Let’s say politely that Citroen hasn’t been very skilled when SUV market is in question. It offered compact SUV C-Crosser in 2007 which was slightly more than just rebadged Mitsubishi Outlander and same goes for Peugeot 4007. Both French vehicles lived to see a total catastrophe of the sales and for next generation recipe was partially changed.
In 2012 came C4 Aircross and Peugeot 4008 which were still compact crossovers but now smaller ones, based on Mitsubishi ASX. Again total disaster with sale figures for both, as apparently taking Japanese product and stuffing own grille and lights is far from enough. Citroen knows better, it was always one of the quirkiest car makers, and it could be damn trendy one, look at DS3!
When it restart on their own, we got C4 Cactus, more than an intriguing thing, and 2017 Citroen C-Aircross Concept is here to show that game goes on. It will be shown live at Geneva Motor Show while production version based on it may hit the streets at the end of this year.
WHAT IS IT?
It is the concept that shows the successor of C3 Picasso. Don’t get confused as Picasso is MPV, but the next generation will switch to crossovers, same as we had with Peugeot 5008. Precisely it will be subcompact or mini SUV, sharing the same segment with C4 Cactus, but it is the trend nowadays, take a look at Opel Mokka X and Crossland X. It should slot slightly below Cactus both with price and size.
2017 Citroen C-Aircross Concept LOOKS
Citroen is again experiencing styling madness and thank GOD for that. Cactus is berserk, new C3 is the trendiest thing over there, and C-Aircross is coming to develop the story additionally. Whether you like it or not, that is pure Citroen, and it should always stick to its peculiar side. The concept is elevated C3 and it doesn’t try to hide that. The front fascia is almost the same with just slightly altered headlights and bumper that needed to incorporate some off road cues.
We have differently styled signature air bumps on the side, modified tail lights but same rear bumper with just addition of some stylish skid plate. The concept has cameras instead of mirrors, which won’t happen in reality unless they decide to sell it in Japan and it also features suicide doors. It isn’t hard to see how the production model will look like, just add normal mirrors and doors, and you’ll end up with slightly different and taller C3.
CABIN
Interior of the concept has a great resemblance to the one in Cactus and obviously to the one in new C3. And yet, whole styling idea was taken from Japanese Kei cars. The cabin of 2017 Citroen C-Aircross Concept virtually almost has no buttons, and everything is commanded by the 12-inch touchscreen seating at the center of the dash. It can divide itself into two parts so each of the front passengers can enjoy its own stuff while traveling.
There is high chance that production model will, besides what concept says, have cabin identical to the one in C3. Peugeot did it when 2008, they took 208’s interior, Renault made the same move with Captur and Clio and Mazda with CX3 and 2 model.
2017 Citroen C-Aircross Concept POWERTRAIN
There is nothing official in this area, but we know that future crossover can use existing petrol 1.4 and 1.6-liter engine from current Picasso model and we might add 1.2-liter from new C3 to the mix. It is clear that on the diesel front it will use 1.6-liter with different power outputs. Production model should feature Grip Control that acts as limited slip differential distributing torque to the wheels where traction is needed.
It is probably not going to get full-time AWD system, as it is hardly required for this type of vehicle and mentioned Grip Control could nicely deal with mild calamities that bad weather can create in the city.
