Citroen C3 AirCross mid-size SUV: All you need to know about the latest Hyundai Creta rival

The French automaker Citroen recently unveiled its newest SUV in India, rivalling the Hyundai Creta. Even before its official launch in the second half of this year, the SUV has managed to create a buzz around its name. Citroen is aiming big with this SUV and plans to take on the highly competitive mid-size SUV segment in the country. If you are one of those people looking for your next SUV and want to know what is unique about the C3 Aircross, then you have stumbled upon the right place.

Will be a lengthy SUV

One of the biggest talking points about this SUV is its length. The all-new C3 Aircross will be 4.3m in length, the same length as the Hyundai Creta. However, it will be slightly smaller than the Kia Seltos, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, and Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder. This new SUV will make the decision of buying a new mid-size SUV even tougher for buyers.

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Only mid-size SUV with 5+2 seating

Another unique selling point is that it will be the only mid-size SUV in the market to offer two different seating configurations. The first will be a standard 5-seater arrangement, but customers could also opt for a 5+2 seating configuration. This reason alone could make this SUV a popular choice amongst buyers in the country.

Will be locally produced

Another thing that will favor this SUV is that it will be manufactured locally in India, meaning that prices will be kept competitive to lure in more buyers. According to Citroen, the new C3 Aircross will be manufactured locally at the Thiruvallur plant in Tamil Nadu. Citroen claims that the new SUV has been developed for India and will be 90% localized.

Only one petrol engine option

As of yet, the company has not announced any details about the C3 Aircross’ powertrain. However, it has been reported that the company will only be offering a single petrol motor for the SUV. The C3 Aircross will only be offered with a 1.2-liter turbo-petrol engine, which will be able to produce a maximum of 110hp and 190 Nm of torque. As of yet, there is only a six-speed manual transmission on offer, but it is believed that an automatic transmission option will soon follow. Sadly, there will be no option for a diesel motor for the C3 Aircross.

Feature loaded but misses out on essentials

The Citroen C3 Aircross will be offered with a 10-inch (26cm) touchscreen infotainment system, along with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It will also get a new 7-inch (17.8 cm) color TFT cluster screen. However, despite competing in the mid-size SUV segment that offers cars with every creature comfort, the C3 Aircross will miss out on an automatic climate control system. Instead, it will be offered with a manual air conditioner. We believe that Citroen has done this intentionally in order to keep the prices competitive, although we will have to wait to see if this works because it could also backfire as automatic climate control is one of the most commonly offered feature and almost each and every automaker now offers it in their cars.

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