CITROËN C3 AIRCROSS

The French carmaker enters the big ring. Will the C3 Aircross make a mark?

- ABHAY VERMA

I can’t think of a car segment that’s being contested as hotly; that’s because including the Citroën C3 Aircross you see here, there will be as many as nine SUVs in the midsize SUV segment that compete with each other directly! Need a list? Here you go: Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, Škoda Kushaq, Volkswagen Taigun, MG Astor and the soon-to-be-launched Honda Elevate! That’s over half a dozen manufacturers in the fray already. You see, the midsize SUV segment has been the most lucrative pie out there for car makers in India for nearly a decade now, because you look at the volumes, the segment is bigger than quite a few other ‘mass market’ segments!

So, you will agree, that’s enough and more reason for Citroën to dip its toes in! But as we saw a couple of months ago when the C3 Aircross broke cover, the French carmaker isn’t following the norm – it hasn’t packed the SUV to the gills with features or isn’t offering multiple powertrain options and instead is keeping things simple. Interestingly, the C3 Aircross is based on the same platform as the C3 hatchback launched last year but is a Creta-sized SUV. So clearly the C3 Aircross has its task cut out, as it enters what is the most hotly contested segment in the country. We spent half a day driving it up and down the East Coast Road to find out if the C3 Aircross is the automotive equivalent of the Quiche Lorraine!