Test drove the Citroen Basalt: Impressed by its ride quality & handling

I had read numerous posts about Citroen cars being famous for their superior ride and handling, and that day I couldn’t help but completely agree.

BHPian pappyrohit recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

I recently got a chance to test drive the Citroen Basalt. It was a quick run in the city with some open stretches in between. My friends and I decided to check out the Basalt as one of them was interested in purchasing one.

My experience with it

• SA: The SA was a chill guy. He walked us through the features, answered our questions well. When we asked him about a few missing features which are common in that segment, like Cruise Control, push-button start, etc., he answered with a straight face that Basalt does lack a few features but makes up for it with the drivability. Impressed with his confidence. Also, he was probably the first SA I met, who picked a pothole-ridden, part kutcha road in upscale Banjara Hills for a test drive. They are really proud of the Machine's ride and handling.
• Exteriors: Looked good in person. A little plain and vanilla but didn’t feel like a bad design. The build quality seemed good. The doors felt hefty and had a reassuring thud when shut.
• Interiors: From a creature comfort point of view, sparsely equipped. But, the interiors felt comfortable. The seats were very accommodating, ergonomics were on point. Passengers in the back seat loved the comfort.
• Engine and Ride/Handling: My favourite part, the ride. I read numerous posts about Citroen cars being famous for their superior ride and handling, and that day I couldn’t help but completely agree. SA’s chosen route was a nice little uphill road with lunar craters and tar patches in between. The car tackles them all without losing composure. Back seat passengers were unaware of how bad the road was. On an open stretch with some moderate curves, the car didn’t wallow much and pulled the curve with ease. Seriously impressed. We wanted to test drive the automatic, but only the manual was available. The 6-speed MT was a slick shifter. It was very drivable. I was able to drive uphill on the broken roads with 4 adults, in 3rd gear without any fuss. Nice engine.
• Pricing: The top-spec AT variant without dual-tone paint, cost roughly 18.5L INR OTR in Hyderabad. Aftersales service doesn't seem to be a problem, as SA mentioned that Citroen cars are serviced at Mopar. We had a Mopar workshop near our workplace.

Conclusion

In conclusion and to be honest, compared to other competitors, Basalt felt like a proper car.

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