Citroën's second major launch this year, the second-generation C3 Aircross uses the technical base of the new C3 to finally offer electrified, hybrid MHEV and electric versions to meet the needs of the entire market. The new C3 Aircross, with its significantly larger dimensions and excellent living space, offers a solid case for high levels of comfort at an unbeatable price..
The first confrontation with its most direct competitors, namely the thermal versions, including the hybrid, mainly the Dacia Duster, but also its two French rivals, who easily took the upper hand over the first generation of the urban SUV with chevrons. And this second generation?
Dacia Duster
The Romanian SUV is certainly the target for the new Citroën SUV, which is up against a heavyweight competitor. In fact, the Dacia Duster is in ninth place in France with 16,322 units sold in the first half of the year and more than 65,000 units sold in Europe (end of May 2024) against just over 30,000 units for the current C3 Aircross.
With a length of 4m39, the new C3 Aircross is positioned opposite its Romanian rival and is the largest SUV in its segment. The C3 Aircross also has a slightly longer wheelbase (2m67 compared to 2m66 for the Duster), but above all it has a clear advantage in terms of space for rear passengers, as the Citroën SUV has 7.4 cm more rear knee room than the Romanian SUV. On the other hand, the Citroën has a slight advantage in terms of boot volume, with 472 litres compared to the 460 litres of the C3 Aircross. As far as engines are concerned, the new C3 Aircross is in direct competition with the Duster, even though it still has the advantage of being able to offer a 100% electric version, but the majority of sales will be made by the thermal engines and especially the 136 hybrid. On this side, the Citroën SUV offers an entry-level 100 hp petrol engine and a 136 hp MHEV hybrid, while the Dacia SUV offers a 100 hp TCe petrol engine and a 140 hp full hybrid.
But it is on the price side that the C3 Aircross hits a big blow with a starting price of €19,400, which is a little cheaper than the Dacia SUV (€19,690) for similar equipment with the advantage of Advanced Comfort suspension for the Citroën SUV. The C3 Aircross also has the advantage in terms of price for hybrid engines with almost identical power (136 hp compared to 140 for the Duster).
Of course, we will have to see during the dynamic tests how the two SUVs compete, the C3 Aircross will clearly keep a comfort advantage, but the Dacia SUV has the advantage of being very well established on the market and benefiting from a confidence rating at the top, while for Citroën everything remains to be built with this new positioning.
If the Duster is the big competitor of the new C3 Aircross, the latter will also face its French rivals with the Renault Captur and Peugeot 2008, but the comparison will be tricky as the Citroën SUV has dimensions and habitability superior to the latter, with better comfort also for much more accessible prices. For example, the entry-level version of the new C3 Aircross is more than €5,000 cheaper than the Renault Captur (TCe 90) and €6,000 cheaper than the corresponding version of the Peugeot SUV with the identical Puretech 100 engine. This price difference also applies to hybrid engines, with a C3 Aircross costing €4,000 less than the Lion SUV and €3,500 less than the Renault Captur E-tech 145 hp.
In conclusion, the new C3 Aircross clearly has only one target to shoot down, the Dacia Duster, which is the only one to offer such accessible prices, but the Citroën SUV retains two great assets with a truly exceptional habitability in the rear seats and a comfort that we know will certainly be superior to its rivals. Also, by having a more SUV look and obvious qualities that it does not charge too much, the C3 Aircross has solid assets to make a place in the sun on the urban SUV segment, it will be necessary to check during the press tests for a total comparison including dynamic tests.
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