FAMILY CAR REVIEW: 2023 Citroen C5 Aircross

How big is the boot of the 2023 Citroen C5 Aircross?

The boot of the 2023 Citroen C5 Aircross is very generous in size. The boot floor can be dropped down about 10cm, giving a lot of extra depth making it easier to fit all types of prams in the boot without removing the parcel shelf.

When empty, I could fit thirteen bags of shopping in the boot of the Citroen C5 Aircross, which is the same as the Honda CRV, one more than the VW Tiguan and the Renault Koleos. Two less than the Toyota Rav4 which holds fifteen and the Kia Sportage which holds sixteen bags of shopping in the boot.

A twin side-by-side pram fits really comfortably in the boot of the C5 Aircross with four shopping bags beside it…

… or a double pram fits in the boot with six bags of shopping beside it.

A single pram fits in the boot of the Citroen C5 Aircross with six bags of shopping.

The boot floor is flat and carpeted making it comfortable for a medium size family dog or perfect for an emergency nappy change.

How good is storage inside the 2023 Citroen C5 Aircross?

Storage in the front of the C5 Aircross is great. There are two cup holders in the central console that will hold a re-usable or disposable coffee cup and in front of them is a little well I found good for the key.

The central console storage box is a really good size and I did transport both a bottle of wine and a bottle of milk in there!

In front of the gear lever is a wireless phone charging tray and a 12V socket and two USB sockets.

The glove box is an odd shape inside and it would hold my wallet and iPad with the manual.

The door bins in the front are large and will hold a large refillable water bottle and an iPad and wallet easily fits in them too.

There is no glasses case in the ceiling which was disappointing but there are lit vanity mirrors in both front visors.

In the back storage is minimal, the door bins will hold a refillable water bottle and wallet.

There are net map pockets on the back of both front seats that will hold but not conceal an iPad and that's it, there are no cup holders for the rear seats. There is a USB socket in the back of the central console box in the C5 Aircross for rear passengers to charge devices.

How noisy is the 2023 Citroen C5 Aircross?

The Citroen C5 Aircross is a lovely quiet BabyDrive, the double glazed front windscreen and side windows make for a peaceful journey, you really notice it when you get out of a car without it and into the C5 Aircross you notice just how cocooned you are from the usual road, traffic and wind noise and stimulation when driving which is great.

The media system in the 2023 Citroen C5 Aircross is easy to use. It is controlled by the buttons on the panel underneath the air vents, the air con controls are within the media system and easy to use.

The Citroen C5 Aircross has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto…

… which is great so you can access your phone and Apps while driving.

You can control the vehicle and driver settings through the media screen too as well as sat-nav and media.

The reversing camera image is quite small on the screen, you do get the birds-eye view as well which is helpful when parking.

You can move between camera angles easily at the bottom of the screen.

You can turn the parking sensors off within the driving functions screen of the media screen.

The Citroen C5 Aircross has a child lock button by the drivers right knee that is easy to turn on. The child lock setting is remembered and each time you start the car a box appears on the drivers display to say the child lock is on. This is a great reminder for parents at the start of each journey.

The cruise control is on a stalk tucked closely behind the steering wheel, the controls are incredibly easy to use.

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!

That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.

If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?

It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?

A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.

Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!

I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.

The windows can be locked from the driver's door control panel. I found both the doors and windows to be really nice and quiet and would not disturb small sleeping passengers when opening and closing them.

Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out and drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!!

So this is a very important test as I have found that sometimes I have been held hostage by a cars BEEEEPING alarms when I have taken off my seatbelt or opened the door while the engine is still running!! (I only stand outside the car, I am not a bad mother!!)

The Citroen C5 Aircross is really nice and quiet to drive, the steering is very light and it has a really small turning circle which makes it particularly easy to drive around town and suburbs and easy to park in school and supermarket car parks. The ride is lovely and smooth and the memory foam seats are amazingly comfortable!

There is a seatbelt removal alarm and a really good visual in the ceiling where the sunglasses holder usually is.

PIC SEATBELT REMOVAL VISUAL

How many child seats fit in the 2023 Citroen C5 Aircross?

The 2023 Citroen C5 Aircross has a very family friendly back row of seats. The rear seats are three individual seats so you can fit three passengers comfortably across the back row. Each rear seats moves independently so you can slide each one back and forth to distribute legroom however you need it.

There are ISOFix in the two outer rear seats. They are not within plastic guides but are really nice and easy to connect to.

There are top tether anchorages on the back of all three seat backs. The central one is not labelled but the outer two are. They are easy to access and connect to through the boot.

Three Infasecure child seats fit really easily across the back seats. I installed the Infasecure Adapt More Infant Capsule rear-facing behind the driver, an Infasecure Achieve More in the central seat and an Adapt More forward-facing behind the front passenger seat.

All three child seats fit really nicely on their individual seats with enough room around them for the cars seats to slide individually without the child seats hitting on the one next to it.

Legroom is quite good and we could just fit a 180cm driver in front of the Infasecure Adapt More Infant Capsule.

The rear footwell has a very low hump in the central footwell which makes it more comfortable for the central passenger and kids will find it easier to walk through to their seats either side.

Posting Bub into their child seat from outside the car is really nice and easy in the Citroen C5 Aircross, the doors open nice and wide. From inside the ceiling is high enough that posting Bub into their seat from inside is good too. There are handles above both the second-row doors to hang a child's toy.

Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!

There is plenty of room to feed Bub in the back if you only have one child seat installed.

How comfortable is the 2023 Citroen C5 Aircross? And How good is the 2023 Citroen C5 Aircross to drive?

The 2023 Citroen C5 Aircross seats are SUPER comfortable! Both the front and back seats have memory foam in them which makes them nice for around town and I mostly appreciate them on long journeys.

Both the front and rear seats are perforated leather with stitch details. All have a strip of contrast fabric and stitching along the upper back.

The front headrests are adjustable in the C5 Aircross which is wonderful so you can have a ponytail!

I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!

PIC HEAD RESTS

For a mum travelling in the back with Bub, all three seats are super comfortable too.

There is not really any hump in the central footwell, which is great for central seat legroom and makes it much easier for kids to walk through the car to get to and from their child seats if I needed to get her out of the other door which happens often.

For the first year of Bub’s life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with Bub so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!

The steering wheel was fully adjustable in/out and up/down.

There are six air vents across the front dash, two little air-conditioning vents at either end and two larger horizontal ones on the central dash.

There are also two air vents in the back of the central console box for rear passengers as well and a USB socket for them to charge their devices.

The controls for the aircon are within the media screen, they are nice and easy to reach and use while driving.

The Citroen C5 Aircross I tested has an enormous sunroof, so the interior lights are way in the back behind that.

I have found Bub does not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it’s really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.

Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON’T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a five-minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it’s not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!

It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.

Visibility in the Citroen C5 Aircross is quite good, I didn't encounter any problems with visibility in my time driving it.

One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the C5 Aircross was easy to park especially with it's tight turning circle.

Aesthetically the 2023 Citroen C5 Aircross is a great looking SUV on the outside and has some really nice interior styling and the seats are incredibly comfortable.

How safe is the 2023 Citroen C5 Aircross?

The Citroen C5 Aircross scored a four-star ANCAP safety rating in 2019.

Scoring a total of 87% or 33.4 out of 38 for adult occupancy. Broken down into 7 out of 8 for the full-width frontal crash test, 6.34 out of 8 for the frontal offset test. Full marks for the side impact test and 7.04 out of 8 for the pole test.

For Child Occupancy protection the Citroen C5 Aircross scored 43.6 out of 49 which is 88%. Broken down into 15.61 out of16 for the dynamic front, 8/8 for dynamic slide. Child restraint instillation scored 12/12 and onboard features score 8 out of 13.

ANCAP said of the testing: In the frontal offset test, protection of the neck of the 10 year dummy was ADEQUATE, while the protection offered to all other critical body regions of both the 6 and 10 year dummies was GOOD.

In the side impact test, protection of all critical body areas was GOOD for both child dummies.

The Citroen C5 Aircross is fitted with lower ISOFix anchorages on the rear outboard seats and top tether anchorages for all rear seating positions.

Installation of typical child restraints available in Australia and New Zealand showed that all of the selected child restraints could be accommodated in each of the rear seating positions and full points were scored for this assessment.

Six airbags come as standard; Dual frontal and side chest-protecting for the front row and side head-protecting (curtain) airbags for both outboard positions.

As standard, all models of the Citroen C5 Aircross come with seat belt pre-tensioners in both the front seats and rear outboard positions, anti-lock braking system (ABS), autonomous emergency braking (AEB) for the city, Interurban and VRU, automatic headlights, automatic high beam, blind spot monitoring (BSM), daytime running lights (DRL), hill launch assist, electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), electronic stability control (ESC), emergency brake assist (EBA), emergency stop signal (ESS), fatigue reminder, forward collision warning (FCW), lane departure warning (LDW), lane keep assist (LKA), speed assistance auto/intelligent/manual speed limiter, speed sign recognition and warning and trailer stability control and tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) all come as standard.

Options available as in New Zealand are adaptive cruise control (ACC), automatic high-beams and fatigue detection.

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Bub’s asleep!