Citroen C5 Aircross review: How the SUV blew me away!

My short meeting with the car just left me aiming for the sky. What an experience it was!

BHPian vigsom recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Introduction

This is a brief account of my first meeting with a Citroën C5 Aircross that a close friend acquired recently. My friend and I went through more than two weeks of deliberations on various options before he eventually got what matched his requirements to the T.

Background

This friend was wanting to replace his 2013 BMW 320d Sport Line with a high seating highway car (he already has a 2013 Honda Amaze VX AT for local use) that should most importantly offer supreme ride quality and some sort of exclusivity on the road. His requirements were as follows:

Supreme ride quality (to prevent aggravation of his bad back)
Budget preferably sub INR 50L
Powerful enough to perform quick overtakes on median-less roads
Should be able to take plains and hills without fuss
Automatic
Preferably diesel with good fuel efficiency
Reliable
Reasonable to service
Comfortable ride and seating for three in the rear

Options considered

Although some of the options considered here didn’t meet his most important requirement viz. ride quality, they were still evaluated just to get to the right car.

Skoda Kodiaq
BMW X3
XUV700
Toyota Fortuner
Toyota Innova Crysta
Jeep Compass
Tata Safari
Tata Harrier
Maruti XL6
Maruti S-Cross
MG Hector Plus

After eliminating a few options out, he got in touch with Skoda for the Kodiaq, BMW for the X3, Maruti for the S-Cross, Tata for the Safari and Jeep for the Compass. The S-Cross didn’t appeal to him (understandably so since he had been using a BMW 320d), the Kodiaq was available only in black, the X3 was in a different price range, and the Safari test drive vehicle never came.

He didn’t want the Crysta since he already has an Innova (a 2005 EPS that is still doing duty at 2,43,000km), found the Fortuner to be bumpy, didn’t like the attitude of the closest Mahindra dealer, rejected the MG for its poor pick up. He became inclined towards the Jeep Compass Trailhawk 2.0 AT, but kept that as an option.

The Hector Plus that my friend saw

The C5 Aircross enters the fray

I knew about the C5 Aircross but wasn’t too sure of recommending him this option since this was a new entrant. I still remember how Peugeot came and exited, and didn’t want him to go through a similar experience. However, I did tell him that there was no harm in checking the vehicle out, since he was in Chennai when all these messages and phone calls were on between him and me.

Experiencing the C5 Aircross at the dealership

My friend was mighty impressed with the C5 Aircross when he visited the dealership. It takes a very strong marketeer to convince this friend to take a decision, but with the C5 Aircross, he was probably sold at the first test drive. What stood out during the test drive were the impressive ride quality and the pin-drop silence in the cabin. He saw all shades including the Cumulus grey before making a choice.

Perla Nera Black