Citroen reveals the new C5 Aircross

Citroen has drawn back the covers on its second-generation family SUV, the C5 Aircross.

Compared to the first-generation Citroen C5 Aircross, the new car has a more muscular design with improved aerodynamics for better efficiency. As before, it's designed with comfort and versatility as priorities, and promises more interior space, especially in the back.

A range of electrified powertrains will be available, inclulding mild-hybrid petrol, plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and fully electric with up to 422 miles of battery range. Citroen also says the electrified models won't lose any boot space due to battery packaging.

The C5 Aircross will arrive in Europe late in 2025, and will be a rival to cars like the Vauxhall Grandland and Peugeot 3008 (with which it shares numerous mechanical parts), the Dacia Bigster, the Toyota RAV4, the Nissan Qashqai and more.

New 2025 Citroen C5 Aircross: price and release date

No UK on-sale date has yet been announced, and nor have prices. We know that it'll arrive in Europe in late 2025. We'd expect prices to start at around £35,000.

New 2025 Citroen C5 Aircross: exterior and interior

Compared to its predecessor, the new Citroen C5 Aircross has gone down the gym, with a more muscular look and larger dimensions. It's now got a longer wheelbase and measures 4652mm in length and 1902mm wide, which is longer and wider than before, but the height has dropped slightly for a racier look.

There's an all-new look and, on electric models, a fully enclosed panel on the front to improve aerodynamics. It rides on alloy wheels up to 20 inches in size.

Inside, Citroen has continued the "lounge on wheels" philosophy that's served it well in the past, with plenty of soft-touch materials, thick foam on the seats, electrically operated side bolsters and optional heating, ventilation and massage functions for the front occupants.

The headline feature when it comes to infotainment is the "floating Cascade" portrait-orientated touchscreen down the centre of the dashboard – the largest such device in any Stellantis vehicle – which has a variety of customisable widgets that hopefully make it easy to use on the move, despit a lack of physical buttons and dials. The system includes Citroen's own assistant feature with integrated ChatGPT, as well as wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There are dual Bluetooth connections and a 15W wireless charger, as well as USB-C and 12V sockets in the front and back.

In the back, there's more space than ever before, with reclining backrests for extra comfort and a 651-litre boot, which is huge – almost 150 litres larger than the Nissan Qashqai. Fold down the back seats (which split 40:20:40) and that capacity increases to 1668 litres. The boot lid is electric as standard. Citroen also promises up to 40 litres of additional storage space, including a big glovebox, door bins, and a space under the front centre console.

New 2025 Citroen C5 Aircross: engines, gearboxes, motors and batteries

The entry-level powertrain for the new Citroen C5 Aircross is the Hybrid 145, which uses a 136PS, 1.2-litre petrol engine with a 12PS electric motor and a 48V battery. This mild-hybrid system, which is built into a dual-clutch automatic gearbox, can let the C5 Aircross run for up to 50% of urban journeys on electric power only, which Citroen says can cut fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by around 15% compared to a standard petrol car.

The Plug-In Hybrid 195 model steps things up with a 150PS petrol engine and a 125PS electric motor, delivering a total of 195PS through a seven-speed automatic gearbox. The PHEV's 21kWh battery provides up to 53 miles of electric-only driving, and charging up to 7.4kW.

The full-electric e-C5 Aircross will be available in two versions. The Standard Range model has a 210PS electric motor and a 73kWh battery for a range of up to 323 miles, while the Extended Range model has 230PS and a larger 97kWh battery for a 422-mile range, according to official figures. The Standard Range car can charge from 20% to 80% in 30 minutes using a 160kW rapid charger, while the Extended Range car takes 27 minutes.

Both cars have an 11kW three-phase charger, and from 2026 an optional 22kW charger will be available. At the same time, Citroen will introduced Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) capability, letting you charge appliances from the car using a traditional plug.