Citroen C5 Aircross - long-term review

The Aircross is an MPV masquerading as an SUV. So it's got three individual sliding/folding/reclining back seats. For a recent trip away I figured I'd be needing to shift a couple of the seats forward because we were carrying a lot in the boot, but also one rear passenger.

Among the cargo, a folding bike for starters, a bulky one with 26-inch wheels. Alongside that was the kit for a moderately outdoorsy week for three people, the equivalent of about five or six airline-sized holdalls.

But no, it all went in without having to disturb the seats at all. The boot isn't just big fore-aft, but amazingly so top-to-bottom. And before you ask, it still has a space-saver spare tyre beneath. That's an advantage of not having actual 4x4 machinery down below.

On a trip, you also appreciate all the cabin stowage, including a vast console bin for victuals and devices.

So in that all went. Then another two bikes on the tail. Whereupon the weight-saving polysomething tailgate flexed slightly under the bike rack's weight, setting off a maddeningly loud 'door open' chime, and preventing the doors locking. Only after several ginger attempts to re-close it, and some messing about with the electric tailgate settings, did it seat properly.

Once again, I find myself at a loss to see the advantage of electric tailgates (see previous report). They have minds of their own, and often motor back upward when they encounter an obstruction. If it were a manual boot, you'd just gently shove it into the latch. Even when things are going well, they're so much slower than manual ones. Yes you can switch them off, they still leave their mechanism engaged, so you're pushing against extra resistance versus normal old-fashioned gas struts - something that absolutely did not need re-inventing.

Once we'd set off, the Aircross suspension is so soft in the middle of its travel I could feel a little extra pitching from the weight of the bikes cantilevered out back. Never mind, soft is just what you want, rather than having the rack jump up and down at every little pothole.

I prefer bikes on the tail to bikes on the roof because they don't seem to knacker the aero so much. Do a long trip with bikes on the roof and you've often spent on extra fuel the price of hiring bikes when you get there. But with them on the tail, and slightly moderated speed, the Aircross kept to its usual mid-30s mpg.