Citroen is the newest manufacturer to enter the Indian market. They currently have only the C5 AirCross in our market and that too is a CKD or Completely Knocked Down model. Because of this, the prices of the SUV are on the higher side. They have already showcased the C3 in the global market and they will be bringing the new mini SUV to India also. It is expected to launch sometime next year and it has been caught without camouflage in Brazil.
Citroen will offer two engine options with the C3. Both will be petrol engines and there will be no diesel engine on offer. There will be a 1.0-litre FireFly engine and a 1.6-litre FlexStart engine. Citroen will be the first manufacturer in India to offer flex-fuel engines. They say that this will give them a first-mover advantage.
The Firefly engine will produce 72 hp of max power and 101 Nm of peak torque while running on petrol. On ethanol, the engine will produce 77 hp of max power and 106 Nm of peak torque. It will be offered only with a 5-speed manual gearbox.
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Then there is the FlexStart engine. It will come with 16 valves and the gearbox option will be a 5-speed or a 6-speed unit, depending on the variant the person chooses. There would also be an automatic gearbox on offer but as of now, it is not known which type of automatic gearbox will Citroen use.
On petrol, the engine will produce 115 hp of max power and 151 Nm of peak torque. While running on ethanol, the engine will produce 118 hp of max power and the same 151 Nm of peak torque. This engine was first used on Peugeot 208. As of now, it is now known which engines will be offered in the Indian market.
Platform
The Indian C3 will measure 3.98-metres in length and will have a wheelbase of 1.54-metres. The ground clearance of C3 is 180 mm which should be sufficient for Indian driving conditions. It will be based on Stellantis’s CMP platform. CMP stands for Common Modular Platform. It is a very versatile platform that can be used for different types of body styles. Moreover, it also supports different kinds of powertrains. So, we can also expect an electric powertrain from Citroen for the C3 in the future.
Design
The design of the Citroen C3 looks funky just like the C5. It has a split headlamp design so there is a LED Daytime Running Lamp above and the main halogen headlamp sits below. The Citroen C3 in the pictures is finished in grey colour with white roof. There is a thick plastic cladding that gives a SUV look to the C3.
The interior has also a very unique design. There is a three-spoke multi-function steering wheel, rectangular AC ventrs, floating touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlaty and a phone holder as well. Surprisingly, there is no automatic climate control on offer.
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