[07CR]

Originally Posted by blackbeast

It is a sin to miss out on this feature. It is THE most useful feature any car can offer in the present times.

Seriously? It's actually one of the most overrated features for me, mainly for the following reasons-

1) You need to spend atleast 40+K on a mobile phone to have that Wireless charging compatability. I seriously never thought the need to spend so much on a mobile phone. I mostly buy phones in the 15-25K mark only.

2) It's painfully slow to charge, from whatever examples I have seen. If my phone's battery is at 5% and I am off to a drive, after which I won't have a charger with me, I will always select the conventional charging option, regardless of whether my car has a wireless charging option or not. My realme X3 takes 90-100 minutes for a full charge using its wireless charger, and about 45-50 minutes using the conventional fast charger of my Ecosport. I am pretty sure, a wireless charger would require atleast 4 times the time than the conventional fast charging options in the cars.

3) Is (Wireless) Charging really that big of a miss? I mean I can distinctly remember my previous four phones easily lasting me atleast a day (despite heavy usage). The phone's being- HTC (don't remember model name, costed 20K), Moto X Play (19 K), Redmi Note 5 Pro(15K) and Realme X3(latest, costed 23K).

Originally Posted by Durango Dude

When you spend close to 30L would you be comfortable on testing the waters with a French company that most probably may not to be around in say a decade or would you spend it on the Fortuner;

The Fortuner Base diesel model costs 39.xx Lakh OTR in Pune. IMO 9 lakhs is a massive difference that can't be ignored.

EDIT- Is there a way to merge the posts by the comment posters, after the comment is posted? Just realised I made a Back to Back post, which I should have ideally merged using the multi quote option.

[abhijet.sen]

Originally Posted by rajeshkmoorthy

Indian consumer always feel uplifted when he/she owns a luxury brand and Citroen would want to do just that here.

Citroen is no BMW/Merc/Audi and Indian consumer is well aware of such brands now a days. Few enthusiast may well be swayed by this car but Hector/Harrier (and their siblings) coming at much cheaper price and more features outsell this. Moreover, it makes no sense to make it Rs 25+ Lakhs car where people will easily move to Fortuner.

Unless it is aggressively priced Citroen will end up packing their shop like they did earlier.

[pms]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

A 2A wired charger for a 30mins commute can top up the phone and is much more useful.

These are a bigger miss for me:

Agree. Prefer the ventilated seats, rear sun blinds (which for me is a real let down with such a glass area) and 360 cam which is a necessity. Of course depending on the price point even wireless charger could have been nice to have.

Review was very crisp and informative. The black shade looks amazing and is able to hide a lot of that quirkiness. Very glad to know that the USP of C5 is its drive quality, noise insulation and overall comfort which is something that Koreans, Tatas are not able to nail down completely.

But let down by the fact that rear seat space is not great for such a large vehicle. This can be a downer for potential customers with Hector, Harrier and XUV leading on that front. Felt Citroen could have compromised a bit on the luggage space and increased the back seat leg room.
Wish Citroen price this sensibly to create a flutter in the market.

GTO, would you be able to comment on the back seat leg room of C5 vis a vis Jeep Compass / Hyundai Tucson?

[venkyhere]

Excellent review, to the point and covering majority of details.

My takeaway :

A car not meant for the pompous seth, but squarely aimed at young/old families who like to do road tripping with lots of luggage.

unibody strength, 6 airbags, strong engine, comfortable and balanced suspension, good sound insulation, huge boot, full size alloy spare wheel - all the basics of a 'vehicle' covered. That's all there is to be discussed, IMO. That's all that needs to matter, for a 'vehicle' , it doesn't need to look like a vodka bar or a swanky hotel lobby.

An ideal car for doing an all india road trip with kids (while parents occupy the front, tip down the rear seatback and an air-bed could easily find space for 2 kids, with enough clearance for luggage. That an actual roof box could be mounted, is added bonus)

A no-frills, utilitarian and comfortable car with a strong build and good engine. What more to ask for ?

[MarutiGuy1977]

It is exactly after watching all the YouTube "review" videos that (each time) I truly appreciate the TBhp reviews. The ones on YouTube seem to find no flaws with the car. I expect these reviews to provide both pros and cons and most reviews just go after praising the car to the hilt. So thank you TBhp for keeping it honest.

[Sahilrai166]

The car looks really very funky and different from any of the car sold in the Indian market but then will this manufacturer get a good headstart like the Kia and MG definitely not. I agree that Citroen is not here for volumes but then their first car cannot be a sales disaster in any way. The segment and the cars which C5 aircross competes with are the Tucson, Compass and the CRV. Except the Compass the other two cars in the segment don't even have a triple digit sales figure.
Panoramic Sunroof and LED headlamps should have been there in the base variant.
The car overall looks like a very good package only if the car is priced under 30lac(on road) and if Citroen launches the car at this price then I think it will be a very good option for those who do not want to get the Creta/Seltos but at the same time are not willing to pay 35lac for a Jeep Compass.

[Kashi053]

C5 Aircross's USP is comfort and thats what they are highlighting everywhere. They should've seriously considered 16 or 17" alloys. Appreciate it for providing Primacy 3 premium tyres. Those fake vents and side cladding inserts were unnecessary. AWD is missing for such a high GC crossover. Lovely instrument cluster, steering and overall interior design. Top end above 35L OTR will be very hard for Citroën's survival.

[karan85]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

A 2A wired charger for a 30mins commute can top up the phone and is much more useful.

These are a bigger miss for me:

+1. I use wireless charging everyday but only to charge my phone overnight. In my car, I would rather have a wired charging connection that charges my phone faster over convenience of not connecting it to a cable while charging.

[Arjun Bharadwaj]

GTO sir, you apparently drove both the C5 and Safari on the same day. Which car would you rate higher from a comfort perspective?
It also seems possible that both will launch around a similar price ballpark and will somewhat compete. Is there any area where the Safari clearly dominates over the C5?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Arjun Bharadwaj

GTO sir, you apparently drove both the C5 and Safari on the same day. Which car would you rate higher from a comfort perspective?

Indeed, drove them back to back.

Space = Safari

Seats = Citroen

Ride quality = Citroen (by a mile and a half)

Overall, the more comfortable option is the Citroen. Even in other stuff that adds to comfort, such as NVH & insulation, the C5 Aircross is ahead. It's unbelievably well insulated.

[07CR]

Originally Posted by Arjun Bharadwaj

GTO sir, you apparently drove both the C5 and Safari on the same day. Which car would you rate higher from a comfort perspective?
It also seems possible that both will launch around a similar price ballpark and will somewhat compete. Is there any area where the Safari clearly dominates over the C5?

Pardon me for my free advice, but if launched in similar ball park, I can list out following positives of each car-

Tata Safari-

7 seats
MT Option
Cheaper ASS (assumption)
Size advantage
Better space for 5+2 adults

Citroen-
Much more loaded with equipment
Better touchscreen and MID
Premium interiors (both look and feel)
Stellar NVH
Better Ride and Handling balance (especially low speed ride)
Massive boot space
Distinctive styling
Better Performance

Just checked, the Feel and Shine have only three differences!

1) Electric Handsfree tailgate (Not Essential)
2) LED Headlamps (Can be retrofitted, but might void warranty)
3) Pano Sunroof ( the only USP of Shine Variant)

I don't think the pricing will involve a major difference between two variants.

[Ojas]

Originally Posted by GTO

Kodiaq is way superior. There is no contest, any day the Kodiaq over the Citroen.

GTO, what tilts it in favor of the Kodiaq for you? Is it the gearbox, handling, space, or the premium sound system? Clearly, C5 seems to do much better than Kodiaq in ride, power/torque, and NVH departments.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by GTO

It's very stable at high speed. Yes, it has more roll in fast corners than a Compass or Seltos, yet nothing alarming.

Originally Posted by Aditya

this diesel engine is amazingly refined. The unit produces 175 BHP and 400 Nm which are healthy numbers & comparable to the Hyundai Tucson. The diesel engine is very smooth, refined and fast. It is quite tractable, which makes the car city-friendly. Throttle response is good and so is the driveability. The power delivery is linear in nature and passengers will be comfortable as there is no jerkiness or sudden kick from the turbo.

Gents. Thank you for the brilliant review. Is there any chance you could provide some brief points as a direct comparison between the 2021 Compass and the C5 please? How do they compare on a head on comparison.

Thank you.

[deepak_bajaj]

I feel that if Citroen is priced equivalent to newer Jeep Compass S(O), then it is bound to fail. Jeep is already established in India and has covered all basic features (ventilated seats, 360 camera etc.) and a crisper ride. I would not spend my money on a 30L OTR car that is new to India. I will wait for them to invest in dealer network and service centers before I cough up that kind of money.
XUV500 can also be a good challenger to it. The current version is quite loaded and new release might take a notch up (although it lags in many areas in comparison to Citroen C5) but its quite hit in Indian market in terms of space and features.

[sahil1010]

Excellent Review as always.

T-BHP reviews are now being published the same day as embargo ends which is great but with most manufacturers not revealing the prices till the very last day the review can not comment on the VALUE factor.
I know i am in a huge minority here but wouldn't mind the reviews delayed a bit so that the VALUE factor is also commented upon in the official review itself.