2023 Citroen C5 X review: Australian first drive

French carmaker Citroen has always been known for its innovation, a company that dared pushed the boundaries both in terms of styling and engineering.

Front-wheel drive, unibody construction, independent four-wheel suspension, all hallmarks of Citroen innovation. And who could forget the Citroen DS, or the SM, or BX or or or… the list of iconically-styled cars from the double-chevron is seemingly endless.

But, with its new C5 X – which makes its Australian debut this month – the French brand has trodden an altogether more conventional path, even if it’s a path well-trodden.

The Citroen C5 X is, according to its maker, a large passenger car with many faces. It is, first and foremost a large car, styled like a station wagon but with a raised ride height (and the obligatory cladding) that lend it the air of an SUV.

Ask Citroen which of these three it actually is, and the response is cheerfully, ‘it’s all three’. For the record, the C5 X will be classified a ‘large’ car, meaning it plays in a small sandpit that includes the Skoda Superb and Kia Stinger.

Citroen’s local arm is keeping things very simple with the C5 X, with just a single highly-specified variant available locally. Keeping things even simpler, there are no options to be had other than paint, priced at either $690 for the grey/black palette of three or $1050 for the lone shade Pearl White. The only no-cost colour is Magnetic Blue.

The price for this simplicity? Try $57,670 plus on-road costs. That buys you a lot of Citroen.

Standard equipment highlights include dual-zone air conditioning, keyless entry and push-button start, 12-inch infotainment touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless phone charging, satellite navigation, Paloma leather seat upholstery, eight-way power adjustable seats, heated front seats, 19-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic glass roof, and Citroen’s Advanced Comfort hydraulic suspension.

From the outside, the Citroen casts an imposing shadow. It is, in every respect, a big car. That’s only accentuated by its elevated ride height, which while not SUV-like in its stature, still offers decent visibility and an easy of entry and exit that regular large cars simply can’t.

Out front, the Citroen grille, distinguished by its double-chevron logo bleeds into a V-shaped lighting signature, highlighted by LED head- and daytime-running lamps.

The C5 X’s profile is classic station wagon, with a long bonnet, raked windscreen and gently arcing roofline that leads to an elegantly sloped – powered – tailgate.

But, that profile is accentuated by SUV-like cladding around the wheel arches, which emphasise the C5 X’s utility.

It is a big car from any angle, and in a word, handsome, with proportions that should appeal to buyers who love station wagons but also appreciated the extra ride height more akin to an SUV.

Like its external design, the cabin presents as handsome, sitting well with Citroen’s stated desire to be considered a premium brand.

Swathes of leather, beautifully stitched and quilted offer a welcoming environment and feel like money well-spent.

Citroen says its trademarked Comfort Seats are underpinned by three separate layers of foam padding, the top layer, acting “in the same way was a mattress topper”.

Those seats certainly live up to the name, generously supportive, yet not overly soft. Comfortable, in other words.

The front seats are eight-way power adjustable and heated, for those super-chilly mornings. Finding the ideal driving position proved simple, the flat-bottom steering wheel, falling nicely in hand.

Quality materials are on show throughout the polished and plush cabin. Plenty of soft surfaces greeting probing fingers while different textured finishes add an interesting blend. We like the subtle, yet distinctive, Citroen chevron found throughout: from the dash fascia to the contrast stitching on the door cards, the chevron is a subtle nod to the brand’s heritage.

There are enough storage options for most uses – from the pair of cupholders to a central bin and generous door pockets, your day-to-day accessories will find an easy home.

It’s in the second row where the C5 X starts to show off its clever design, with a spacious area offering swathes of comfort for back seat passengers. All the key areas, certainly behind my 173cm driving position, were in abundance – foot, knee, leg and headroom all generous.

That’s accentuated by the light and airy ambience, the large full-length panoramic roof throwing plenty of light, even on a dull day in Sydney. There are air vents back there too, for passenger comfort, although no separate climate controls, while a fold down armrest is equipped with two cupholders.

Opening the tailgate reveals a big cargo area. It’s rated at 545 litres with the second row in use expanding to 1640 litres with the back seats stowed away. Accessing the cargo area is done via a powered tailgate which also features gesture control meaning you can wave your foot under the rear bumper to open or close the lid, handy when you have an armful off bags or baby or puppy dog.

A space saver spare wheel and tyre live under the boot floor.

A large, slimline 12-inch touchscreen hosts the C5 X’s infotainment setup.

It’s fitted with native satellite navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto along with wireless charging.

DAB+ radio is standard as is Bluetooth connectivity and Citroen’s connected services which provides an array of real-time navigation information including the location of fuel outlets along pricing (although when we checked the indicated price of petrol on the screen against the actual listed price at the servo, it wasn’t entirely up-to-date, a victim no doubt of our fast-moving fuel price cycle).

It’ll also provide information on parking availability as well as the usual live-traffic updates and recommend alternate routes in the case of heavy congestion. Connected Services is via subscription on the myCitroen app, and the first three years are free.

The infotainment screen is a sharp-looking set up but start digging a little deeper and things get a little confusing pretty quickly. The home screen can be personalised, and the system has been designed to mirror a smartphone, meaning you can move the various ‘apps’ around to suit your personal preferences. Our short launch test precluded us from digging too deep into its full features, but we’ll be sure to once we cycle the C5 X through the Drive garage for a longer, more in-depth review.

We used the inbuilt sat-nav for our launch drive and it worked just fine with clear, yet simple graphics and easy-to-follow directions.

A generous head-up display is excellent, projecting critical driving data onto the windscreen. Citroen says it’s the equivalent of watching a 21-inch screen from a distance of four metres. While that sounds it could take up some windscreen real estate, the reality is it’s subtly integrated. It can be configured to suit, from simple speed and speed sign recognition to satellite navigation.

A smaller digital driver display can also configured to taste but I found the head-up display so good, I hardly find used the more traditional dash-mounted display.

A total of four USB-C plugs – two in the front and two in the rear – helps keep devices topped up.

While the Citroen C5 X remains untested – for now – by either Australia’s safety body ANCAP or its European equivalent Euro NCAP, a full suite of active safety technologies is bundled into the French family hauler.

Standard advanced safety systems include autonomous emergency braking with low-light pedestrian and cyclist detection, and blind-spot detection with what Citroen calls ‘extended range, meaning it monitors blind spots up to 70 metres behind the C5 X.

There’s also active lane-keeping assist, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control with stop&go functionality, forward collision warning, tyre pressure monitoring, driver attention alert, front and rear parking sensors and four parking cameras that bundle together to provide a 360-degree top-down view.

Six airbags cover both rows of occupants while for those with little kids, the outboard rear seats are equipped with ISOFIX child seat mounting points.

While our short launch drive didn’t invoke too many of the C5 X’s safety systems, we can report the adaptive cruise control worked well while the high-definition cameras provide excellent all around visibility when parking.

The Citroen C5 X is playing largely unchallenged in the large passenger car segment, certainly in terms of what it brings to the table.

The Skoda Superb station wagon in Style trim, at $55,790 plus on road-costs, is priced similarly to the Citroen, the only two ‘large passenger’ station wagons under $100k in the segment.

To find a similar philosophy, we need to look at the ‘medium passenger’ car segment where the Volkswagen Passat Alltrack treads a similar path to the Citroen, with a high-riding station wagon built for ‘adventure’. But, unlike the Citroen, the Alltrack rides on an all-wheel drive platform, bringing added grip and surety to the party. It’s priced from $50,690 for the entry-level model to $62,690 for the Alltrack Premium.

Citroen covers the C5 X with its standard five-year unlimited kilometre warranty, which is on par for Australia’s new car market.

Servicing intervals are every 12 months or 20,000km, whichever comes first and ask for a total of $1601 over three years/45,000km or $2818 over five years/75,000km.

Citroen claims the C5 X is a frugal drinker, using just 6.0L/100km of unleaded petrol on the combined cycle. That figure was arrived at under the more manufacturer friendly NEDC testing protocol as against the more ‘real-world’ WLTP criteria that better simulates every day driving conditions.

The local launch provided a good opportunity to put that to the test and after around 140km of a mix of urban traffic, highway running and some rural backroads, we saw an indicated 8.7L/100km.

That’s not great against Citroen’s NEDC-based claim, particularly after some long stretches of motorway running at highway speeds.

The fuel tank measures in at 52 litres.

The Citroen C5 X is a big car to be hauled around by a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine.

Without outputs of 133kW and 250Nm, the C5 X can feel a little sluggish to get moving from standstill. On the move, it’s perfectly fine, but we found that initial surge of acceleration a little wanting.

An eight-speed automatic transmission sends drive to the front wheels, and when pressed, Citroen says the whole package can combine to propel the large wagon from standstill to 100km/h in 8.1 seconds. We didn’t get to test that claim at the local launch but it feels about right by the seat of the pants.

While lacking urgency, the C5 X’s is commendable for its predictability and refinement, There’s a linearity to the way it handles around-town duties, while out on the highway, the engine and transmission’s sweet spot soon become apparent. What the C5 X lacks in initial take-off acceleration, it makes up for with a strong mid-range that allows for effortless overtaking and a quiet and refined touring experience.

That’s only underscored by excellent sound-deadening that isolates road and wind noise with alacrity. It’s a quiet place, is the cabin of the C5 X, even at highway speeds.

And that’s only enhanced further by the excellent execution of the C5 X’s suspension setup which features Citroen’s trademarked Hydraulic Cushions.

It is in a word, artful, providing a plush ride under wheel that’s impossible to ignore. It’s decidedly supple and comfortable, isolating not just minor road rash, but bigger hits too such as potholes (and there are plenty of those on the greater Sydney road network at the moment thanks to months of flooding rains).

Comfortable seems an inadequate way to describe the ride but that’s exactly what it is.

It’s commendable and remarkable, and for drivers who value comfort in their choice of vehicle, you’d be hard-pressed to find a similar experience at the price.

The overall experience behind the wheel is best summed up as refined and comfortable, even if the 1.6-litre can on occasion, feel a little lacklustre.

But, countering that the Citroen C5 X isn’t intended to be a performance car. Instead, it’s a capable tourer, capable of ferrying occupants in comfort, space and style.

Citroen doesn’t get enough love in Australia, remaining the overlooked and forgotten European brand.

That said, the French carmaker has a small group of loyal devotees, and they will likely be tempted by the prospect of a large, touring wagon equipped with all the bells-and-whistles.

Whether the 2023 Citroen C5 X is the start of a renaissance for the brand in Australia remains to be seen. But, it certainly has the right ingredients.

A large, comfortable, and practical high-riding station wagon offers a multitude of purpose. We’d suggest if you have need of a spacious family hauler but remain a little put off by the prospect of a full-blown SUV, then this C5 X could well offer the solution.

It’s absolutely worth a test drive, if only to sample that cushioning suspension setup.