Baby butch
The C3 will be Citroen’s next offering and the first from its made-in-India platform
IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYONE IN INDIA wants to buy an SUV. And why not? They make complete sense for our conditions. Citroen wants to cash in on the SUV trend as well. Although it started off with the C5 Aircross that was just a brand-shaper. The real action will start once it launches cars on its made-in-India platform, the first of which is all set to be the C3.
Citroen says the C3 is a modern hatchback inspired by SUVs, which you might basically call a sub-compact SUV. It sports doublechevron chrome bars which we’ve seen on the C5 Aircross, integrating neatly into the daytime-running LEDs which also double up as turn indicators. Now that’s very unlike the trend of using a large grille for that imposing look, but I think we’ll reserve judgement until we see the car in the flesh. Meanwhile the headlamps are placed below the DRLs — a design trend that seems to be catching on in the Indian market.
The Citroen C3 resembles the C5 Aircross, which is not a bad thing at all. Citroen has used plenty of cladding to give it that funky yet aggressive appeal. There’s cladding on the front and rear bumpers, on the lower parts of the doors, and on the wheel arches. The slightly-round shaped orange inserts on the cladding — Citroen calls them Airbumps, have made their way onto the C3 as well. Ground clearance stands at a good 180mm which should help tackle bad roads. The C3 will be available in four colours — Ice White, Platinum Grey, Artense Grey, and Zesty Orange. Citroen will also offer eleven customisation options, along with single-tone and dual-tone colour options with the roof finished in either a Zesty Orange or Artense Grey.
The C3 takes advantage of the sub-4m rule, standing at an overall length of 3980mm. That said, the wheelbase measures 2540mm, which is 40mm more than the wheelbase of the Renault Kiger, Nissan Magnite, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Hyundai Venue, Kia Sonet,
and 42mm more than the Tata Nexon. It also promises to offer best-in-class headroom and legroom, which we’ll find out in 2022 at launch.
On the inside, there’s a 1-litre glovebox, door-pockets that can hold a 1-litre bottle, along with cup holders and a storage compartment in the centre console. The interiors attempt to recreate the funky theme with an orange-coloured plastic element that stretches across the length of the dashboard. Citroen will offer a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system compatible with Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, which is larger than what the rest of the competition offers.
The touchscreen infotainment system also offers a Mirror Screen function, allowing the driver or the passengers to view the contents of their smartphone on the infotainment system itself. Additionally, Citroen will also offer voice commands.
Built on the CMP modular platform, the C3 will be the first of three cars from Citroen’s C-Cubed programme. The carmaker is targeting localisation levels of up to 90 per cent. Unlike the C5 Aircross which is a CKD, the C3 will be built at Citroen’s plant in Chennai. Details about the powertrain, variants, and prices currently remain unknown, but things may unfold slowly in the months to come. It is important to note that the C3 available internationally is a completely different car with a more conventional hatchback design. The C3 will enter a hotly contested compact SUV segment, and this is just the tip of the iceberg for Citroen in India. With its funky looks and an extensive equipment list, the Citroen C3 might just be one of the most anticipated cars of 2022.
THE C3 IS CITROEN’S FIRST CAR FROM ITS C-CUBED PROGRAMME