Citroen C5 X 2023 Review

Built in China and primarily aimed at that market, the 2023 Citroen C5 X comes to Australia priced at $57,670 plus on-road costs.

A 4.8-metre-long hatchback with a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine, an eight-speed automatic transmission and – despite the X in its name – front- rather than all-wheel drive, the C5 X is pitched into a highly competitive part of the market.

Yes, there are the obvious European rivals such as the closely related Peugeot 508, the Skoda Superb and Volkswagen Passat that’s now only sold as a wagon in Australia.

But that $60K price point also slices right through multiple SUV segments as well.

To help its fight for attention, the 2023 Citroen C5 X has been dispatched to Australia in one highly-specified model.

In brochures it’s designated as the C5 X ‘Shine’, but Citroen Australia doesn’t bother with that in any of its press material. It’s just the C5 X.

The exterior is a feature in itself; lozenge-shaped with a long front overhang, clamshell bonnet, LED headlights and tail-lights, a sloped rear window, matte black cladding encompassing 19-inch alloy wheels and narrow 205-section rubber that emphasises the C5 X’s slender stance.

There’s also a panoramic sunroof, roof bars and a power tailgate.

There is only one non-metallic colour – blue. Three metallic grey variations (steel, platinum, amazonite) and black add $690 and pearl white premium metallic adds $1050. The pillars and roof are always black.

Inside, the seating is trimmed in black perforated leather, in line with predominantly dark cabin hues. The driver’s seat is eight-way power adjustable with memory and the passenger’s seat is six-way adjustable. The front seats are also heated.

A proximity key, push-button start, dual-zone climate control with controllable rear vents and adjustable ambient lighting are also standard. The C5 X replaces a traditional gear lever with a toggle and has an electric parking brake.

The spare tyre is a space-saver and there is no wiper on the rear window, which doesn’t help visibility during rainstorms.

The Citroen C5 X comes with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, five years’ roadside assistance and a five-year service program. Service intervals are 12 months/20,000km and add up to $2818 over that time.

Citroen has only a small sales and service network in Australia these days so you might want to consider that potential inconvenience if you live at all remotely.

The Citroen C5 X received four stars from Euro NCAP when it was crash tested in 2022. It has yet to be awarded an ANCAP rating, but it’s worth noting the two independent safety authorities have aligned testing regimes.

Under Euro NCAP the C5 X did well in terms of adult occupant and child occupant protection, but was downgraded for vulnerable road user and safety assist systems.

Key standard C5 X safety equipment includes front, front side and curtain airbags and autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with low-light pedestrian and cyclist detection.

There are no rear side airbags, knee airbags or a centre front airbag. AEB does not have pedestrian detection in reverse.

However, there is rear cross traffic alert, blind spot detection, active lane positioning and keeping assist and a choice of orthodox or adaptive cruise control, the latter with stop-and-go function.

The C5 X will also provide hill start assistance, monitor driver attention, warn of tyre under-inflation and recognise speed signs.

It has a 360-degree camera that can focus in on different parts of the car at a touch of the screen, plus front and rear parking sensors. There is no form of parking assistant.

Three child seat top tethers in the back seat are complemented by outboard ISOFIX mounts.

A customisable 12-inch touch-screen sits commandingly on the dashboard of the 2023 Citroen C5 X.

The driver is faced by a 7.0-inch digital instrument display that can be cycled through four moderately different views and a head-up display projected on to the windscreen.

Satellite navigation and audio functions are housed in the touch-screen, but thankfully there are still some physical buttons for the climate control and a volume button for the eight-speaker sound system.

In a Citroen first, the C5 X includes internet-based connected services that provide navigation-related info such as car park space availability, fuel outlets and prices, speed camera locations and accident danger zones. This service is free for the first three years of ownership.

Expected tech features that are standard include wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as wireless smartphone charging. Bluetooth streaming and DAB, FM and AM radio are all fitted.

There are USB-C outlets front and rear, 12V outlets in the cockpit and the boot and a voice recognition system that struggled to understand my Australian accent.

Our test car also appeared to come with an optional extra ghost in the machine. A variety of functions including the trip computer, head-up display and driver’s window auto-down all worked intermittently.

We’re waiting to hear back from Citroen on what might have gone wrong.

The 2023 Citroen C5 X is powered by a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine that is a familiar presence across many members of both the Citroen and stablemate Peugeot’s line-ups.

Dubbed Puretech 180 (its power in PS) by the Citroen marketing team, it is part of the Prince engine family jointly developed with BMW.

Double overhead cams, 16 valves, variable valve timing and lift and an aluminium block and heads are common Prince identifiers.

There is a plug-in hybrid version on offer overseas that is expected in Australia later in 2023.

In this guise it produces 133kW at 5500rpm and 250Nm at 1750rpm. Driving its front wheels via an eight-speed Aisin automatic, Citroen claims it will accelerate from 0-100km/h in 8.1 seconds

The eight-speed auto can only be manually changed via paddles on the flat-bottomed steering wheel.

Drive modes impact on the tune of the driveline but not the suspension, which is passive.

Officially, the 2023 Citroen C5 X achieves a frugal 6.0L/100km fuel consumption rate using 95 RON fuel and with the assistance of stop/start tech.

Over an extended multi-week test and more than 1000km of driving on a variety of roads, the C5 X reported a 6.9L/100km average.

That’s pretty impressive and reflective of the tare weight claim of 1439kg, which is pretty darn light for a car of this size.

The 2023 Citroen C5 X rides on the Citroen-Peugeot (PSA) EMP2 modular architecture that’s been through multiple iterations – this is V3 – and found homes underpinning models from other Stellantis brands including Opel and Fiat as well as Toyota.

The front suspension is MacPherson strut and the rear-end is a multi-link. Citroen applies its own thinking to the set-up, aiming for a comfortable rather than sporting character.

To achieve that the C5 X is fitted with what Citroen calls progressive hydraulic cushions – to you and me they are bump stops – that also allow softer spring and damper rates and are intended to absorb road irregularities with added suppleness.

The C5 X also comes with ‘Advanced Comfort’ seats that Citroen says use a special padding to increase comfort by acting like a mattress topper.

The result is a bit schizophrenic. On some roads – even quite rough ones – the C5 X really does have a comfortable, almost wafting, ride. Yet, it can also crash quite agriculturally through some bumps, lumps and holes.

The C5 X can also cruise along quietly on some roads, but then develops a noticeable tyre rumble on coarser surfaces.

The C5 X can hold itself in a lane pretty accurately via its semi-autonomous features. But they get tiresomely interfering on anything but a straight road.

There is a handy shortcut in the touch=screen to turn off lane assist. Doing that also seems to quell the various bings, bongs and doobly-doop warning noises the C5 X makes.

Despite its relatively pedestrian output numbers, the C5 X actually feels pretty peppy. It’s got strong tip-in throttle response from standstill, which means it gets into its stride pretty quickly. That’s great for round-town work.

Less encouraging is the low-speed calibration of brake and transmission. It’s very hard to progress smoothly in stop-start nose-to-tail traffic like you would find on a freeway in peak-hour.

The automatic engine idle-stop system also has a tendency to dither unpredictability, which can leave you a bit exposed when trying for that quick dive into busy traffic.

Then there’s the cruise control, which to me felt like it was easing up to the set speed then backing off and accelerating again. It set off a very subtle wave motion in the cabin.

At higher speeds on the open road the C5 X’s behaviour is courteous. Despite its soft settings it doesn’t wallow or scrub front tyres when cornering, and the steering is light yet accurate.

Switching to Sport mode adds some weight and a bit more engine and transmission sharpness, but nothing transformative.

Despite the cladding and raised ride height, the C5 X is not an off-roader. Gravel roads and easy tracks are its limit.

While the 2023 Citroen C5 X look a bit pinched in its stance, it’s claimed 1865mm width is about normal for a Euro wagon like this.

As a result, it doesn’t seem obviously narrow within the passenger cabin. Four adult passengers should fit comfortably enough, but a fifth sitting in the middle-rear won’t be happy.

Claimed space is generous in the boot at 545 litres. That grows to 1640 litres with the rear seats folded – something aided by handy flippers in the boot.

While length is fine, it does seem a bit constricted for width. Combine that with the sloping rear window line and there was a no way a large mountain bike could fit in with the front wheel attached.

The overall interior ambience is very dark, relieved only here and there by light trim and faux metal. It is all a bit too cave-like.

In the front, the big A-pillars don’t help the side view and the rear window is small and a long way away. It also doesn’t have a wiper to help clear the view when it’s raining.

The rear seat is raised to help passengers see out, but, again, it’s hard not to feel enclosed. You do get some appreciated features here like door and seat pockets and accessible vents, but there is no fold-down arm rest with cup holders.

Up front, storage is pretty generous and the driver can get comfortable with the help of the seat adjustment and the steering column’s reach and rake movement. The latter is stiff and has obvious friction, reducing the premium ambience.

And those seats? Very comfy to sit in, undoubtedly. But the lack of bolstering in the base left us feeling a bit unsupported.

We’ve avoided banging on about quirky Citroen at any stage in this road test. Globalisation, economies of scale and platform sharing have pretty much eradicated true originality from the French brand.

Instead, with the 2023 Citroen C5 X, the car-maker is presenting us with an orthodox wagon at a price that presents it with a myriad of rivals across the broadest of spectrums.

It’s hard to come up with a truly rational reason to elevate the Citroen C5 X to the top of such a long and impressive list. If you buy it, it’s with the heart, not the head.

2023 Citroen C5 X at a glance:
Price: $57,670 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 133kW/250Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 6.0L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 137g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Four-star (Euro NCAP 2022)