Experience Of Driving With Citroatur C3 Aircross: Comfortable In Every Road Condition

Citroen C3 Aircross. (Photo: Bagus Muhammad Hafizh/VOI)

JAKARTA - PT Indomobil National Distributor, as the sole agent holding the Citroen brand in Indonesia, officially sold the Citroen C3 Aircross model in Indonesia last April.

Since its presence in the country's market, this car is claimed to have the comfort of a 'fly carpet' located in the suspension section so that it gives a different taste than its competitors.

To prove this, the VOI team got the opportunity from Citroen Indonesia to conduct testing on this car for several days round the streets around Jakarta, Depok, to Tangerang, both passing through toll roads to dense urban areas.

What does the driving experience of this model look like? Here's the full review.

Typical French Design

In terms of appearance, this car has a look that is not much different when compared to the smaller C3. However, the main difference lies in the longer back by leaving a wider space.

Citroen C3 Aircross has a length dimension of 4,323 mm, a width of 1,796 mm, a height of 1,669, with a wheelbase reaching 2,671 mm with a 7-SEATER configuration. A strong element is also presented in this car such as over-fanders round the vehicle and rooftops that function to load the above items.

The identity of this car is getting thicker with the front display having Citroen's signature two arrows and two arrows' logo located in the middle of the grip and there are carvings and curves stretching on the side so that it is more aerodynamic.

Interior Comfort

Citroen C3 Aircross has an interior with a typical urban design. In some parts, the cabin is coated with hard material, but in some parts such as sidedoor handles, arm rest for drivers, to trim dashboards covered with soft materials.

The steering wheel of three bars is also quite good to hold so that the driver can comfortably drive the car. This section is equipped with several arrangements to change the display of the instrument screen to the volume of sound.

Unlike new models in general, the SUV retains physical key elements and conventional settings in the middle dashboard while making it easier for vehicle users to adjust air conditioning and ventilation.

Sophisticated Features

The car has a 10.2-inch touchscreen that can be connected to Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto, making it easier for users to have access like Gmaps to this mid-screen.

Many features are embedded in this one car, including the safety of the anti-lock braking system, electronic brake strength distribution and electronic stability program. Another system presented is Reverse Parking Camera, showing a 180-degree back view to make it easier for drivers to see the situation when walking or parking back when the transmission moves to R.

Driving Comfort

At the time of testing, the VOI team took this car to various road conditions, ranging from smooth conditions, mounds, congestion, sandy, to inclines. Citroen C3 Aircross is equipped with a MacPherson Strut with Coil Spring suspension in front and a Rear Twist Beam with Coil Spring behind.

These two components managed to carry out their duties very well through various road conditions so that they did not feel hard when passing various road conditions.

However, one note that needs to be highlighted is that Citroen C3 Aircross has a fairly convex suspension when passing the corner quickly. This can still be understood considering that the platform used in this car is the same as the C3 version of the hatchback.

Formation And Consumption Of Fuel

Citroen C3 Aircross is equipped with a 1.2 liter 3-cylinder turbocharged engine which has a combined 110 kW of power at 5,500 RPM and a 205 Nm torque at 1,750 RPM combined with six automatic accelerations.

The car has a subtle dental change system when it is in 'D' mode and is quite responsive when the gas pedal is stepped on, but there are slight delays or turbo lags in certain conditions.

In addition, C3 Aircross has manual mode when transmission moves to M. While in this mode, drivers only need to lower the lever to + to add teeth and raise the lever to -to reduce the gear when the speed decreases. Thus, this gives users the sensation of fun to drive for users who want to change their teeth conventionally.

Having a smaller engine with a turbocharged system, this car has a total fuel consumption of 7.4 km/l when passing through the inner city area in various road conditions.

Prices And Competitors

Entering the LSUV segment in the country, Citroen C3 Aircross is a direct competitor to models such as Daihatsu Terios, Toyota Rush, Honda BR-V, Hyundai Stargazer X, to Mitsubishi Xpander Cross. However, this car is one of the cheapest in its class with a tag of IDR 289.9 million On The Road DKI Jakarta.

Conclusion

The presence of C3 Aircross proves that Indomobil does not play with bringing the Citroen brand to the Indonesian market. At a price below Rp. 300 million, buyers can already get a European branded car with one broad dimension in their class.

Although the features presented are quite minimal, this car offers the convenience of suspensions such as 'flying carpets' for domestic and out-of-town travel. But of course all return to consumer needs and tastes.