Citroen C5 Aircross - Harsh ride

[Mantisman]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone can shed any light on my 2019 Citroen C5 Aircross 2.0 Blue HDi Flair Plus having a harsh ride? I've just bought it to replace my C5 Tourer Exclusive X7 and not sure if I've just been spoiled by the C5's Hydractive magic carpet type ride!

The Aircross is very "jittery" on country roads and even on what appears to be smooth motorway surfaces, I'm feeling bumps that don't seem to be there!

All the reviews I read before buying the car raved about the smooth ride with it having the Progressive Hydraulic Cushion dampers but mine is awful. So bad, I'm thinking about selling it if I can't solve the problem.

The car has only done 18K and I presume has the same tyres on it from when it was new. They're Michelin 235 / 55 / R18 Latitude Tour HP and the tyre pressures are correct. I was pleasantly surprised that it had 18 inch wheels when I bought it as all the Flair Plus models that I'd looked at previously had 19 inch wheels which would probably have made the problem worse.

Do you think it could be something to do with it it having 18 inch wheels when the car is designed to have 19 inch?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Regards,

Ian

[GiveMeABreak]

Yes, you've been spoiled.

You won't get the same ride as with a hydractive vehicle, but before you do anything drastic, you should take a ride in other vehicles too in order to get used to the adjustment.

My C3 Aircross is a positive bone shaker on most roads with bad surfaces (99.9% of them here) as the C3AC was not fitted with progressive hydraulic cushions. However my relatives have a C5 Aircross and the ride is great in comparison. So much so, that I will in future be replacing the standard dampers with the KYB Excel shocks (PHC) as they made them for Citroen as original equipment for the vehicles with this system, and are not available as an an aftermarket upgrade for my vehicle

So yes the ride is not going to be the same - there's no self-levelling for a start, but barring anything wrong with your vehicle, I think you'd be hard pressed to get any better in the same price bracket to be honest.

[Mantisman]

Hi Marc,

Thanks so much for your quick and helpful reply. I guess I'll just have to get used to it, but I will do as you've suggested and try test driving some other cars.

Such a shame that Citroen stopped using the Hydractive system!

Regards,

Ian