Citroen has given up on conventional family cars – a class that’s dying a death of a thousand cuts amidst an avalanche of SUVs – and is trying something a little bit different, it’s called the Citroen C5 X.
The Citroen C5 X is what you get if you dice a saloon car, mix in equal parts estate, bake, and drizzle with SUV to finish – the end result has a flavour of all three body shapes.
As a result, the Citroen claims to rival everything from a Volkswagen Passat saloon to a Volvo V90 estate or a Skoda Kodiaq SUV. In practice, it looks a bit like a Citroen C4 Cactus that’s been stretched (severely) in a rack at the Tower of London.
Thankfully, Citroen’s interior is significantly more inviting than a mediaeval torture device, but it’s not what you’d call conventional. Citroen wanted the C5 X’s driver’s seat to make it feel like you’ve slid into your favourite armchair – stuffed with memory foam, wide and flat, it cossets your protesteriar rather than clamping it with a vice-like grip ala German sports saloon.
The open-plan design adds to the sitting-room feel. The dashboard’s clean and simple lines make the Citroen feel roomy and uncluttered, while large swathes of unvarnished wood trims give a touch of oak beam to the decor.
It’s traditional but also techy. You get a digital dashboard display and a 12-inch infotainment screen that’s a match for your LCD TV. You also get features like wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a head-up display and wireless charging.
Along with large quantities of technology, you get generous dollops of space. The C5 X is a long car with a tall roof and the result is that it feels very roomy in the back with loads of air between your knees and the seat in front. The boot’s 545-litre capacity is barely less than you get in the aforementioned Volvo estate.
Much like the big Swede, the Citroen will focus on being comfortable to drive rather than sporty and it’ll have an advanced version of the suspension that makes the C4 Cactus’ ride so creamy. Factor in double glazed front and rear windows and you can expect the big Citroen to feel like a haven of monastery-like tranquillity.
Even the engine will be capable of monastic silence. It’s a petrol-hybrid with a 180PS engine boosted by a 80kW motor – it can run for up to 30 miles on battery power alone up to motorway speeds. You even get Level 2 autonomy so the C5 X can more or less drive itself on the motorway.
Will it all be enough to prize from the arms of a more conventional family car? Only time will tell – you can reserve a Citroen C5 X now and prices are set to start from around £30,000.
