Citroën Basalt vs Competition: Price Comparison

Citroën’ latest, the Basalt, is a unique proposition in the compact SUV segment. While the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Volkswagen Taigun, and Kia Seltos have been conquering the sales chart with every passing quarter – the advent of a coupe SUV suddenly does spruce up matters. The Basalt not only looks good, it also pack in a bunch of premiumness, except for a sunroof – which is available with most of its competitors. But with a price range from ₹8 lakh to ₹13.62 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), it becomes hard not to consider. Let’s take a look at how the Citroen stacks up price-wise in the competition table below:

As you can see from the table above, the Basalt is the most affordable option in this list. The top-spec Citroën Basalt Max variant with the turbo engine and AT gearbox is priced at ₹13.62 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). This makes it ₹20,000 more expensive than the Hyundai Creta S variant, which is priced at ₹13.42 lakh (ex-showroom). On the features-end, the Basalt gets a bigger 10.25-inch infotainment screen. In contrast, the Hyundai Creta is available with a smaller 8-inch touchscreen infotainment unit that – however, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available with both. 

Compared to the Volkswagen Taigun, the Basalt MAX variant competes against the former’s Highline variant. Now, the latter does come loaded with quite the bells and whistles, starting with the fact that the VW rolls on 16-inch wheels, while the Basalt equips 15-inch wheels. Inside, the Taigun Highline and Basalt MAX variants have big infotainment screens. However, the Basalts are slightly bigger. But mechanically, the Taigun gets the more powerful 1.0-litre TSI engine that produces 113 bhp and 178 Nm, while the Basalt produces 80 bhp and 115 Nm. The situation doesn’t vary that much when it comes to the Skoda Kushaq’s Onyx variant which also gets the same 1.0-litre TSI engine and a similar feature list as the Taigun. 

With the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara and Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, the availability of hybrid powertrains makes them great value-for-money products, especially if you travel long distances for most of the month. However, the hybrid powertrain does come with a premium price tag, adding to that the Grand Vitara and Urban Cruiser Hyryder also have a starting ex-showroom price i.e. ₹3 lakh pricier than the Citroen Basalt. 

All in all, Citroën Basalt is more than just a fair proposition for anyone who is looking for something stylish, spacious and aptly tech-savvy. The lack of some features and performance-oriented might be its biggest flaws, but those have also helped Citroën keep the Basalt so aggressively priced.