Category: Sporting 4x4s 
Price Range: £23,345 to £25,945
Good to drive, smooth diesel engine, plenty of cabin space.
Rear seats only for occasional use, limited off-road, bland styling, lacks prestige badge.
Smart, capable and practical 4x4.
Here's where the C-Crosser excels. Think of it as a jacked-up estate car rather than a dynamically deficient old-school SUV. It has a lightweight aluminium roof that lowers the centre of gravity and reduces body roll.
It may have a lightweight roof but the C-Crosser is no Kate Moss. Its kerbweight nudges almost 1.8 tonnes and you might expect it to handle like an out-of-control grand piano, but it's surprisingly composed through the twisty bits. Overall the chassis is well balanced and grippy, if a little ponderous to react to inputs.
For the majority of driving conditions the big Citroen is front-wheel-drive although a circular dial in the centre console allows you to select automatic four-wheel-drive (up to 55% of torque to the rear axle, depending on speed). There's also a 'lock' mode with a 50:50 front/rear torque split if surfaces start to get slippery.
Off-road, the C-Crosser will be good enough for benign lumps, bumps and grassy knolls, but it's no Land Rover. When the going gets really rough, the Citroen will be limited by a relatively shallow ground clearance so don't start planning a trip over the Atlas mountain ranges.
This PSA 2.2 HDI engine is smoother and quieter than the Volkswagen 2.0 in the Outlander and, with a top speed of 124mph and a 0-62mph time of 9.9 seconds, it's substantially quicker, too.
It develops much more torque (285lb ft) than the VW unit and this gives additional pulling power mid-range which is especially useful for overtaking and towing.
The C-Crosser comes close to having the finest gearchange Citroen vehicles we've tested and that's because Mitsubishi makes it.
