Citroen has changed up the engine range of its C5 Aircross SUV. Though the most powerful petrol engine has been dropped from the range, it’s been replaced with a new, lower-powered model paired to the same eight-speed automatic gearbox.
The 1.2-litre, three-cylinder PureTech 130 offers, as the name suggests, 130hp and can now be paired to Citroen’s EAT8 automatic transmission as well as the six-speed manual offered previously. This is the same eight-speed auto offered across much of the Citroen, Peugeot, Vauxhall and DS range, and we’ve always found it to be smooth and quick-witted.
It’s available in mid-spec Flair and top-spec Flair+ trim levels, where it costs from £28,335 and £30,535 respectively.
It’s the only automatic petrol in the range following the departure of the 1.6-litre PureTech 180, which has been dropped as Citroen looks to reduce its average CO2 emissions.
Helping matters along is the re-classification of the BlueHDI diesel engines, which have seen their official CO2 figures drop. All versions of the BlueHDI 130 with manual gearboxes see a reduction of 3g/km across the board, while the automatic’s figure figure drops by 5g/km.
This means that the cleanest diesel C5 Aircross, the BlueHDI 130 automatic, emits just 100g/km of CO2.
Citroen’s still set to introduce a plug-in hybrid version of the C5 Aircross later this year, with even lower CO2 figures. This will share technology with Peugeot’s forthcoming plug-in hybrids, based on the 508, the 3008 and the 5008.
