit a pair easily in the door cards.

Space in the back

The C5 Aircross offers buckets of headroom and leg space, as well as enough room for three adults to sit comfortably. You can even recline the seat backs for a more relaxed journey in the back.

The door bins are large enough for water bottles, but rear passengers will have to fight for control of the single air vent in the middle.

Boot space

The boot is 565 litres in capacity, making it bigger than the more expensive Skoda Karoq (521 litres) and Vauxhall Grandland (550 litres) but smaller than the Peugeot 3008 (585 litres). There’s a bit of underfloor storage for odds and ends, or the charging cable in PHEV models.

Alternatively you can drop the boot floor down for deeper loads, but you’ll have the boot lip to contend with in that case. There are a couple of small cubbies at both sides of the boot and a pair of hooks, anchor points and an elastic strap help to keep loose items in place.

The C5 Aircross has a funky interior with a crisp, responsive display - but it really does feel cheap, particularly the door cards and dash top

It’s not just the exterior that’s more stylish than the last-generation car, because the C5 Aircross’ cabin looks funkier than ever. The upper dashboard is arrow-straight, sitting atop a fabric-trimmed, curvy panel that extends onto the door cards. The driver’s display is set back within the dashboard while the infotainment display curves up from the centre console, looking as though it’s resting against the dash.

The 13.0-inch infotainment screen itself is crisp and clear to read, and the menus are somewhat intuitive to navigate. It has some quirks, though, for example you can’t just touch the smaller navigation display on the home screen to enter the nav menu - you have to press the dedicated navigation button. You need to back out of Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to access some of the heater controls, too.

The digital driver’s display is clear to read and easy-on-the-eye, as are the funky square-quilted seats that come on all trim levels, as well as the ambient lighting around the cabin. Material quality is a mixed bag, because while the majority of the interior - such as the dash top and the door cards, are trimmed in hard, brittle plastic, the rest of the cabin is trimmed in a pleasant fabric and overall build quality feels solid.

The entry-level C5 Aircross comes with a 1.2-litre, 145hp hybrid engine that Citroen says is capable of 52.3mpg. We achieved about 45mpg in the real world, which is good going.

The more expensive plug-in hybrid has an electric range of 53 miles and an official consumption figure of 113mpg. What you get in the real world will depend greatly on how often you charge it up. Still, the longer electric range of an MG HS or BYD Seal U make these better bets if you’re interested in staying on electric power as much as possible.

The PHEV is the model to have if you’re a company car driver, with the lowest benefit-in-kind rates, though the electric e-C5 Aircross is cheaper still. First year road tax is reasonable, and all C5 Aircross trim levels fall under the threshold for the luxury car supplement on years two to six as they start at under £40,000.

Citroen C5 Aircross Euro NCAP score (2025): 4/5

Adult occupant: 80%
Child occupant: 85%
Vulnerable road users: 79%
Safety assist: 62%

Euro NCAP has awarded the C5 Aircross with its own crash test score, but it shares its result with the mechanically-similar Peugeot 3008, which attained a four-star safety rating when tested in 2025. It scored 80% for adult occupant safety and a more reassuring 85% for child occupant safety - including two ISOFIX points in the rear seats.

Four stars is still disappointing considering most of its alternatives have five-star ratings, but you do get a range of safety features as standard including automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and driver attention monitor.

Citroen came a pretty dismal 28th place out of 30 manufacturers in the 2026 Driver Power survey, which is unusual as sister brands Peugeot, Vauxhall and Jeep were all in the top 10. The C5 Aircross didn’t feature in the top 50 cars to own, either, though many of its mechanically-identical siblings did, such as the Peugeot 3008 in tenth place.

Citroen offers an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty on major powertrain components - as long as you service your car at a main dealer - and the general three years and 60,000 miles of coverage on everything else. That’s less than you get from Kia, MG, or Toyota.