India-bound Citroen C5 Aircross SUV: How it COMPARES with the Jeep Compass & Mahindra XUV500

The French automobile giant Groupe PSA, formerly known as PSA Peugeot Citroen, will soon enter the Indian automotive space. PSA has already joined hands with CK Birla, the owners of Hindustan Motors in India. While PSA will manufacture the cars in India at a later stage, the brand will use a top-down approach to enter the Indian automotive market,. This means that high-end CBU products will be launched first. As per a report in ETAuto, the PSA group will first launch the Citroen C5 Aircross SUV in India that will take on vehicles, such as the Mahindra XUV 500, Jeep Compass and the Hyundai Tucson. The Mahindra XUV 500 and the Jeep Compass are hot selling SUVs in India. How does the Citroen C5 Aircross compare with these too well-established SUVs in the Indian market? Let’s find out.

Design

The Mahindra XUV 500 has a towering road presence on the road. Especially the new XUV that gets a large chrome grille up front. The Jeep Compass does have a road presence but not as much as the XUV 500, on the road. The Citroen Aircross C5 is the largest of the three. It also looks the most modern among all the three cars.

The Citroen SUV gets a body-wide sleek grille with integrated LED Daytime Running Lamps (DRL). The head lamps are placed below the grille giving it an ultra-modern look. The SUV also gets a unique seamless design bumper that adds to its look. At the lower part of the bumper, it gets large air dams with contrasting red highlights.

The C5 Aircross also gets a thick body mould all around. The SUV comes with 17-inch, 18-inch and 19-inch alloy wheels depending on the variant, while the Indian XUV 500 and the Jeep Compass get 17-inch rims. All three SUVs get roof rails but the Citroen C5 gets raised rails that makes it look taller and sportier.

Even the rear design of the Citroen C5 Aircross looks more modern compared to the Jeep Compass and the Mahindra XUV 500. It gets split LED tail lamps and dual exhausts integrated into the bumper. Overall, the Citroen C5 Aircross has a more dominating presence compared to the other two.

Features

The 2018 Mahindra XUV carries a pretty long list of features. It gets a sunroof, leather seats, TPMS, puddle lamps, ambient light, cruise control and Mahindra BlueSense app. The app itself connects can connect to a smartphone and lets the user control the infotainment system through a dedicated app. The BlueSense also shows various information like driving statistics which can be used by the driver to improve mileage. The Jeep Compass does not offer anything over-the-board. It comes with regular features and a UConnect infotainment system that gets Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

The Citroen C5 Aircross is loaded to the brim when it comes to features. It gets a panoramic sunroof, LED headlamps, wireless phone charging, 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, emergency assistance and a hydraulic suspension system that is patented. There are a host of active radar-based safety features too but most of them would not make it to the Indian market due to the high price. In fact, Citroen may strip the C5 Aircross of a lot of features to make it cost-effective in the Indian market.

It should be noted that the Jeep Compass and the Citroen C5 Aircross are 5-seater SUVs, while the XUV 500 is a three-row 7-seater SUV.

Engine and drive layout

While all three SUVs get the 4WD system, none of them gets a low-ratio transfer case, which is essential for hardcore off-roading. The Jeep Compass gets various modes like Sand, Mud and Snow. The XUV 500 does not get any modes but there is a 4WD Lock feature that keeps the 4X4 system engaged for challenging terrains.

The Citroen C5 Aircross also gets various modes like Sand, All-Road, Snow and ESP OFF. It also gets a trailer stability control system, which is not expected in the India-bound version of the SUV. All the three SUVs get hill hold assistance. All in all, the three SUVs are expected to offer a similar off-road experience.

The Citroen C5 Aircross gets both petrol and diesel engines in the line-up. There are two petrol versions and three versions of the diesel engine. There is a 1.2-litre petrol engine that generates a maximum of 128 Bhp and 230 Nm in other cars but there is no mention of the power output in the C5 Aircross yet. It comes with a 6-speed manual transmission. There is also a more powerful PureTech 180 version of the petrol engine, which is a 1.8-litre turbocharged, four-cylinder engine. It produces a maximum of 201 Bhp and 280 Nm. The car also gets three versions of diesel engines but the power outputs are not known yet. Both petrol and diesel engine options get an automatic transmission option.

Both Jeep Compass and Mahindra XUV 500 get petrol and diesel engine options. The Mahindra XUV 500 is powered by a 2.2-litre diesel mHawk engine that produces a maximum of 155 Bhp – 360 Nm. There is also a 2.2-litre petrol engine that produces a maximum of 140 Bhp and 320 Nm. The diesel engine option is available with manual and automatic, while the petrol engine option is available only with automatic transmission.

The Jeep Compass comes with a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine that generates a maximum of 160 Bhp – 250 Nm. The diesel variants of the Compass are powered by 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine that produces a maximum of 170 Bhp – 350 Nm. Jeep currently offers automatic only with the petrol variants but Jeep will soon launch an automatic diesel option in India.