Truth be told, most of us automotive journalists share notes. Among those are our thoughts after driving a vehicle. And while the debates about features and performance can be quite heated at times, it is rare to discuss the quality of plastics these days. But after driving the new Citroën C3 Aircross, almost everyone else on the drive, to a fault, began questioning the quality of the plastics. And that was before the chatter about a host of features that the car lacks vis-a-vis the competition.
But that got me thinking, what cars is the Citroën C3 Aircross really going up against? Unlike the Honda Elevate I reviewed earlier this month, the C3 Aircross I don’t think should go up against the Hyundai Creta and its ilk. This is despite the fact that in terms of size alone, it fits into the C-segment SUV market. In fact, one reason I find it difficult to properly evaluate cars at first impressions drive like this one is that I do not know the price and without knowing the ‘value proposition’ of a car or SUV, you can’t really make certain statements.
Back to the car.
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Dimensions, features
This, the second car on Citroen’s C-Cubed platform launched in India after last year’s C3 hatchback, is a 4.3-meter-long SUV. It claims to be the widest vehicle in its class. For now, it only has a 1.2 litre turbocharged petrol engine with 110PS of power that is mated to a six-speed manual transmission. The only options buyers have by and large is between a five-seat and a seven-seat variant. The top-end variants we drove came with a digital instrument cluster that holds a slick Multi-Information Display (MID) and a large 10.2-inch infotainment cluster with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto enabled.
The C3 Aircross does not have several things. While some of those such as a branded audio system and an electric driver-side seat adjust are indulgences, other things like a sunroof and ventilated seats are increasingly becoming ‘must-haves’ in the segment. That has been given a miss. Yes, I know I’m no fan of sunroofs, but at least offer one? Heck, the car also doesn’t have an automatic air-conditioning unit or one-touch, anti-pinch power windows. The lack of the latter feature is something I discovered a bit painfully. Some of these things are what one would call hygiene factors and you scratch your head when they are absent. And before you ask, it obviously doesn’t have any semblance of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).
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The drive
The 1.2 litre turbo petrol is an enthusiastic unit and going up and down the East Coast Road (ECR) outside Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram), it urged you as a driver to give it the beans. The tall gearing on the car also encouraged one to rev it and the car picks up from 50 kmph in sixth gear to 80 kmph very quickly. The engine and transmission, as the French would say, has a joie de vivre.
Now for the practicality of the vehicle. I spent a lot of time with the seven-seat variant and this is the version I think has market potential. Because of the length of the car, the 200 mm of ground clearance and very comfortable ride, it could potentially give Maruti-Suzuki’s Ertiga competition. The Ertiga, like the C3 Aircross isn’t what one would call a feature-rich car. And the third-row is not a place I’d want to spend any time at all (I’m 5’11” and weigh 85kg). That is pretty much the same way I feel about all three-row cars, including the Innova. But to transport a bevy of children to school or sports practice, this works. There is one problem though, the Ertiga even in its private avatar sees significant demand for its CNG version and the C3 Aircross doesn’t have one. And I’m not sure you can make a turbocharged engine run on gas, even if you could, it will likely be an expensive proposition.
I also drove the five-seat version of the C3 Aircross. I really like the Cosmo-Blue and Polar-White dual-tone colour scheme. I have to admit that Citroen’s facilities in Chennai have one of the best paint shops in India. But while driving this car, the lack of an automatic option felt particularly jarring. Here is the thing, when you’re stuck in traffic, and if you live and commute anywhere in India, there will be traffic, you genuinely don’t want to exercise your left foot constantly. Citroën management assured the assembled media that an automatic was ‘on the way’; but I am curious why one wasn’t installed at launch.
That said, if this car is to make a mark in the market, it has to undercut the opposition significantly. It might even need to undercut the medium and top variants from a segment below it, vehicles such as the Brezza, Nexon, Sonet and Venue. Because they come with some of the features that the Aircross lacks and with superior plastics to boot. Would I change my opinion on this car, if prices start well under Rs 10 lakh? Maybe, but if it doesn’t, right now I can’t see a market case for it unless you really need that extra space. But the way I see it, the Indian car market has shifted toward being one driven by features above all else, even the much-vaunted fuel-economy. I do see a case for the seven-seat variant and maybe if Citroen fit their naturally-aspirated 1.2 petrol engine that does service on the C3 hatchback and add a gas version, it could really do well in the commercial and private markets.
@kushanmitra is an automotive journalist based in New Delhi. Views are personal.
(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)