Team-BHP - Citroen C3 Aircross Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by coldice4u (Post 5625879)

The brochure is already available on the website.
Only offers a 2 year/40km warranty as standard? Points to a lack of confidence in the product ?

I think they are benchmarking Maruti Arena models. Standard Maruti warranty has been 2 years / 40k kms.
Also don't forget cost savings. The lesser the warranty period, the warranty liability for the OEM on a per car basis will be lower. So, keep the standard warranty on the lower side and give options to the customer for paid extended warranty.
Additionally our country's consumer laws, do not specify/mandate OEM's with a minimum warranty period unlike EU, USA. For example in USA, most vehicles have a 7-year anti-corrosion warranty on body. Separate warranties are available for mechanical parts, plastic parts etc. We don't have any such offerings. Even for EV's, the minimum battery pack warranty mandated to OEM's in US is 8years/100,000 miles.
Warranty costs play a large role in determining profitability calculations per unit. And if there is an opportunity to play around with it, any OEM will jump in with glee and milk that chance to its fullest.

Quote:

Originally Posted by arjab (Post 5627163)

Warranty costs play a large role in determining profitability calculations per unit. And if there is an opportunity to play around with it, any OEM will jump in with glee and milk that chance to its fullest.

As you rightly mentioned, a warranty comes with a cost. When an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) invests in this cost, they expect to receive something in return.

However, if we look back, I think our market doesn't give much importance to warranties and tends to buy cars without considering them. In the past and even now, brands like Renault and Skoda offered warranties ranging from 4 to 7 years, if my memory serves me right. Despite this, they didn't achieve great success. On the other hand, Maruti, which offers a 2-year warranty, is what people prefer.

Personally, I also don't prioritize buying a car based on the length of its warranty. This is because, in a mechanical product like a car, the warranty typically covers only manufacturing defects. So, I believe that if any manufacturing defect is going to surface, it is more likely do so within the first 1-2 years, than later, for a person who drives 1000-2000 kms minimum in a month.
This is exactly why I did not buy Extended warranty for my car.

However, when it comes to a laptop or mobile device, I opt for the maximum warranty available. I'm aware that the display can develop issues at any time, or the device itself can experience problems and replacing it can be as expensive as the device itself. Last time when I brought a laptop I chose Asus (against competitors) just for 3 years warrany they offered.

Took a test drive today.

Here is my brief observation:

# The plastics are okay i.e. acceptable. They will not be a deal breaker for many. If I compare them with my Kushaq Ambition, the Kushaq is clearly one level up. The quality is closer to my 2019 Tigor. And in most places, the Tigor's plastics are at par or better. Two specific items would be the inside door latch and the seatbelt hook cover.

# The size of the steering wheel is on the smaller side, is finished great and looks really cute.

# Even at the lowest seat height setting, I felt I sat higher than the lowest setting on my Kushaq.

# The heft of the sheet metal, the doors, boot are nowhere close to Tata, let alone Skoda. The bonnet was heavy though. And that 'thud' is nowhere to be found. And I am fully aware that this does not mean it is less or more safer.

# This point is difficult to explain, but I am sure when you drive the car you will understand. The overall feel of the car while driving is nowhere premium. While steering the car, and operating the foot pedals, it does not give me the same quality feel I get in my Tigor or Kushaq. The last car I drove, which had this level of feel, was the Triber. The thin, cheap-looking, cheap-feeling foot pedals didn't help the cause much.

# I only drove for a short distance, so can't really compare the performance. But, the Kushaq's 1.0 unit is smoother than the Citroen's Turbo Petrol unit. The same goes for NVH too.

# It might be low air pressure in the tyres, because I did not notice that 'plush sofa-like' ride. Maybe a longer test drive will make it clearer.

# The digital instrument cluster is nice, clear and crisp. Does not feel cheap at all.

# The sound quality of the speakers is acceptable. But, again, nowhere close to my Tigor or Kushaq.

# For the money, it does have a lot of kit and space and performance. At 12.10 L for the top variant, its going to attract many. Especially the ones who were looking at a sub 4 metre SUV.

# The way hatchback buyers hopped to sub 4 metre SUVs like the Kiger and Magnite, the same could happen here. Sub 4-metre buyers might get attracted to the much bigger car with an acceptable level of fit and finish.

# That feeling that you have made a compromise, is not there. After reading so much about the car, I had even lower expectations from it when I entered the showroom. But, to me, it isn't as bad a car as it is being made out to be.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashutoshb (Post 5627637)

Here is a comparo sheet shared with me.

It shows what variants exactly are the Aircross' competition in the 4.3 metre segment.

Would have been better if there was a similar sheet with the Sub 4 metre ones too.

Wow. I am now tempted to go with this for a second car but of course I won't. Citroen needs to send this to NCAP and a good rating there, will bring attention to the car. Considering the price, for a manual, I think this is the most vfm in the segment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashutoshb (Post 5627948)

Yep, a good BNCAP rating, six airbags and ISOFIX mounts.

All of the above and the automatic transmission. Then, I shall book one too.

Yes, many of us will go for it then. But I expect (and to be fair also) price band will broaden. Even in cases prices are raised after all these addition, I think with the built quality, powertrain, comfort, and drivability on point, this is a better deal than other cars of this segment.

Honestly, I think it is a good deal for many with its present avatar also.

Citroen, in fact all of Stellantis products or whatever little we have of them in India fail to understand the Indian buyer psyche. Fiat has said goodbye twice, Jeep, when it was introduced ticked all the right boxes but over time has grown in price, if not in size. The C5 aircross would have been a killer at around 25 lakhs but again, Stellantis messed up. The C3 aircross would have been a good car with this feature list around 5 years ago. Now, Indian customers have got used to more. These products just go about questioning the seriousness of the company in the Indian market. Another Chevrolet, Ford or Mitsubishi? Customers aren't just ready to take the risk. The Koreans and the Japanese hit the nail on the head when it comes to the Indian market.

My first post on team bhp.

Took test drive yesterday. Being a random walk-in on a lazy Sunday, experience was good. SA was attentive and responsive, insisted to have a TD, do some "off roading".
My observations-
1- Engine is good. NVH is well contained. Loved the feeling of turbo kicking in.
2- Its spacious. First and second rows are huge. Me being 6 feet tall, was comfortable in first and second row. Third row is exclusively for kids/ short travels.
3- Nothing exciting. I am buying car after 13 years, and i was not thrilled to sit in C3 Aircross. My 13 year old Swift has same features apart from digital cluster.
4 - Not impressed with "thuds" of doors and bonnet. Exactly like Swift.
5- Can not explain why, but i have a feeling that rattling noise will start in 2-3 years.
6 - SA informed that automatic version is expected by Q1-24. He was not sure about what kind of automatic- CVT or AMT.

I need a 7 seater for family trips.However, skipping C3 Aircross.