Citroen C5 Aircross SUV PHEV will now NAG you to plug-in after software update

The Citroen C5 Aircross SUV plug-in hybrid will now nag you to plug in and charge after Citroen rolls out software updates.

It’s claimed by those who see plug-in hybrids as a ‘fake’ way of getting car buyers to go electric that owners almost never plug in and simply drag around a lump of batteries and an electric motor to help them feel ‘green’.

There’s an element of truth to that as you don’t need to plug in a PHEV to be able to use it, and we’ve long thought it would be sensible to force recharging after a certain time and mileage or the car wouldn’t work to ensure it was being used as intended.

Now, in a similar vein – although not quite as drastic – Citroen has updated the software in the C5 Aircross PHEV to nag owners that they really do need to plug in their PHEV to get it to work as it should.

Now, if you drive your C5 Aircross for more than five days – or 10 journeys – without showing it a plug, the touchscreen will remind you to find a plug, and if you ignore it for 30 days it’ll nag you twice a day.

But despite the arrival of the plug-in nag, it seems C5 Aircross owners are already doing pretty well, with 55 per cent of customers already charging their cars once or twice every 62 miles, and 55 per cent of journeys under 25 miles are done as EVs, so Citroen’s C5 Aircross owners are already doing pretty well.