Citroen C3 Aircross automatic will be available on the top 2 variants and will be priced around Rs 1 lakh more than the respective manual variant
Adding an automatic gearbox should help Citroen market the C3 Aircross to consumers looking for a 5/7-seater SUV with an auto transmission. The C3 Aircross has not grabbed much attention since its release and is a slow burner concerning sales and one of the reasons we believe is the lack of an automatic gearbox, whose demand has increased for most buyers these days.
For design, it is sort of a mix between the C3 and C5 Aircross because the front and rear fascia are very similar to the C3 but the tall bonnet and a long wheelbase along with the side cladding on the doors remind you of the bigger and more expensive C5 Aircross.
The suspension is softly setup which helps the ride stay compliant even over broken roads.
It will continue with the same 1.2-litre three-pot turbo petrol engine that sees duty on the manual variant as well. The new C3 Aircross automatic will be the same model that is on sale in Indonesia – the 6-speed unit is sourced from Japanese transmission maker Aisin.
We believe that only the top two variants are expected to get the automatic gearbox option. There are no details if there is any change in power or torque output on the automatic C3 Aircross that comes to India.
On the inside, you get the familiar cabin of the C3, which means the dashboard mainly consists of the huge 10.2-inch infotainment screen with smartphone connectivity, funky-looking air vents and circular HVAC controls at the centre and vertically stacked air vents on both ends. The top of the dashboard comes in 2 themes – Bronze and Anodised Grey, while the bottom is finished in beige.
The C3 Aircross is sold as a mid-size SUV considering its dimensions and this means it will take on a long list of rivals in our market. This includes the refreshed Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Volkswagen Taigun, Skoda Kushaq, Toyota Hyryder, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Tata Harrier, and the Mahindra XUV700.