The literal translation of coup de foudre is “strike of lightning,” but it’s more often used to denote “love at first sight.” Am I implying that Citroen’s latest makes you fall in love with it instantly, which could spell bad weather for the competition? Let’s see!
Design & Interiors
It looks like a mini C5 Aircross, and that’s a good thing. The C3 Aircross appears pleasing to most eyes, and its road presence is also second to none in the segment.
However, the interiors could prove to be the first and only hindrance for its potential buyers who’ve come to expect a high level of premiumness in this segment. There’s nothing wrong with the interiors; it’s just that the overall ambience is not at all posh as its rivals’. That aside, the cabin is more spacious; the seats are comfortable; all-around visibility is good, and finding the perfect driving position wouldn’t be difficult for anyone between 4’10” to 6’4”.
Citroen say that they’ve avoided useless gimmicks and included only the necessary features you’d actually use in a vehicle. They’re mostly right, but the omission of cruise control, 360-degree camera, all-doors lock/unlock buttons, push-button start, and keyless entry isn’t justified. There’s no auto climate control either, but most won’t mind as the manual air-con does its core job of cooling the cabin quite well.
And if you thought Citroen doesn’t care about your health just because there’s no air purifier in here, you’d be wrong. The thoughtful placement of the rear power-window switches warrants mandatory Yoga classes to access them.
The Drive
Take a test drive on the worst road you know and you’ll immediately fall in love with this car. THE RIDE QUALITY IS ALMOST MAGICAL. There’s absolutely NOTHING in the segment that comes close. In fact, there aren’t many vehicles higher up either that can match it. The handling too is better than the Orientals’ and not far off the Europeans’.
Then there’s the engine performance, which questions the credibility of all “160 PS” claims of its competitors. With this 110 PS vehicle, I managed an 11.4 seconds 0–100 km/h run, which is just around 1.5 seconds slower than what I’d managed with its 160 PS adversaries.
The Aircross is obviously a relaxed cruiser, thanks to its 6th gear, which brings up 100 km/h at just around 2,000 rpm. Drive with a light foot, and you’ll see the best-in-segment fuel-efficiency figures. The best part is that those figures don’t drop to single digits even if you try to emulate Sebastian Loeb behind the wheel.
Citroen has kept the NVH levels in check too, which, coupled to fantastic straight-line stability and composure, makes maintaining triple-digit speeds on expressways a comfortable affair.
Verdict
In India, ride quality should ideally be our topmost priority, but, unfortunately, thanks to Instagram reels and the ever-increasing pretense in our lives, frivolous features like sunroof, voice commands, wireless charging, etc., have taken precedence over everything else. Therefore, it would’ve helped Citroen to at least have a fully-loaded top variant, with the most premium cabin in the segment, even if it lead to the price being the same as the competition’s.
As of now, for less than the price of a top-end Creta or Seltos, you can buy this, the top-end C3 Aircross manual for your family, and a Yamaha YZF-R3, or MT-03, or Aprilia RS457 for yourself. If you aren’t a motorcycle person, it’d be the Aircross for yourself and the base C3 for your spouse, sibling, or college-going offspring.
Sadly, most don’t think like that. They want to make the neighbours and relatives they detest, envious. Guess what, with the C3 Aircross, you can do that as well, that too more potently, by taking them for a drive on the most broken roads around. You might even end up fostering a genuine bond with them.