Who wants a big car nowadays? The market for D-segment cars, as the industry calls them, has been in decline for years, overtaken by sales of SUVs and crossovers, and many believe the D-segment is in the last-chance saloon - step forward the new Citroen C5 X.
Citroën has bucked the trend and re-entered the fray with its flagship C5 X model.
But what exactly is it? Well, according to the French, who love a little mystique, it is a mix of a saloon, an estate, and an SUV. As the old saying goes, a camel basically is a horse designed by committee, and a similar result was possible here. Instead, despite its complicated pedigree, the C5 X actually is one of the most beautiful new models on the road today.
I drove it this week in the hills and mountains of Catalunya, not far from Barcelona, and my first thought on seeing it in the flesh was, wow, formidable! At its core, it pays homage to Citroën bodystyles of times past, with a long bonnet, angular rear overhang, and a slender, tapering glasshouse with a high beltline thrown in.
In a nod to SUVs, the driver's seat is higher than in a standard saloon, but the boot has a low and square loading aperture, which focus groups demanded. At 4,805mm, it is a long car, with width of 1,865mm with the door mirrors folded, and height of 1,485mm, which offers outstanding headroom even for the rear seat passengers.
In Association with
The familiar chevron trademark is built into the grille, but the chevron motif pops up everywhere in the V-shape design of the headlights, in the detail of the daytime-running LEDs and, in the cockpit, worked into the dashboard upholstery.
The so-called Lounge interior is upholstered in warm materials, especially on the Advanced Comfort seats. I wrote here a few weeks back about the electric Citroën ëC4 and told you it had the most comfortable seats in any car. They feature here too, offering armchair comfort as you drive thanks to padding the company likens to a mattress topper.
The car comes with Citroën Advanced Comfort suspension as standard on the 1.2- litre PureTech 130 and 1.6- litre PureTech 180 petrol-only versions, while the 225 plugin petrol-electric hybrid adds active suspension with individual dampers changing in microseconds to adapt to the road surface. With a choice of three modes, the suspension control system enhances the effectiveness of the Progressive Hydraulic Cushions by relaxing the suspension to create what they call the magic carpet effect.
To be honest, I thought this made the car feel just a little spongy in corners, of which there were many as the roads wound around sharp gradient switchbacks. Flipping the drive mode to Sport helped tame this a little, but I still felt a bit too cossetted when a more engaged drive might have suited me better.
That said, the suspension combined with excellent noise proofing makes this among the quietest of all cabins; in the hybrid, you'd barely believe you were driving at all.
On the motorway, the C5 X is hard to beat, because with Level 2 autonomous driving, you really have very little to do as the car brakes itself to maintain distance and speed limits, while a large heads-up display keeps you appraised of the satnav directions without ever having to take your eyes off the road.
Speaking of the satnav, it went into a sulk at one point when I missed a turning, but with Apple CarPlay as standard, my co-driver set up Google Maps on the 12-inch touchscreen.
As for connectivity, you get four USB-C ports, and a wireless charging plate big enough to fit the latest iPhones. The screen interface is very like that of a tablet, and endlessly customisable, with voice command also standard.
For those who want lots of storage space, the boot holds 545 litres, or 1,640 litres with the rear seats folded flat, an operation you can perform standing at the tailgate rather than having to open the side doors. You also get an electric sliding sunroof.
I liked the 180hp version, but the 225hp plug-in hybrid really is the one to go for (or wait until next year for a full electric version). With 225hp available when the engine and electric motor work together, you get acceleration from 0-100kph of 7.8 seconds.
Citroën claims that most buyers will drive on electric power only, at up to 135kph, thanks to the 50km range of the battery. As always, I'd deduct about 20% off that for real-world driving. Charging on a 7kW home wallbox takes less than two hours.
The car is due here in May, and no pricing has yet been announced.
As a guide, I suspect it will come in somewhere around the price of the Allure trim of sister brand Peugeot's 508 SW, which costs around €45,000. I'll confirm that, or get a pleasant surprise, as soon as I hear.
In many ways, it would represent great value. Whatever about the slightly tepid drive, the Citroën C5 X doffs its cap to nothing else for luxury and comfort.
