A lot has been said about the Citroën C5 X because this car was designed to answer a lot of questions: what will the brand’s comeback in the mid-size segment be like, how will a new car concept be proposed without repeating what has already been done. The answers to these questions are all in the design story published in Auto&Design no. 249, but the questions are all but finished. At a brief press reveal organised in mid-July, where it was possible to see the car up close, we had evidence that the C5 X still has more to tell and more answers to offer to those who might be wondering whether the DS brand, following its separation from Citroën, would take away all the pursuit of elegance and exclusivity that has always been part of the Double Chevron brand, or how it might be possible to make such different souls coexist in a single car and whether the new flagship would purposely recall its links with those of the past. The answers lay within three images.
The innovation drive that made Citroën’s flagships appear as alternative models, even at the top end of the range, can be found in several technological solutions in which, however, practicality prevails: the large head-up display that covers an area of 21″ is the answer to the boundless displays that are so popular today, but proposes a concept of simplicity closer to Tesla’s example. Technology is both present and highly advanced but it is not seen until it is needed, hence becoming the best expression of luxury for the third millennium.
If you look at it almost up front, the roof’s design holds yet another surprise: the elongated rear window disappears behind the central pillars, leaving the viewer with the silhouette of a sports saloon, almost a four-door coupé, in which the tail volume, embellished by the double spoiler, only emerges as the eyes move around. And for those looking for any historical references, there is the beltline that rises towards the rear, clearly recalling the XM. Which, incidentally, could be raised on hydra-active suspensions, obtaining a suspension balance very similar to the standard one on the C5 X.
