For its first two generations, the Citroen C5 was pretty much your typical mid-size European offering, available as both a four-door sedan as well as a station wagon. At the same time, it did manage to stand out in a crowd of Mondeos and Passats, thanks to sleek styling and quirky interior features. The second-gen C5 even came with a fixed center hub steering wheel, which took some getting used to.
Then there was the comfort, which the C5
held plenty of. If you’ve ever been inside a model with hydropneumatic
suspension, you’ll definitely know what we mean. Let’s just say that the ride
was very smooth. So what’s the deal with this upcoming next-gen C5? It’s
obviously neither a saloon nor a wagon, but more of a crossover with generous
ground clearance, featuring a fastback rear end design.
There’s not much we can tell you with
regards to design language, but it should mirror the all-new C4 as far as
various body lines and perhaps even grille design. The overall shape is clearly
different though, with the C5 being the larger vehicle. Unfortunately, we don’t
see a lot of similarities between this prototype and Citroen’s stunning
CXperience concept, but the company’s product and strategy director, Laurence
Hansen, did promise us “splendid” results, while adding that the upcoming C5
will be “a really important car” for them.
We’re also hoping to see a more
conventional-looking interior, once those images do become available, while
modern day safety and convenience features are a given. As for what’s going on
underneath, we suspect that the new C5 will ride on the PSA Group’s EMP2 platform, the same as a Peugeot 508. The latter is powered by
a wide range of gasoline and diesel units, including a hybrid option.
Citroen will unveil the all-new C5 either
later this year or sometime in 2022, as a direct rival to the all-new Ford
Mondeo, which is also morphing into a crossover.