Citroën finally gives the C5 a successor. This is the Citroën C5 X, a real D-segmenter but in a completely unique way. The C5 X will be on the market in the second half of this year and will be immediately available as a plug-in hybrid.
Highlights
- New top model from Citroën
- No diesels, but two petrol engines
- Available immediately as a 225 hp Plug-in Hybrid
- Stubborn design
- From the second half of this year in the Netherlands
Traditional D-segmenters are struggling with the growing popularity of crossovers and SUVs. The next-generation Volkswagen Passat will probably only come as Variant and the Ford Mondeo, which is dropping in March 2022, will be followed by a more crossover-like liftback. Citroën chooses 2021 as the year to re-enter the D segment. The brand will be putting this C5 X in Dutch showrooms from the second half of this year, a car that you should see more than the C5 Aircross presented in 2018 as a successor to the C5, the last copies of which were registered in our country in 2017. .
So C5 X, and not C5. The X is not only a reference to the CXperience Concept from 2016 on which the design is based, but also to the fact that it is a mixture of several body styles. According to Citroën, the liftback is a combination of a sedan and a station wagon with the ground clearance of an SUV. Still a crossover, in the purest sense of the word. It is 4.81 meters long and has a wheelbase of 2.79 meters. That means that Citroen’s youngest is no less than thirty centimeters longer than the C5 Aircross. At 2.79 meters, the wheelbase of the C5 X is also 6 centimeters longer than that of its now three-year-old SUV brother. In terms of dimensions, the C5 X is more close to the 4.75 meter long Peugeot 508, which, although slightly shorter, still has an extra centimeter between the front and rear axle.
Citroën C5 X
Just like the Peugeot 508 and C5 Aircross, the body of the Citroën C5 X hides the EMP2 platform, although, just like the new Peugeot 308 and DS 4 (Cross), it is a further development of that modular base plate. The luggage compartment has a generous capacity of 545 liters. If you throw the back seat flat, you can store 1,640 liters of material. In comparison: the 508 kicks it up to 487 liters, the C5 Aircross takes 580 liters.
Plug-in hybrid
An electric C5 X is not yet in the barrel, but that does not mean that Citroën’s new top model has to do without any form of electrification. On the contrary. The C5 X comes to the market as a plug-in hybrid immediately upon its introduction. The C5 X Plug-in Hybrid has a system power of 225 hp and must be able to travel more than 50 kilometers fully electrically. The top speed in electric mode is 135 km / h. Although Citroën will only release extensive technical specifications in the run-up to the market launch that takes place in the second half of this year, the powertrain of the plug-in hybrid C5 Aircross Hybrid gives a good indication of what we can expect from that plug-C5 X, according to Citroën. Count on a 180 hp 1.6 PureTech petrol engine that is linked to a 109 hp electric motor. The battery pack of the C5 Aircross Hybrid has a capacity of 13.2 kWh, the C5 X Plug-in Hybrid will probably get the same electric lung capacity.
Citroën C5 X Plug-in Hybrid
Diesel engines do not get the C5 X. Citroën does put two conventional petrol engines on the delivery list. Which machines these are exactly, the French will release later. We aim that the C5 X is equipped with a 130 hp 1.2 PureTech three-cylinder and with a 1.6 PureTech with four burners, good for 180 hp. The least powerful of the bunch can probably be linked to a manual six-speed gearbox and an eight-speed automatic. The 1.6 is probably only in combination with that automatic transmission in the showroom.
Exterior
Although the design of the C5 X is largely inspired by that of the CXperience Concept, the family connection with the new C4 is clear. In front of the long snout we see the now well-known but still idiosyncratic LED lighting. Thin strips of LED daytime running lights at the top, the actual headlights are one floor below, but the rear is the visual attraction. The LED rear lights go far around the corner and, like the lights at the front, have a striking layout. Above it is a strikingly flat rear window that follows the line of the D-pillar. There is a rear spoiler both above and below the rear window. Citroen parks the C5 X on wheels with a size of up to 19 inches. Although they look big, they are quite narrow. Tall & Narrow wheels, Citroën calls them.
Interior and comfort
Citroen promises that the space in the back seat of the C5 X is more than ample. A lot of legroom is of course already conducive to comfort, but the butter-soft Advanced Comfort Seats are just as much. Citroën gives it the Advanced Comfort suspension with Progressive Hydraulic Cushions as standard. In the case of the C5 X Plug-in Hybrid, adaptive dampers are even involved. A first in Citro land. A large glass sliding and tilting roof is optionally available.
Citroën C5 X
The dashboard of the C5 X somewhat resembles that of the new C4 and is therefore completely Citroën New Style. Behind the wheel is a digital instrumentation and a 12-inch touch screen in the center of the center console. The new infotainment system is called My Citroën Drive Plus and is completely new, complete with widgets and customizable menus. Whoever wants it can also give voice commands. Depending on the chosen version, the C5 X, just like the new DS 4, has an Extended Head-up Display. This system projects information right in front of the driver, as if it were projected on the road surface four meters in front of the car. The width of the ‘display’ is more than half a meter.
More technical indulgence comes in the form of an extensive package of passive and active safety systems. For example, the C5 X is available with High Driver Assist, smart software that links the adaptive cruise control with stop & go function to Lane Keeping Assist, among other things. The list of available safety systems further includes things like Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Top 360 Vision.
Prices and extensive technical specifications are not yet available, which will follow in the run-up to the market launch in the second half of this year. Citroën expects a quarter of the C5 X buyers to leave a conventional D-segment station wagon at the dealers. About a fifth may switch from a D-segment sedan, while roughly 15 percent of C5 X customers currently have a C-segment SUV / crossover on their doorstep.
C5 in the Netherlands
Citroën has sold 47,748 C5s in our country. The C5 had its peak year in 2002, when no fewer than 10,394 C5s left the showroom. In 2003 the sales figures of the then available as hatchback and estate C5 with 7,080 units last exceeded 5,000 units. The second generation in particular, which was presented in 2010, no longer scored top marks in the Netherlands. In that year, the C5 2,201 units, which were available as a sedan and Tourer, found an owner and that was immediately his peak year. In 2011 and 2012, 1,522 and 753 copies were sold respectively. In 2013, the numbers dropped to just 317, after which they would no longer climb. From 2014 to 2017, Citroën sold only 240, 148, 50 and 14 C5s in succession in our country. On to the improvement.