Citroen C3, the upcoming sub-4 meter SUV from the French carmaker, has finally made its world debut in India. It will be the brand’s first Made-in-India model that will target the mass market. The compact SUV will hit showrooms in early 2022 and take on cars like Nissan Magnite, Renault Kiger, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300, Kia Sonet, Hyundai Venue and Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. The C3 underpins the company’s heavily localised CMP (Common Modular Platform) architecture that has been specially developed for emerging markets. Read – Citroen To Launch Hyundai i20 Rival In India
Here’re key details of the new Citroen small SUV that have been revealed so far.
Sporty Design
Design and styling of the new Citroen small SUV has been inspired by the global-spec C3 Aircross. Upfront, the model carries the familiar wide grille flanked by dual-layer, sharply designed headlamps. The angular windshield placement, a flat bonnet and flat roof tapering slightly towards the rear enhance its sporty looks. You can notice black cladding around the body and contrast orange elements on the front bumper, roof rails, blacked out pillars and dual-tone diamond cut alloy wheels. There is subtle chrome treatment on the front grille and around the signature logo connecting the lights. At the back, the new C3 compact SUV features rectangular LED taillamps, a more upright tailgate and dual-tone bumper with black cladding.
– Citroen C3 compact SUV offers a ground clearance of 180mm, which is good enough to tackle Indian road conditions.
– It will be offered with 78 different accessories. The customisation will comprise of colour options on the car (interior & exterior), different roof colours, and the customised painted panels on the dashboard.
Feature-Packed
Interior of the upcoming Citroen C3 SUV will come with a host of features that will help it stand out in the competitive segment. It features a dual-tone interior theme with premium fabric upholstery. It is packed with a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, a flat bottom steering wheel, multiple airbags, a reverse parking camera and several more goodies.
– The new Citroen C3 is claimed to have a small footprint, and offers a small turning radius of 10 metres. However, it is claimed to offer segment-leading interior space along with several cubby holes to carry things.
– The new C3 compact SUV offers 315-litres of boot space, and the segment-leading 1 litre of glove box. It sits under 4 meters in length; preciously at 3.98 meters.
– The SUV’s freestanding touchscreen infotainment system is compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It also gets phone clamps for driver and front passenger as standard. The cabin gets fix front seat headrests, high-seating position, air-conditioning system and customisable interior colours.
Turbo Power
While the carmaker hasn’t yet revealed its engine details, the Citroen C3 is expected to be offered with the 1.2L, 3-cylinder turbo petrol engine option. The same powertrains do duty in the global-spec, current-generation C3. Rumour has it that the C3 could also be the first SUV in India to feature flex-fuel engine. It could be offered with a 1.6L naturally aspirated engine with ethanol-based fuel (blend up to 83%), as this engine will power the Brazilian-spec model. Transmission choices will include a 5-speed manual and a DCT automatic unit. It is not likely to get any diesel engine option.
Aggressive Pricing
As mentioned above, prices of the new Citroen SUV will be announced early next year. Since it’s based on the localized CMP platform, it’s expected to be priced aggressively. In fact, the company earlier revealed that its upcoming models developed under its C-Cube strategy will be “more affordably priced”. We expect its base variant will cost around Rs 7 lakh and the range-topping variant will be priced around Rs 12 (all, ex-showroom).
