What exactly is this thing? It’s bigger than a hatchback, but with its rakish rear screen it’s not exactly an estate car either. It also sits quite high on its springs, so maybe there’s a dash of crossover SUV in there too.
The C5 X is Citroën’s new flagship, the plug-in hybrid Shine Plus model tested here the most expensive of them all. It costs £40,000, which in this age of 60 grand Kias doesn’t seem too bad.
I’m not expecting scores of you to spring forward at once declaring it the most beautiful car on sale right now, but at least you can’t call it derivative. Meanwhile the cabin is spacious and it feels nicely upmarket with good materials and plenty of tech, although at times the infotainment system and the digital display within the instrument binnacle tried my patience. You always grow accustomed to these things in time, but the best are intuitive right away.
With a turbocharged petrol engine working alongside an electric motor, combined power output is 222bhp (all to the front wheels), which is more than enough. A 40-litre fuel tank probably isn’t and might prove to be an irritation. The 12.4kWh battery gives an electric-only range of up to 38 miles, says Citroën, but if you squeeze more than 30 out of it in normal use I’d be impressed. Even so, I do like zipping around town using just the motor.
The steering is light and quick, as it should be in a car like this, while the ride is exemplary. The C5 X uses conventional struts up front, a multi-link setup at the rear and conventional springs and dampers, like most cars, rather than the hydropneumatic suspension of Citroëns of old. It means this car doesn’t quite glide over speed bumps and the like the way an SM would, but the rest of the time it’s wonderfully smooth and serene.
This must be the most comfortable new car on sale today under £50,000. For a very particular kind of driver, that must make it pretty irresistible. I like that it has precisely no sporting pretensions (not even the pointless sport driving mode made it feel at all sporty) but it finds its way around an empty roundabout or through a sequence of bends at speed well enough. So what exactly is this thing? It’s a big Citroën – a proper one.
Citroën C5 X Shine Plus PHEV
Engine: 1598cc, four-cyl, turbo, plug-in hybrid
Transmission: 8-speed auto, FWD
Power: 222bhp @ 5500rpm
Torque: 184lb ft @ 1750rpm
Weight: 1826kg
Power-to-weight: 122bhp/tonne
0-62mph: 7.9 seconds
Top speed: 145mph
Price: £40,210
Ti rating 7/10
