Why I would buy it?
- Engine and gearbox
- 5+2 seating
- Driving dynamics
Why I would avoid it?
- Feature list
- Reach of Citroen sales and service network
Engine and performance
Powering the Citroen C3 Aircross automatic is a 1.2-litre turbo petrol engine producing 109bhp/205Nm which is an additional 15nm over the MT-powered model. It is mated to a six-speed torque converter automatic gearbox. To understand it, we have broken down our deep dive into three main questions.
Is it tractable?
Yes, very much. There is a free-revving nature to this engine in the way it builds up speed and for overtakes it shifts up pretty quickly for you to gather momentum and perform the overtake. With this kind of torque delivery, you are rarely left wanting for more. In fact, to make quick overtakes, you just don’t need to put in much effort and even at part throttle, there is more than enough motivation to allow you to make quick overtakes. In city conditions, where an automatic gearbox does its best, this one shines quite well with little effort needed to keep the car going and with lots of torque available low down, moving in heavy traffic is quite a breeze.
Does it have a creep function and how well does it work?
Yes, this automatic gearbox has a creep function that is most useful in bumper-to-bumper traffic. You put your foot on the brake, engage D and then once you lift off, the car will roll on its own up to a speed of 8kmph allowing you to coast up to the vehicle in front of you without having to press the throttle repeatedly to inch forward.
Is there manual intervention and how effective is it?
Yes, the gearbox comes with a manual intervention in the form of +/- mode in the gear track. Using the manual mode allows you to intervene when needed and you do engine braking as a part of the deal. At this price bracket and with the kind of appeal that Citroen is going for with the C3 Aircross, it was a bit much to expect paddle shifters as a part of the package. It’s also programmed to ensure that you don’t shift at a speed too low for a gear too high and vice versa. Automatic gearboxes have become pretty intelligent these days and for the most part, you can leave them to do their thing in the background and you will have no issues at all.
Ride and handling
One of the places where the C3 Aircross or for that matter, cars made by the French manage to always shine is in the ride quality department. There is a slight firmness in the way that the Aircross rides but Citroen has managed to find a good balance between ride and handling to ensure that very little comes back into the cabin in a bid to displace the occupants inside. The car that we drove was riding on 17-inch wheels which are standard across the range and despite their ‘perceived’ larger size, does not affect the ride quality.
As a car to drive, the C3 Aircross is quite engaging. The steering has a nice weight to it with sufficient feel and quick turn-ins when you need to drive dynamically if the situation calls for it. Despite what the C3 Aircross might look like on the outside, it drives and handles like a large mid-size car with similar responses and predictable handling.
Interior and features
One of the big USPs that Citroen is offering with the C3 Aircross both as an MT and AT is three rows of seating. In fact, the only other vehicle to offer it at this kind of pricing is the Maruti Ertiga or the Force Trax Cruiser but that’s a whole different ball game for another day.
You get the seven-seat option in the Plus and Max variants and is priced at Rs 30,000 over the five-seat model. As you can see, in the visuals, your favourite CarWale host has had to squeeze himself into the third row with quite a bit of effort leaving little in the way of knee room. It’s a space for two at best and three if you are really close or adventurous. This then makes it a 5+2 rather than a dedicated three-row vehicle. This bench seat is removable and in fact, you can even take out the second row giving you some phenomenal cargo room. The progression of numbers is 44 litres with the third row up, 511 litres with the third row out and 839 litres with the second row removed! The third row might not be the most useable but it’s the difference between having a third row and having to take a second vehicle or making multiple trips to get your packages to their final destination.
The feature list of the C3 Aircross, in the top-spec Max variant, includes dual digital displays, AC vents for second and third row, reverse camera with sensors, auto stop-start and connected car tech. As compared to the cars above and below it, it does not get climate control, wireless charger, ambient lighting, ventilated seats, 360-degree camera, Level-1 ADAS, HUD, sunroof or even window blinds. These are not even available as optional extras in their various packs which would be fine if your competition wasn’t so loaded and fiercely priced that you stand out really hard on this front.
Conclusion and expected pricing
So, we have spent some time with the C3 Aircross AT and here is what we found. Positives include the drive experience, the value addition of the automatic gearbox and the 5+2 seating. On the flipside, the interiors feel at least a segment down, the car is missing crucial feel-good features and Citroen still needs to expand its sales and service network to play in the league of the big boys! We expect Citroen to price the automatic variants in the range of Rs 12.5 lakh to Rs 14 lakh (ex-showroom).
Photography: Kaustubh Gandhi
