Citroën Basalt To Be More Upmarket Than C3 Aircross

Citroën India has just revealed the production-ready Basalt coupe SUV. The fifth product from Citroën is based on the C3 Aircross as it is also the fourth model from the brand’s C-Cubed Programme. However, the French marque claims to have worked hard to make the Basalt a more premium offering compared to the C3 Aircross, according to Citroën designers Stephane Dannenhoffer and Antoine Gaillot-Drevon.

The Basalt is touted to be a more upmarket product from Citroën India. This has been done as a response to feedback from the market, which includes Citroën’s existing as well as potential customers who claim that the existing lineup of the brand in the country isn’t premium enough. 

To that aspect, Citroën India has given more colour to the Basalt compared to the C3 Aircross. Stephane Dannenhoffer, Design Project Manager for Citroën Basalt said, “Actually it’s a very unique face compared to the C3 and C3 Aircross. On the C3 Aircross, you have a big black grille and on the Basalt we wanted to add a bit more elegance. That is why we wanted to introduce some more body colour on the top of the grille. That is why it is a very unique face and not an evolution of what has been done on the C3 Aircross.” 

In addition to using more body colour on the face of the Basalt, Citroën has given it LED headlamps. While this is not the first model from the brand in India to get LED headlamps (C5 Aircross gets it), it is the first from the C-Cubed models to feature it. According to the latest teasers, the Basalt will also get toggle switches for the automatic climate control, while the C3 Aircross only gets three knobs and no automatic temperature control.

Citroën has also used interesting elements in the design of the Basalt, which it calls Colour Clips. The fog lamp housing in the front bumper gets a red accent line which Citroën claims highlights the SUV nature of the Basalt, while the brown accent line aft of the rear window signifies the length of the coupe SUV. These elements aren't present on any other Citroën model either in India or globally. The Basalt is expected to be launched in the coming weeks.