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-   -   Citroen C5 Aircross Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/233292-citroen-c5-aircross-review-22.html)

I have seen one in silver colour once few weeks back. It was a Kerala registered one, but not in the local RTO. I couldn’t take a picture though my dashcam might have a short video of it.

The Atria mall dealership here in Mumbai shut down, a couple of months ago, a friend was keen to get one due to its uniqueness and build quality, but I dissuaded him and suggested to choose the similar priced S model from Jeep ( coincidently their showroom is literary opposite the now shut Citreon one) albeit overpriced but still a proven vehicle on the Indian and with all necessary creature/modern comforts.

Hope this is not covered anywhere in this thread.

I was casually browsing Citroen website, when I came across this pricing information and was kind of shocked to see Citroen mentioning "Handling charges" under other charges :Shockked:



To my knowledge, handling charges are illegal in our country and I have seen several posts here complaining about dealers enforcing this malpractice and calling the manufacturers as innocent. But then here, we now have a manufacturer who has launched a product with disastrous pricing strategy and on top of it, is blatantly charging and publishing this information on their website :Frustrati

So, had a test drive of the shine variant at my home on Saturday. Here are my observations.
-The C5 Aircross looks fantastic, everyone at home loved the design.
-Doors are heavy and close with a good solid thud.
-The front driver's seat is powered but passenger seat adjustment is manual. Seats are very comfortable.
-Dashboard is nice and low and the view outside is fantastic. Hood is visible too. Top of the dashboard is mostly made up of soft touch plastic. However, hard plastics are also used where it is slightly out of your reach. Plastic quality is good though. Lower down the dashboard is all hard plastic.
-Dashboard is clearly designed for LHD cars and it seems French did not bother to make it right for RHD cars.
-Rear seats are comfortable as well (all three of them) with good recline angle which can be adjusted. Under thigh support can be better. I am 5'11" and I had just enough room to sit behind my driving position.
-Boot is well shaped and is big.
-Now, there are very little or no vibrations felt inside after turning the engine on/off, my Nexon shakes like a truck on engine start/stop.
-In comfort mode engine has enough grunt to keep you happy and will put a smile on your face in sport mode. However the power delivery is linear. The gear box is well mated to this engine. The gearbox is not lightening quick but its not bad either. You will find yourself in the correct gear almost every time.
-Now, let's talk about the ride quality. Honestly speaking, its very good. But sharp potholes did filter through the cabin especially at the rear, I suspect this could be due to incorrect tire pressure. Otherwise large potholes were no issue at all.
- The car was white in colour with those red accents. The red accents could have been blackened or can look better in white/body colour. But it is not a deal breaker for sure.
-The car had clocked around 1400 kms.
-Rear left door handle was broken, as per the sales person it happened during a test drive with another customer.
-The new dealership which is opening up in Mumbai will be handled directly by Citroen.
-So far 31 bookings have been made in Mumbai and guess how many are delivered to customers? ZERO.:Shockked:
- When I asked about offers, SA said currently there are no offers to which I told him to get back to me only when you have any sort of offers.

Overall the car is solidly built with good drivability. One of the rare cars which ticks all the boxes for almost everyone except for the price. It is not worth 38L.
30-32L is the ideal OTR price for this car.

A 40 lakh price is preposterous for such a car :eek: . Cant understand why the pricing is so unrealistic

Thx

With harrier XZA+ at 25 lakh, does this deserve 5-7 lakh premium over it?

In Citroen's world they are giving you an X1 for less, at least they think this is a premium brand - clearly it has not worked.

Harrier is more likely to remind you of that 25L a few months into ownership, you know the phrase about something that lasts long after price is forgotten.

Yes I would say so, it has a proper European feel to it, with excellent build. Panel gaps are also uniform unlike TATA cars. At 38 L , I would not even touch it but if discounts can bring the price to 30-31L, I would consider it.
Just before Test driving the C5 aircross, I had a test drive of the A4 and the Q2.
Q2 is extremely well built and fun to drive but priced almost twice for what it offers.
I have not had a look at the Harrier or the Safari but I feel TATA has a lot of catching up to do in terms fit and finish and QC.

Having seen just 2 specimen on the road till date, I say the car looks smart. But it can't pull off that 38L price tag. Citroen should have launched cheaper models instead and built it's brand before launching the C5.

That said, expecting a 20-25% discount on the current price is unrealistic, IMO. Such discounts and price cuts would do a lot of damage to the brand. They should have launched it at attractive introductory prices (25-30L ex-showroom?) and then jacked up the prices slowly.

I have also seen only 2 cars, one in Vapi with GJ15 plate and other being the one which I had called for test drive.
Yesterday, Citroen Mumbai followed up with me, I said at this price I can not even think about buying it, there are many other options like the Compass, Tucson, Upcoming XUV7oo. The lady asked for my expected price to which I said if I can get it at about 30-31L then I can think about it.

Has anyone compared the VW Allspace and The C5? I think that would be interesting. Or to a Skoda Kodiaq? The Tucson is too old for them to be compared now. Maybe after they launch the new updated model. Jeep Compass vs C5 vs Allspace. I know the latter is a petrol unit but apart from the fuel type, both might attract similar kinda customers. Self driven who like the feel/practicality of an SUV but not a full blown ones like the Endeavour and the Fortuner, which might become cumbersome in the city. The do it all one car you can have.

Saw one yesterday, infact it was ahead of me (rather I was tailing it) from Ahram to Mohan Cooperative Area in Delhi.
My impressions are as under:
1. Ride : it was sailing over rain battered sections. Thumbs-up to French DNA.
2. Exterior Apperance : smooth & high quality. In fact a notch above anything from VAG Group. They both are essentially in executive segment, not luxury marquees.
3. Size : definitely bigger than Compass & Tucson. Again a Plus for me.
A question to myself - would I buy it? Not sure for brand, but for Diesel engine. However, it's in top strata of my upgrade price band, & may be rejected by family for very same reason. I may end up with Compass/ Harrier Automatic or Hector Manual Diesel eventually.

Have they started offering discounts?

A comparison test between the Jeep Compass vs Citroen C5 Aircross vs Hyundai Tucson

https://youtu.be/LYa5WFC60ws

I'm yet to see one on the road outside of the TD car so I assume no one is taking this for the price they are offering. I have seen the TD car pretty regularly though near my home and looks like they offer very extended TD rides (for 10+ km) which is a good thing.