2022 Citroen C5 Aircross review Car News

As before, the steering is light and lifeless. When you’re really in a hurry, there are bumpy corners and quick directional changes, along with a scrub of borderline understeer. That said, overall grip levels are actually quite high, while body roll itself is surprisingly well controlled.

Dial it up, though, and the lightly sprung C5 Aircross has a pleasingly languid gait that makes it a stress-free steer for everyday tasks. It floated along the well-surfaced but bumpy roads of our French test route in a way that was once a double-chevron calling card.

That said, the sharp imperfections still send a shiver through the structure that Citroën’s trademark progressive hydraulic cushion bumpers can’t handle, making some particularly poorly paved city roads a shocking experience.

We’ve driven both the 128bhp 1.2-litre petrol and the 222bhp plug-in hybrid (there’s also a 128bhp diesel), with the former proving quite refined a little overwhelmed by the avoirdupois of the car, the latest punchier and offering 38 miles of electric-only operation – but better suited to business users looking to cut their BIK tax bills (Citroën claims that upcoming updates will increase range to 40 miles, increasing liability from 12% to 8%).

The PHEV also makes a pretty smooth transition between fossil fuel and lithium-ion power, while in the latter mode it offers reasonably quick and near-silent progression up to 84 mph.

A six-speed manual gearbox is available with both petrol and diesel, but both cars we tested came with the same smooth-but-sluggish eight-speed automatic.

Like the riding experience, the rest of the C5 Aircross is very familiar, meaning it’s one of the most spacious and versatile machines in its class. There’s plenty of room in the rear, with a fairly flat floor, and the three individual rear seats slide and recline to provide flexibility and comfort – although only the two outer chairs have Isofix mounting points.

There’s plenty of practical storage too, while the boot is a very useful 580 liters (reduced to 460 liters in the PHEV, as it loses the variable-height boot floor but retains enough storage underneath to accommodate cables for charge).