[Gurudatt28227]

Having no automatic at the launch for this segment is a huge disadvantage to start with. This seems like a half-hearted effort with just one variant on offer. I hope they price this sensibly to see some sales. The design looks great though.

[07CR]

I like this car. Citroen seems to have pulled this off on many fronts.

Great turbo petrol engine with ample power for even highway duties. Possibly the best ride and handling balance in the segment. It's IMO the best looker in the segment as well, with a big car road presence. Good interiors, with nice HU and MID. Also a 7 seater SUV styled car, in the sea of 5 seaters at this price point

Major missings for me-

Features- Yes, a few of them ought to have been there, and couldn't have costed much. Like they have the rear armrest for 5 seater variant, but no rear AC vents for this variant. They have the rear AC vents for 7 seater variant but no center armrest for second row? Why this harakiri? They could have offered both in both the variants, could have also been simpler on the assembly line. Cruise control is also something I would miss. Keyless entry exit would also be a miss, considering have been using this for nearly 4 years now and got habitual to it. Hope they get that automatic sooner (any tentative date?)

Other than these missing niceties, they have pulled it off. That said, I am hoping for an ex showroom price of 12L for the manual and 13L for the Auto variant when they get it. At those prices, this remains a solid package.

[theabstractmind]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

I don’t think this car is cost cut. Citroen has spent money and burnt midnight oil to get the basics right - the engine, the gearbox, the build, the chassis, the suspension, the ride and handling and the steering tune. Big respect for that. Where they have bungled, and big time, is in the dressing up part. Poor equipment levels and no automatic option means they have learnt nothing from the poor response to the C3. As such, they will have to play the pricing card. Unfortunately, Indians don’t like cheap. We want the pizzas to go with it.

I don’t think any other sub 15L car has its basics as sorted as the C3 turbo, and the Aircross only builds on it. Credit where it is due.

I think it's not just poor features or equipment levels. The interior quality seems no match for the segment. It is more Triber levels than a Brezza or Creta level. And that will be a bigger put off for the segment. Add a few more essential features with better quality and I think this product can actually put up a fight with Creta, etc. As a package, you are right. It seems to have got the basics right - ride, handling, a decently powerful engine and presence going for it. Very handsome car, if I may say. The funky design of the interiors can look great with better quality materials.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

only one variant

Originally Posted by Gurudatt28227

just one variant on offer.

We don't know the variant mix yet, there was no indication from Citroen during the event.

Originally Posted by 07CR

They have the rear AC vents for 7 seater variant but no center armrest for second row?

On the 5+2 variant, the left seat on the second row (which is 60:40 split) tumbles down to provide access to the third row.

Also, the roof-mounted vents are a blower unit, and not an a/c.

Hope they get that automatic sooner (any tentative date?)

No indication other than "will be coming soon".

[mayjay]

I don’t know what it is about this car, maybe the chunkiness, but somehow I really like it. It is definitely unique in this now fairly crowded segment. The white roof in the dual tone is also better I think in the Indian context, and does give it some Mini Cooper vibes.

Unfortunately, though I’m going to be shopping in this segment, most likely have to drop it since it’s missing some really basic things like the ISOFIX seats. Also having to live with some last generation choices like the manual AC, non-power folding mirrors, manual gearbox and many more doesn’t really help the cause.

I do want Citroen to do well - they bring a different sensibility and for this reason I hope this does well I the market - hopefully it will be priced right for that to happen.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

I don’t think this car is cost cut. Citroen has spent money and burnt midnight oil to get the basics right - the engine, the gearbox, the build, the chassis, the suspension, the ride and handling and the steering tune. Big respect for that. Where they have bungled, and big time, is in the dressing up part. Poor equipment levels and no automatic option means they have learnt nothing from the poor response to the C3. As such, they will have to play the pricing card. Unfortunately, Indians don’t like cheap. We want the pizzas to go with it.

I don’t think any other sub 15L car has its basics as sorted as the C3 turbo, and the Aircross only builds on it. Credit where it is due.

+1.

This car strongly reminds me of the Duster - good butch looks, very spacious, well-engineered and having all necessary features. If I were in the market, the only concern while choosing this car would be the long term sustainability of the Citroen brand. Hope they're able to pull in the crowd.

[SJ1211]

I don't want to sound negative but seriously I don't know what is the image of India and Indians in Citroen's bosses. I mean common we are not upgrading from an Ambassador, even the Alto / S-Presso is so well kitted. Even if you are targeting Triber! Your product is half baked in comparison, forget the likes of Creta / Seltos.

This is unimaginable of a product in 10-12 lakh rupees. Our money should at least be worth!

[Sidban85]

Does the engine have E20 compliance?

Stellantis doesn't seem to understand Indian market. No autobox here or see the recent Jeep price hikes for an already slow seller.

[Iconoclast]

I was recently in the market for a 15-20 lakh car (on-road). Amongst my non-negotiable requirements were a proper automatic (no AMT) and 6 airbags. This car wouldn't have compelled me to enter their showroom as it wouldn't make the initial shortlist; even though I like the looks of this car; at least the exteriors.

Another point that Citroen needs to note is that car buying is an occasion for many people in India. People need to feel good when they sit in their new car. This is where a lot of the features come in. A bit of leather/soft-touch materials on the dash/sunroof etc. work in the market for exactly this reason.

Even my 2019 Ford Aspire Titanium which I upgraded from had Automatic Climate control, electrically foldable ORVMs, etc. despite being 2 full segments below this vehicle. Is there a chance anyone who "upgrades" would want to compromise on those features?

This is in addition to Citroen's already existing drawbacks: thin dealership network, questionable reliability, new brand, etc. I don't see this car doing more than 500 units a month.

Having said that; there's a higher chance the 7-seater version may sell higher volumes than the 5-seater; especially if priced aggressively; as there's a large market for those cars and competition is a lot lesser.

[Waspune]

The Aircross seems to a no nonsense offering that has the basics done well - engine aptly tuned , gearbox that has positive shifts, compliant ride, decent handling and good looks (at least in my books).
The only feature that I would miss is perhaps the Climate Control. However, safety is questionable, given the C3’s Latin NCAP score of 0, on which it is based. So I am not very hopeful that the Aircross would be much different.

[wheelguy]

Liked the removable third row seats feature a lot, the flexibility it gives is immense. As per ACI, the seats can be removed easily within a minute. Picture from ACI:

[Shreyans_Jain]

What this car actually needs is that elusive 6 speed torque converter. That, mated to this sweet turbo petrol, will be a breath of fresh air among a sea of DCTs and CVTs. Everything else is either something you can live without or add aftermarket.

[mgastor2022grey]

Checked out the Citroen C3 aircross with a friend who is planning to make an upgrade from his Ertiga. Sharing my observations here:

1) The car is a looker! Beautiful and handsome design is not in-your-face like some competitors.

2) Space management has been very efficient, there was no issue in the first and seconds rows for me (I'm 5'9") but the third row was kind of claustrophobic due to small quarter glass and very less thigh area, and the upright backrest making it worse. Removable third row will definitely be a boon!

3) Cost cutting is not very obvious, but near seats and inside glovebox, it all says that 'this is a budget car, so don't expect a lot out of me'.

4) My friend stated that the Ertiga's all white interiors went out of style a decade ago. He said he wanted black or tan interiors with light tinge of grey or oyster, but he was pretty satisfied with Citroen's almost all-grey interiors.

5) Equipment is not on-par with competitors. Some of them include Flap-type handles, Halogen headlights, No Automatic, No Sunroof. Hope Citroen prices it properly.

6) Reverse camera placement is definitely not good. The display car already had it broken by someone.

7) Black tail-lamp connector is not to everyone's taste. I'd like it removed if I were to buy it. Photoshop editors? Your help needed:

8) The sound quality was terrible for a 4+2-speaker unit. I expected more from Citroen.

9) Use of materials in the dashboard is not impressive. While holding the gear lever, I desperately needed a leather wrap on it.

10) There was something really special about the drive: I drives more or less like an SUV, not an MUV. I felt really confident in wading through traffic and taking it to small roads. Parking is the only monster, but will get better when used to parking. Overall, the drive was exciting, no power lag and no drama in braking, but rear-discs could have been present like the Carens.

Do I think he'll buy the Citroen? Maybe, maybe not.. It's an all-rounder package, has its good and bad.

Will I buy it over the Carens? Maybe for the looks, but definitely the Carens should be kept a segment up to provide premium features which we take for granted.

Hope this provides a view of the Citroen from my eyes, thank you!

[r2212xx]

The product is great when seen in a vacuum. But when placed next to the competition, it does raise some questions regarding the missing features, and I am not referring to missing sunroof, but missing automatic climate control, cruise control, not even ISOFIX seat mounts. The feature list makes it seem like its closest competitor is the Renault Triber seven-seater, while the car itself is in the 4-metre+ crossover segment. The latter segment has cut-throat competition; the new Seltos and Elevate just added some more layers to it recently.

I strongly sense Citroen has something wrong going with its customer and competition matrix in India; they are not entirely sure who are their target customers, thereby not knowing who is the competition.

Hope they redeem themselves by offering some features as dealer-level accessories, such as a wireless charger. Pricing will be the ultimate trump card if they need to win. Otherwise, I do not see why must a prospective customer rather not consider its French cousin Renault Triber, which offers basically the same features, an automatic, and with a proven 4-star NCAP rating, all at around 10 lakh price.

[aniketi]

Car looks really great and looks like they have some good finishing as well. In person, Citroen cars are better finished for sure and gives you some premium feel. Color combos are also very thoughtful and looks different & attractive. But when it comes to car positioning, they have a very confused strategy here & messed it for sure. It's not a proper 7 seater MPV like Ertiga or Innova. They should have launched this as 5 seater only and targeted compact SUV market. Lots of features are missing which is not a good strategy, at least they should have given some more like A.C.C., wireless charging, etc. With these set of features, they can not think of competing with cars like Creta, Seltos, Grand Vitara as they are offering so many features. Outdated door handles are very surprising in 2023 in such a nice car overall, looks really bad and old.

They have to price this very aggressively to start with. Remember XUV500 launch? They should take market with surprise with attractive (read low) price else it will fail for sure with so many missing features, smaller engine and being a new, unknown brand. Citroen can definitely get some market share if priced correctly. This can be poor man's 'SUV' (if priced right) for people having some tight budget. All the best Citroen.