Citroen C5 Aircross - MPG, CO2 and running costs

​Those looking for the best economy should look to the C5 Aircross plug-in hybrid. It uses a PureTech 225 engine, but with an electric motor sandwiched between the power unit and the eight-speed automatic gearbox. 

Citroen claims this setup can return up to 36 miles of all-electric range, along with CO2 emissions of just 33g/km, and the official WLTP combined MPG figure stands at over 200mpg. However, as with most PHEVs, you’ll struggle to achieve this outside of a laboratory. It wouldn’t be unrealistic to expect over 60mpg with regular charging, though.

The 1.5 BlueHDi 130 diesel also offers impressive fuel economy, returning a maximum 54.1mpg along with CO2 emissions from 129g/km.

If you opt for petrol power, the PureTech 130 engine returns a claimed 48.9mpg and emits as low as 128g/km of CO2. There is a slight efficiency penalty if you opt for the eight-speed automatic, though, as this is slightly thirstier and pushes CO2 emissions up to 140g/km.

Tax

There’s no fully-electric version of the Citroen C5 Aircross, so company car drivers will be best off with the plug-in hybrid model, because this incurs the lowest Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) tax rate.

Insurance 

Insurance groups for the C5 Aircross are reasonable, with petrol, diesel and mild-hybrid models ranging from group 18-21 (out of 50). Premiums for the more powerful plug-in hybrid versions will be more expensive as they sit in group 28.

Depreciation

Citroen has a history of offering dealer incentives and discounts, meaning the C5 Aircross can be found with an appealing monthly finance rate. In some respects, this is a safer way into an Aircross than purchasing it outright because it insulates you from depreciation – a factor that has not been particularly kind to Citroens in years gone by.

As it competes in one of the most hotly contested segments of the market, the C5 Aircross isn’t performing brilliantly when it comes to retaining its initial value. Our expert data predicts the Citroen will retain an average of 39 to 49 per cent of its value over three years and 36,000 miles, with the PHEV faring the worst.