Citroen C-Crosser

The Citroen is good looking and practical, but expensive.

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On the road price: £22,795 - £25,995
For : Practical and good to drive, attractive styling, seven seats
Against : Way too pricey, lacks Citroen’s usual panache, substandard third row of seats

Driving
The C-Crosser offers just a single 156bhp 2.2-litre diesel option. It’s genuinely strong, though, with an eager alertness and fair refinement, while the gearshift is tight and the brakes impressive. With its low centre of gravity and firm suspension, the C-Crosser handles pretty positively too, with responsive steering and decent body control. However, this has implications for the ride; it’s too stiff over bumps. It’s also not a genuine off-roader, despite its switchable 4WD, since ground clearance is modest. Deep ruts pose problems for the big Citroen.

Marketplace
As a nation, the French have not embraced 4x4s in the past. Even now, the Citroen is not a true home-grown compact SUV, but the product of a collaboration (along with sister company Peugeot) with Mitsubishi. Citroen doesn’t have high sales hopes, but while we can’t see buyers being attracted by the name or image, we can see the styling drawing them in. It’s bold and smart, with neat detailing. There are two variants, VTR+ and Exclusive. Both have all the essentials but it’s the Exclusive that looks best, with chrome trim and 18-inch wheels; then again, so it should, with its high list price. Sadly too, there’s no automatic gearbox option.

Owning
The C-Crosser is big, but the boot is tiny when the third row of seats are in use, and folding them is both hard work and leaves a cluttered load bay. But the sliding second row is accommodating, and the split tailgate is useful. The fuss-free design lacks the feelgood factor, though, and build quality isn’t outstanding. At least driver comfort is good, with well-bolstered seats and a steering wheel that is good to hold. Visibility is decent. However, while the engine has a lot going for it, economy isn’t a strong point; we averaged just 30.3mpg on test. The need for a service every 12,500 miles means it will be expensive too, and we were surprised at the high pence-per-mile costs our experts predicted. But strong retained values are a positive.