CITROEN C5 AIRCROSS

Our love for cars isn’t a secret anymore and more and more car manufacturers across the world are taking notice. Sure, it’s a challenging market but it is also a welcoming one. If you watched the trend, we Indians aren’t just opening our gates to new car manufacturers; we are laying down a big red carpet for anyone who comes our way.

- Vivek Venugopal

All it takes is to come up with a desirable product that offers good value and we will buy it. Renault became a household name with the Duster and Jeep was off to a decent success with the Compass too. New entrants from two years ago, like MG and Kia, were welcomed by the Indian car buyer with open arms as well. French manufacturer Citroen, which is part of PSA which in turn is now part of the automotive giant that is the Stellantis group, has been eyeing India for a while. With over 100 years of history, Citroen is known for innovation, design, and comfort. We drove their first offering in India – the Citroen C5 Aircross.

It is a global product, much like a Honda CRV. The C5 Aircross has a lot going on it in the styling department. The front end styling with the DRLs placed above the headlamps on the bumper was originally a design element seen on Citroens a decade ago, but in India, it has already been familiarized by other brands. It still looks premium and expensive. The white car we drove had reddish-orange accents on the front bumper, side cladding, and roof rails which looked funky. The 18-inch alloys look contemporary, the tail lamps have a 3D design inside, and everywhere you look, there are polygons with rounded corners. The proportions are great as well. It isn’t too big from the outside, but it is wider and taller than something like a Tiguan All Space.