Citroen is returning to South Africa, and the vehicle hitting the showroom first will be the new C5 Aircross SUV. The C5 comes across as a stylish compact SUV with fairly modern features to help liven up the daily route to work. Citroen hasn’t had the best reputation for reliability in the past, however, the brand’s build quality and refinement has gradually improved, now delivery good all-round vehicles.
Citroen has pulled out all the bells and whistles when it comes to resources and has loaded them onto the new C5 Aircross. The French automotive company has designed the C5 to suit day-to-day tasks required from an urban family car. Citroen has targeted the C5 Aircross to a market that is looking for a spacious vehicle with plenty of comfort features for long distances. This means the C5 has a 520-litre boot which expands to 720 litres once the adjustable boot floor is lowered. After the rear seats have been folded down there is a rather large 1 630 litres of boot capacity available. Five adults will have no problem fitting into Citroen’s new SUV. Isofix points also make it easy for a child seat to be fitted on the back seats.
As for interior features, there’s many and it’s easy to see that Citroen’s new vehicles will be able to compete with some of the most obvious rivals, such as the Volkswagen T-Cross and BMW X2. As standard, the C5 Aircross gets an 8-inch touchscreen display, dual-zone climate control, digital drivers display as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Ambient lighting is a standard feature on the C5 aircross wireless smartphone charging is an optional extra.
Citroen has managed to pack the small-sized SUV with plenty of new automotive technologies. Some of the biggest and most advanced technologies include; Blind-Spot detection, Driver Attention Assists, Hill Start Assist.
The exterior has some of the most modern designs from the French automotive company yet, funky 3D taillights and headlights make the Aircross look attractive and distinctive. Citroen has only made the C5 available in four colours, a red colour being an optional extra. The Citroen C5 Aircross is rated as one of the most comfortable small SUVs on the market today, this is purely because of the advanced comfort program which Citroen has added to the C5. Originally this system was used by Citroen in rally events and competitions. The system contains progressive hydraulic cushions in the suspension set-up, the front seats have also been designed to improve shock absorption by adding memory foam in the lumbar support beams.
As for the engine specs, Citroen has given the C5 Aircross a punchy 121kW 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine which is married to a 6-speed automatic gearbox.
Overall the C5 Aircross is a good vehicle for what it is intended to be, which is a fuel-efficient family car. Citroen has stepped up their game when it comes to offering what their target audience wants. This is very important when producing a SUV, especially in SA as there is a large market for small-sized family SUV’s. For the first time, Citroen has given their German rivals some serious competition. The price for the C5 Aircross is not confirmed yet but it’s safe to say that it will be lower than the price tag of the German automobiles.
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Please note the imagery supplied in this blog was taken off www.cars.co.za
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