Citroën unveils its new concept car with all ‘living room’ amenities for passengers

The new Citroën C5 Aircross has been revealed with a bold new design language and the option of electric power for the first time, as the French brand renews its assault on Europe's crucial crossover market, reports Autocar.

Based on parent company Stellantis' new STLA Medium architecture—like the Peugeot 3008 and Vauxhall Grandland, the second-generation C5 Aircross is the flagship of an overhauled Citroën line-up, sitting above recently refreshed and renewed versions of the Ami, C3 and C4.

As promised to Autocar by designer Pierre Leclerq, the production version of the new C5 Aircross stays true to the bold concept car revealed last year at the Munich motor show, retaining the minimalistic two-box silhouette of the outgoing C5 Aircross but with a wide-reaching focus on aerodynamics in a bid to increase efficiency.

It's bigger than the Mk1, having grown 150mm in length to 4652mm to facilitate a substantial 60mm increase in wheelbase—"almost all of which is in the rear leg room," according to Citroën.

Citroën has exploited the more substantial footprint to create what it calls a “C-Zen Lounge” inside, where "occupants are seated as if in a living room.”

The dashboard in particular has been designed with influence from traditional living room furniture, with distinctive foam fabric padding reminiscent of a sofa and available in a choice of light or dark colors. So, too, can the ambient lighting be configured in eight colors.

At the center of this new dashboard is an expansive “floating” touchscreen that Citroën says is the largest yet fitted to a Stellantis car. It largely replaces physical controls but has been designed for ease of access on the move, with fixed status and control bars, programmable widgets and direct access to the climate control.

Smartphone mirroring and a 10in digital display are equipped as standard, and drivers can use the “Hello Citroën” voice control function to control various in-car functions—with AI support from ChatGPT.

And a head-up display—30% larger than that of its predecessor—is available as an option.