Citroen C5 Aircross PHEV review

A quick glance at my test car diary tells me that in the last six months 60 per cent of cars I’ve driven have been a hybrid of some sort. The same proportion of cars in the next four months (lockdown permitting) are also hybrids.

It’s a sign of where the car industry is going that virtually every new model to market offers some form of hybrid drivetrain and plenty of existing cars are being retrofitted with mild, full or plug-in systems to cut CO2 emissions and offer claims of otherworldly economy.

The Citroen C5 Aircross is among the latter. Launched a couple of years ago with a traditional line-up of petrol and diesel engines, its ranks have now been bolstered by the arrival of a plug-in hybrid system shared with various other models in the PSA/Stellantis group.

At the heart of the C5 Aircross PHEV is a 178bhp 1.6-litre petrol engine and an eight-speed automatic gearbox. Between them lies an 80kW electric motor powered by a 13.2kWh battery. This can be charged in around two hours via a 7kW charger or six hours using a domestic three-pin socket. The official range is 31 miles of electric power but that’s dependent on several factors, including the weather. During a cold January week we never saw more than an indicated 20 miles on a full charge. It was at least accurate - matching the estimate pretty much exactly each time.