Citroen Ireland offered a preview to journalists this morning of two models which they plan to have with us in March of next year, writes Brian Byrne. The key one was a prototype version of the new C5 X D-segment car, a hatchback on a long wheelbase and with a very stylish look.
A flagship car for the brand, it will be available at launch as a petrol and plug-in hybrid, and a fully electric version is due in 2023. Comfort will be the key selling point with a very quiet drive and the brand's Advanced Comfort suspension and seating. There was no drive opportunity, but the car will also come with all the driver assist safety and connectivity technologies that would be expected from a fully-equipped premium level car.
The C5 X will be built in China, where the D-segment remains a very strong part of the car market, and which will give the model enough volume to be viable in Europe where the medium and large family car arena is now dominated by the SUV-crossover trend.
At the other end of the spectrum, we also got to see and drive briefly the Citroen Ami 2-seater electric city car. Without frills, and measuring less than 2.5 metres long, this arguably ugly-to-the-point-of-cute offering has a range of 75km and can be recharged in three hours from a normal home electricity socket.
At the moment, market designation is being assessed by the Irish authorities, and pricing will be dictated by that, but the distributors are hoping for a sub-€10,000 slot. Top speed is 45km/h and a full driving licence is required. It will only be available in LHD format.
More information on both offerings in the new year.
