[TheGearBox]

I had stated my prediction for Citroen in India in another thread
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...-2021-a-2.html (Indian Automotive Predictions for 2021)

Originally Posted by TheGearBox

Citroen- If they load their cars with lots of features and bling, then they could become the next Kia in India. I just hope they prepare their sales and service network for it.

I guess pricing is the final ingredient they have to get right for a successful entry into our market.

[PrideRed]

C5 looks like a well sorted allrounder. Reminds me a lot of the Duster- Wide cabin, 5 seater, excellent ride and both are French. Yes they belong to different segments but the French Mantra remains the same. While the car seem to be potent, I have my doubts on the brand. Jeep when launched already had lot of fan following and used a lot if its past legacy, also Compass had first mover advantage. Citroen, is hardly known(Except for the cool Amby ad) and to start with, will only have 10-15 dealers across the country. All said, a killer price tag should do wonders given the car is well sorted.

[Shreyas_H]

Great review of a very interesting car!

This feels like a nice sorted premium product which is clear about it's comfort oriented USP. Good to see that the engine and gearbox are great too. Seems to come with most creature comforts that will keep owners happy

Full size spare with alloys is great, most manufacturers still skimp on that! I personally also loved the font they have used on the display - just like the car's design, it is funky yet classy.

A nice low launch price will see them getting a lot of enquiries! Wishing the best for the newest entrant on the block. More competition and more good products only means great choice for us as the consumers!

[alexpaul]

Front bumper houses SIX parking sensors and a wide air dam. Notice air intake with a silver border on each side. While the one on the left is functional, the one on the right is sealed:

Isn't that risky to place the air intake opening at such low height in bumper. High probability of water ingress while travelling in normal flooding scenario

[07CR]

Excellent and quick report of one of the most anticipated car's !! Thanks team.for.making this available within one hour of the embargo ending.

Few doubts-

1) What are the two blank spots just beside the front map lamps ? Are those for ambient light?

2) Is there a way to configure map view in the MID. Imo this is a underrated safety feature and certainly very good to have.

3) How is the throw from LED headlights?

[kung_foo_fanta]

Hello Aditya & GTO! Thank you for yet another comprehensive review for one of the most awaited models of the year. Hopefully may Citroen realize their follies of the past and figure out a proper pricing strategy. And like you said, it's not like they don't have ample examples to learn from, from the Indian market itself.

I like the interiors. It's a little grey. It has a bit of leather. But it's a nice change from all the other beige-overloaded ones or the pure black ones. I don't know if I will like it in person, but it seems likeable in pictures. Any idea how difficult it is to maintain in the long term? Like did you guys feel that it picks up stains or gets dirty with moderate use?

I also have a query regarding the ride and quality and since I had this doubt prior to the Indian launch itself, I read the "Suspension" part very carefully.

Originally Posted by Aditya

Suspension

Ride Comfort

All the bumps & joints on the road are absorbed very well by the suspension... The C5 Aircross offers the kind of ride quality that is simply perfect for Indian roads.

Handling & Dynamics

High speed stability and composure are excellent - just as we would expect of a European car. There is no floatiness or bounciness on the highway.

In fast corners and on twisty roads too, the car has good poise.

It's just that in the European reviews that came out earlier for the 2020 model, there were reports of the car nose-diving on hard braking from medium speeds as well as pronounced body-roll during high speed turns which would make moderate speed hill climbs or other similar a little troublesome especially for the rear passengers, probably due to the soft suspension tuned for comfort.

When I read Team-BHP's review, it sounds like Citroen have learned their lesson and tightened up the suspension a little to ensure that the ride quality remains great while the body roll in high speed turns and nose-diving got eliminated. Is that the case?

[Vid6639]

Great review Aditya and GTO. The C5 looks promising for India.

They have the right first product for India and are launching in right trim levels of almost top spec variants. India loves features so pointless to launch lower trim levels.

After seeing the review, I have some glimmer of hope on pricing. The C5 is well loaded in useful features such as:

1. Blind spot assist
2. All round parking sensors with park assist
3. Panoramic sunroof
4. Digital cluster

But, it does miss out on features that are there in the segment but are not deal breakers such as:

1. No electric tail gate
2. No passenger electric seats
3. No 360 camera
4. No rear sunblinds
5. No premium audio with subwoofer
6. No ventilated seats
7. No wireless charging

These features are nice to have but if without these features they can price the car lower and entice people with the premium feel, low NVH levels they might do well. I would surely miss the 7 features above but if that helps them duck below the price point of Tiguan Allspace and closer to Tucson and Compass I will be pleased.

The glaring bit is the lower "Feel" variant doesn't even get LED headlights and makes do with halogen reflectors!

Originally Posted by alexpaul

Isn't that risky to place the air intake opening at such low height in bumper. High probability of water ingress while travelling in normal flooding scenario

That's not the air intake for the engine but what it means it's an air inlet for probably the intercooler. You can see from the engine bay pic that air intake is right on top of the engine bay looking upwards.

[starrys987]

Excellent review to start the day. As has been mentioned multiple times, pricing is key.

To me, 24.99L for base, 26.49L for top variant seem the bull's eye for Citroen.Will help them sell some numbers and establish the brand here. They need to undercut Compass to convert the ever confused Compass buyer's like me who are not willing to spend the unwarranted premium that Jeep is demanding

@GTO, @Aditya Saw some pictures where the Citroen top management was constantly having discussions with the auto reviewers. Any insights if they heard the auto journos on the pricing aspect?

AutoCar mentions a expected price of Ex-Sh at 30L, which will take the on-road to 38-39L. At that price, C5 will likely not succeed in India.

[shobhit.shri]

Originally Posted by GTO

Superb's ambience feels more luxurious for sure, although the C5 Aircross is also premium. The Superb is a large family car that can be chauffeur-driven, while the C5 Aircross is one heck of a personal-driven crossover.

How would you compare it with Kodiaq or Tiguan? I guess those will be its primary competitors.

[sunny29584]

Great Review as always. Tough task ahead for Citroen especially with Kushaq & Taigun coming up, they need to get the pricing right in the middle of Seltos to Compass in order to sell.

Also, the width of 2099mm (Endy 1869, Fortuner 1855) is very large and can be an issue. (most of the stack parking (city like Mumbai) permits a max-width of 2000mm)

[k10_nag]

It’s hard to talk about a new car player entering Indian market without speaking of Kia. Kia has set a new benchmark on how a manufacturer should enter India. Cars with great value and excellent sales network did the trick for Kia .
I hope Citroen has done enough homework and releases Air Cross at the right price. They are entering a segment without too much competition and that will work in their favour. I wish them all the best.
The more manufacturers the better for Indian consumers.

[fhdowntheline]

@Vid6639- I thought I saw the Electric tailgate release as part of the video shot by Sid Patankar.

Looks really promising. Although I wonder what strategy will they have so as not to affect Jeep (considering they are probably going to share Showrooms). Because I feel if priced at 23-27 lac on road, it is more VFM than the Compass any day, and Compass doesnt have a 2WD diesel AT yet.

[DicKy]

Wish Citroen success, and waiting for their cheaper models to hit the market.
With NA petrol, turbo petrol and diesel as well. Hope they don't go the petrol only way in the cheaper models.
Afterall, they are the world leaders in diesels and our market had been using french diesel engines for decades in some form or the other.

Hope they change their stance of no diesel for mass market models, since they already make the 1.5l diesel here in India.

Regarding the C5 Aircross, image builder for the brand.
Since I didn't really expect Citroen to go the length and change the LHD orientation of most controls, not disappointed.

But the lack of rear armrest is a bummer. They could have easily did something like the middle bench doubling as an armrest when put folded.

Like said above by others. Pricing is key. They really need to establish the brand here more than building up an upmarket image.
Nothing better than happy first customers and vehicles on the road.

[Reinhard]

Fabulous review. Thanks for sharing guys. I have had the opportunity to drive multiple PSA Groupe cars (of course as rentals) over last few years. The cars are quite neutral to drive. Nothing out of the world - but comfortable family cruisers often. Get the job done and keep every occupant happy generally. I have been a fan of the C4 since a long while - from the days of Sebastien Loeb. C5 is not one that I liked a lot in the past. Citroen also has "Picasso" versions of their small cars - blown up with larger cabin spaces as family cars / monthly shopping cars. The C5 Aircross goes beyond that in a big way. Barring the 2008 face-lift C4 Coupe (on which Loeb's WRC was based) and the latest Generation ESPACE, I have not managed to like the looks of a Citroen car generally. The same continues with the C5Aircross. That said - I don't hate the looks. Its unique and does grab attention. Overall fit & finish was good when I saw these in the EU and seems the same has continued into the India market car.

Its rather stupid (but not new coming from a European car maker) - that the cabin is kept LHD oriented. Rather arrogant I'd say - that the start stop button is also kept LHD aligned!
(Also worth noting that features like ventilated seats, connected car tech - which people seem to want even in sub4m cars now a days - are missing. Let's see if customers "ignore" this just because its a European brand and not a local one while still paying a premium pricing. I have a feeling the car won't be priced as competitively as people want it to be. Looking forward to price release.)

Whether its oversight / French Quirkiness or part-sharing I dont know. But why use a twin-exhaust pipe end-can setup when the exhausts are pretty much completely hidden away & not visible at all unless from under the car?

What I love the most - its a typical old-school European car with a powerful and efficient DIESEL engine with a good gearbox. Brings back the "good-old-days".

[speedmiester]

An excellent review.
Citroen has a potential winner if they price it sensibly at launch and provide top notch service.
This car appeals to me at many levels. Though I am not in the market for a new car for the next two years, I will definitely check it out and if it is as good as I believe it is, might take the plunge.
Hope Citroen does not go overboard with the pricing.

I see an issue with the bonnet design, the scooped out parts can collect water and other debris. Not something that an Owner likes to see after a drive in the rain. It can be a pain to remove the water from the scoops.