Citroen C5 Aircross review

The petrol manual and diesel auto powertrains come in base Plus and middle Max spec. A Plus petrol at £23,670 is good value – supermini money these days. It's around £2,400 to step up to the diesel auto, and a £4,000 step for the Max trim.

Top trim is ë-Series, available only with the two electrified powertrains, the mild hybrid at £33,475 and the PHEV at £38,375.

If you’re leasing, Citroen will sell you a C5 Aircross for £279, £312 or £399 per month for the standard petrol, mild hybrid and PHEV models respectively.

Talk to me about the kit.

The basic spec of the C5 Aircross is fairly decent: you get a 12.3in digital instrument cluster, a 10in touchscreen, Citroen’s Connect Nav set-up, and electrically operated and heated door mirrors. It has all the comfort and versatility of the higher models too. Its active safety tech – lane assist, emergency braking, speed limit adaptation, reversing camera – is what the law requires these days.

One up Max trim gets the Drive Assist Pack, which adds blind spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control. Better interior lighting and grey upholstery improve the cabin ambience, roof rails and keyless entry make it more practical.

Know the ë-Series models by their black wheels and roof. They get full highway drive assist with lane centring and traffic jam assist. The driver's seat is electrically adjustable and both front ones are heated.

What's the best spec?

The petrol manual is a great buy. If you pay company car tax the PHEV makes sense, but it's a big premium. If you don't get the company-car advantage, it makes sense only if you have a home charger, and if you have one of those just get a full EV. For most people the auto hybrid is the sweet spot in Max trim.