[TusharK]

A test mule of the Citroen C4 Cactus has been spotted testing in India. The coupe SUV is likely to be here for benchmarking purposes.



The C4 Cactus features an unconventional exterior styling, much like most Citroen products. It has a rounded front fascia with headlamp clusters positioned on the front bumper, a slim grille up top, with LED daytime running lights on either side.



At the rear, the car has a raked windshield with a roof spoiler, and rectangular dual-pod LED headlamps. It also gets rugged cladding all around.



The car seen in these images is the old-generation C4 Cactus, which was unveiled in 2018. The C4 is currently in its third generation and is also available with an electric powertrain.

Source: Rushlane

[Cresterk]

I think at this point citroen should just gamble on introducing a sedan. Their SUVs/crossovers are clearly not generating much interest in the market. There is a decent void left behind by the accord, octavia and superb which they could try to fill.

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

I think at this point citroen should just gamble on introducing a sedan. Their SUVs/crossovers are clearly not generating much interest in the market. There is a decent void left behind by the accord, octavia and superb which they could try to fill.

I don’t think bodyform is the problem. Their crossovers look and drive just fine or if I may say they drive great. Their problem has been barebones feature list. You can’t have a 2010 feature list in 2022/23, that’s just not done. A proper AT box(TC/CVT) & 2022/23 standard feature-list is all they need to generate some interest in their C3.

[ron178]

This one is probably for benchmarking, but I really think bringing in a reasonably priced (T-Roc-ish) French-blooded CKD below the C5 Aircross could help boost their brand image and soften the blow delivered by the austerely equipped, cheap C-Cubed products, as well as make amends for the badly executed top-down strategy that started with the C5 Aircross and jumped straight to the "C3". But if anything it should be the new C4 and not the Cactus.

[GTO]

Citroen's products so far have been top-class! The C5 Aircross is brilliantly engineered, as is the C3 1.2L Turbo. What's murdering the product is a complete lack of understanding. The C5 was priced to fail, while the C3 was offered without features that are expected today by default. And no Automatic either.

Citroen can bring all the cars on the planet to India, but unless it takes time out to understand the local market, customer preferences and tastes, it will be a lost cause.

Take some time out, Citroen. Reboot. Hire some local geniuses. Then launch new cars. Your strategy has missed the mark by 10 km so far!

[arjab]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

I think at this point citroen should just gamble on introducing a sedan. Their SUVs/crossovers are clearly not generating much interest in the market. There is a decent void left behind by the accord, octavia and superb which they could try to fill.

Citroen can get, under the "2500 units per year" clause, Completely Built Up Units of select models from their "DS" series. They have some excellent vehicles in their line-up. If imported, in all probability the "DS" models & variants will have to be priced north of INR 30-35 lacs.
The problem is "DS" is a separate brand under the Citroen umbrella. At this juncture, when the mother brand is yet to establish its credentials fully in India, it will not be wise for Citroen to introduce / experiment with another branding exercise.

[shankar.balan]

Renault also did this top down thing in 2009/2010 and came in with the Koleos which was comfortable but ugly and no one bought it. The Fluence was also a good car but didn't have the appeal of a Jetta or Laura or similar.
To succeed they needed the Duster which came in perfectly on time and had a good long run. The Kwid, well it is there and just about offers an alternative to the entry level buyer. The Kiger and Triber seem to have helped to lift Renault’s head a little, because once the Duster went off, the brand had next to nothing to offer.

Citroen’s C5 is a superb vehicle. Extremely comfortable and very well engineered. But yes, it is priced to fail. And the poor C3, which is otherwise a good car, has simply not understood what Indian consumers set store by.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

I don’t think bodyform is the problem. Their crossovers look and drive just fine or if I may say they drive great. Their problem has been barebones feature list. You can’t have a 2010 feature list in 2022/23, that’s just not done. A proper AT box(TC/CVT) & 2022/23 standard feature-list is all they need to generate some interest in their C3.

That is true for the C3. But it is also impossible to compete with Kia/Hyundai with features at that price point simply because they have been cutting costs in places no one will see or touch in a showroom. For example, their white paint peeling off after a few years, the brake boosters on the Creta failing, the infamous immobiliser delete that lead to the whole kia boys debacle, unstable bodyshell etc all to save a few pennies where no one can see.

The C5 was decent but also had it's own shortcomings, mainly less features compared to the well established Jeep compass, Tiguan and Tucson. The people who don't care about features but wanted an SUV at that price range have only fortuner in their mind.

Originally Posted by arjab

Citroen can get, under the "2500 units per year" clause, Completely Built Up Units of select models from their "DS" series. They have some excellent vehicles in their line-up. If imported, in all probability the "DS" models & variants will have to be priced north of INR 30-35 lacs.
The problem is "DS" is a separate brand under the Citroen umbrella. At this juncture, when the mother brand is yet to establish its credentials fully in India, it will not be wise for Citroen to introduce / experiment with another branding exercise.

It wouldn't be hard to just sell them under the citroen brandname if they want. If toyota and maruti can literally swap badges and sell each other's cars, this is nothing

There is a massive gap in the 20-50L bracket for sedans. After the discontinuation of the Octavia and Superb, there is just a massive void for people looking for a premium sedan without going to the big 3. Most salarymen can't afford to stretch all the way to a german luxury brand and the repair/service costs that come with it. They would be more likely to compromise and try out a decent looking, premium sedan from Citroen despite the low number of showrooms and the bad attitude of their salesmen.

[McLaren Rulez]

Just wondering, but how is the car on the road without plates unless it was transported on a flatbed?

Since it's completely undisguised, I'm not sure if the point is to launch it in India or if it's there for other reasons.

[raj.barcode]

Went for a test drive with c5 some time ago, amazing driving experience till asked family to get into back seat, those stupid 3 individual seats were a deal breaker. Those seats are designed for those skinny French models. What were they thinking !!

[Arctsian08]

This looks so much better than recently launched C3 Aircross.

[BleueNinja]

Originally Posted by GTO

Citroen can bring all the cars on the planet to India, but unless it takes time out to understand the local market, customer preferences and tastes, it will be a lost cause.

Take some time out, Citroen. Reboot. Hire some local geniuses. Then launch new cars. Your strategy has missed the mark by 10 km so far!

This is what I have been wondering as well. Any car manufacturer planning to enter India can take Kia as an example and see how well they did their market research and then had success. I don’t necessarily condone their behaviour of providing sub-par body shells but hey! It’s working for them.

Don’t these manufacturers do research on their part for what will or won’t work?

I highly appreciate cars like C5 Aircross and C3 (to some extent ? ) but one is off priced and another isn’t specked out well.

I think what they need is a perfect balance between C5 and C3. A well priced car which is decently kitted. They can launch the product within 12-21 lac price bracket.

[ComboCutter]

Originally Posted by BleueNinja

I think what they need is a perfect balance between C5 and C3. A well priced car which is decently kitted. They can launch the product within 12-21 lac price bracket.

I believe that is what they are planning with the C3 Aircross (just not kitted well)

C4 likely sits above in the 20-30 lakh OTR price bracket.

[arvindmanju]

Not sure if this is C3 or C4, spotted this test car today at Indiranagar Bangalore.

[SS80]

Spotted a test mule today on Bannerghatta Road, Although I could not click its Interiors but noticed the Citroen logo on the steering wheel. The car wore steel rims with 205/65R16 tyres. The car sounded a little coarse on acceleration and had a Petrol sticker on the fuel tank lid. The car is larger than a Nexon but smaller than a Seltos. Does anyone know which model this is?