The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
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Citroen unveils new compact
Citroen is diving into the compact SUV market.
The C3 Aircross will take on established rivals such as the Nissan Juke and Mazda CX-3.
Following on from the bigger C5 Aircross unveiled this year, the compact SUV has ditched the opinion-splitting side airbumps that look like egg boxes glued to the side of the car.
Personalisation has become key to many of Citroen’s most recent vehicles and the C3 Aircross looks to be no different.
The new compact SUV has 90 different trim combinations and a range of different colours and options to help you tune the car’s to your personal taste.
There are a total of eight body colours, four roof colours (offering a two-tone effect), and four colour packs to chose from as well.
Differentiating itself from the new C3 hatchback, the Aircross is 20cm longer and 20cm higher, giving it a slightly bulkier appearance.
Citroen has also fitted a more rugged bumper and modified the grille design.
According to Citroen, the Aircross is the most spacious car in its class. The rear bench slides back and forth, allowing passengers to prioritise boot space or interior room, boosting the load area from 410 litres to 520 litres.
A choice of petrol and diesel engines will be offered. The entry model is the PureTech 82 petrol, although a more powerful PureTech 110 is likely to take the lion’s share of sales. A 128bhp version is also available, while two diesels will also appear at launch – the BlueHDi 100 and a BlueHDi 120.
There’s plenty of tech inside, including smartphone apps and wireless phone charging. There’s also satnav with voice recognition.
Specs haven’t been announced but the car is likely to be priced on par with the C3 Picasso it replaces and just above the C4 Cactus, with a starting figure of around £15,000.
Produced at the Zaragoza plant in Spain, the C3 Aircross will go on sale in the UK at the beginning of November.