I drove the new Citroën C5 Aircross – it’s the ultra-comfy family SUV that puts smooth rides over sporty thrills

CITROEN buyers love comfort just as much as they love garlic. 

The French-leaning softies. 

Citroen’s next family car, the C5 AircrossCredit: Supplied

The Citroen C5 Aircross has loads of space and a properly cushy suspensionCredit: Supplied Here’s their next family car. It’s the second generation of the C5 Aircross and carries on where the first left off.

That means loads of space, comfy seats for everyone, and a properly cushy suspension.

Other crossovers try to be sporty.

That’s not how this one rolls. C5 Aircross is more about family life than tyre squeal on roundabouts and sharp acceleration.

It looks pretty distinct and chisel-edged, but not in an aggressive way.

There’s a lovable R2-D2 look to its face. The rest of the body has some neat tricks to cut aero drag, which improves motorway economy. Like those winglet rear lights.

Inside, the seats and dash look like modern furniture. The sort you’d find in a smart hotel.

There’s plenty of storage in the cabin, even if I couldn’t find the minibar. Maybe it was hiding in some dark corner of the huge boot.

Family peace Up front, you’re sitting very comfortably. But Citroen didn’t just stop there.

In the back, it doesn’t feel like the cheap seats. They’re trimmed just as nicely as the fronts. There’s heaps of rear legroom, sockets, pockets and vents. Even a bit of electric recline on most versions.

That said, if you had the old C5 Aircross, with its three individually sliding rear seats, your kids might be a bit cheesed off. But you can distract them with the display screen.

It runs down the centre of the dash, with a snappy response to your touch, and smooth graphics. Most important, it can show the album art and navigation map at the same time.

Are we nearly there yet? What’s this song? Two critical answers. Family peace restored. For deeper questions, it has ChatGPT.

The suspension is set up for comfort, but has a second layer of springing.

So when the road really bucks and dips, the car stays serene rather than pitching like a dinghy. It’s a surprisingly well-controlled thing to steer. That should stop the passengers getting sick.

Up front, you’re sitting very comfortably. But Citroen didn’t just stop there

Even so, you don’t want to throw them around. So let’s go with the least powerful version of the C5 Aircross Plus at £33k. It has a little three-cylinder 1.2-litre engine.

There’s also a small electric motor, but not a plugged one.

This is a mild-hybrid. It just means the small battery recoups energy when you’re slowing down. Then the motor supplies a little extra shove when you get to a 60mph sign at the edge of town.

The engine and motor are mated together by an automatic transmission that shifts with no fuss.

If you can charge cheaply at home, there’s a pure electric version at £36k, and it’s pretty good. It has an official range of 320 miles — call it 250 on a mixed journey — and smoother acceleration.

Finally, there’s a plug-in hybrid, a petrol/electric combo that saves Benefit In Kind tax.

Now, there’s a reason I mentioned garlic at the start.

People who buy French cars are a certain type. They wouldn’t entertain the idea of an apple-pie Jeep. Or a fish ’n’ chips Vauxhall.

Yet Jeep, Vauxhall and Citroen are all owned by the same corporation, Stellantis. Under the skin, the new Jeep Compass, Vauxhall Grandland, and this Citroen C5 Aircross, are not far short of identical.

Even if their outsides and cabins are almost entirely different.

The choice is yours. But the Citroen’s the comfy one.

The vehicle is decked out with comfy seats for everyoneCredit: Supplied

It can even connect to ChatGPTCredit: Supplied

This Vauxhall Grandland and the Citroen C5 Aircross, are not far short of identicalCredit: Vauxhall

Under the surface, the new Jeep Compass is also pretty similar to the C5Credit: Supplied