- Gets five- and seven-seat layouts

- To be launched in the second half of 2023

Citroen has entered the three-row SUV segment in India with the C3 Aircross. While the prices and variant details will be announced in the second half of 2023, we can tell you that the SUV will compete against the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, and Skoda Kushaq. However, the Aircross misses out on some crucial features that are otherwise offered as standard in many of its rivals. We list them out in this story.

1. LED / Projector headlamps

While the C3 Aircross gets split headlamps with integrated DRLs, the headlamps are halogen units and miss out on projector or LED lamps. As for the rivals, many of the SUVs get LED headlamps that are brighter and much more effective than the conventional ones.

2. Keyless entry and Push start/stop button

Features such as keyless entry and push start/stop button are now common in cars that are below the SUV segment. These add great convenience and are usually offered with most of the higher variants. However, the C3 Aircross gets a key fob only.

3. No power window switches on rear doors

The controls for the rear power windows are placed on the centre console behind the manual hand brake. These can be conveniently accessed only by the driver and there are no window switches offered on the rear door pads.

4. Automatic Climate control

The omission of automatic climate control has been carried forward from the C3 hatchback to the new C3 Aircross. The top-spec variant that we sampled was offered with a manual air conditioner for both the front and rear rows.

5. No diesel or hybrid powertrain engines

Citroen India has confirmed that the C3 Aircross will be powered by a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine. This will be paired with a manual gearbox, and an automatic transmission is also on the cards. However, the bigger miss here will be a diesel/CNG powertrain or a hybrid engine that is offered in a majority of cars in the segment.

Given the missing features, we expect Citroen to price the C3 Aircross competitively, with a starting price of Rs. 10 lakh (ex-showroom).