• Fuel economy of all models is competitive
• Puretech 180 works best on long journeys
• Plug-in hybrid works well on shorter journeys

How much is it going to cost to run?

The most cost-effective version is the petrol PureTech 130: when we tested it, it averaged around 40mpg in real-world driving. This is the version most people buy on account of its combination of good value pricing and lowish running costs.

There’s only one choice for company car drivers or those who have a shortish commute (and a plug-in point at the office) and that’s the plug-in hybrid (PHEV). Battery range is around 30 miles in EV mode, and a neat touch is the way the car will warn you if you’ve not plugged-in after 10 days of use, an acknowledgement that PHEVs work better when regularly topped up. There’s a 20km (12 miles) e-save mode for those who need to leave some battery capacity aside on longer journeys for a city run at the end of the journey.

In our extended six-month long-term test of the PHEV, contributor Adam Binnie summed up: ‘For the bulk of the test, I was charging the car before every trip and getting 60mpg+ (one tank came in at 73mpg) and filling up from nearly empty every 500 miles or so, which is pretty good. This was mostly doing journeys under 50 miles, though, which is right in the C5 X’s sweetspot. Later on, with some longer trips and less charging I saw 50 and 40mpg between fill ups, and finally a 34mpg tank thanks to a long motorway drive on a flat battery.’

The plug-in hybrid versions all come as standard with a 7.4kW single-phase on-board charger, a Mode 3 charging cable with a Type 2 connector, as well as remote temperature pre-conditioning. A custom user interface displayed on the central touchscreen helps drivers get the most out of the hybrid system – showcasing remaining range and the driving mode in use.

Servicing and maintenance

Citroen offers a servicing package that you pay for up front for up to three years or 35,000 miles. This is available for the first year from when the car is registered. The warranty lasts three years ot 60,000 miles, although you can extend this further as long as the car is less than 10-years old and has fewer than 100,000 miles on the clock.

In an era of seven-year warranties from MG and Kia, as well as up to 10 years’ support from Toyota, the level of coverage seems a but stingy.

Reliability

• Based on existing Peugeot-Citroen models
• Citroen’s reliability much improved of late
• Quality has also lifted over older models

The Citroen C5 X is based on the same basic parts bin as a number of other Peugeot, Citroen, DS and Vauxhall models. There is nothing wrong with this (Volkswagen has been doing this for years) because the latest crop of models from the brands have been far more reliable than their predecessors.

So, although the C5 X reliability figures are only just coming through, if it follows the same pattern as the dependable Peugeot 3008 and 5008 there’s not too much to worry about. Only one minor recall has been issued so far.