Presented as a faithful vision last March, the Citroën Basalt has finally been fully unveiled by Citroën in India, which immediately seized the opportunity to organise press tests of this very first SUV coupé of the brand. An important innovation for Citroën in India and Latin America, where it will be marketed, the Basalt reveals some interesting new features that I suggest you discover.
Citroën had decided to partially unveil the Basalt in the form of a vision at the end of March, indicating that the production version would be 100% faithful to this vision, but keeping the interior a secret. In fact, aware of the criticism levelled at the lack of equipment on the C3 and C3 Aircross, the brand had decided to improve the level of equipment on its range, but needed time to do so, so it decided to unveil the Basalt in the form of a vision, postponing its actual presentation by a few months.
The unveiling took place in India on 2 August, with the Brazilian version probably waiting for the start of the school year. A strange way to unveil a car, since the brand has not issued a press release or official photos, so it is difficult to be exhaustive about what this Basalt has to offer.
There is therefore no need to go back over the exterior style of this new Basalt, as it is completely faithful to the vision presented in March, which allows us to see that Citroën now offers LED headlights on the Basalt, in its high-end finishes, while the Colour Clips appear on the front bumper and the rear quarter panel.
An updated and comfortable interior
It is in the interior that the new features are most noticeable, even if they are often in the details. As expected, the interior is largely the same as that of the C3 and C3 Aircross, but Citroën has added a few new touches, such as automatic air conditioning and an induction charger with the new Citroën logo. The Basalt also gets a new central console at the front, which allows the integration of an armrest and, above all, a large storage compartment. At the rear, the window controls have been moved from the central console to the armrests of the rear doors, allowing Citroën to install a ventilation system for the rear passengers, which is doubled with roof vents as in the C3 Aircross. Finally, the bench seat gets some specific features: an armrest with two cup holders, a seat that can be raised to provide better support for the thighs and headrests that fit into the seat and are more contoured.
Contrary to what we thought, the Citroën Basalt does not take the wheelbase of the C3 Aircross, from which it is strongly derived, but offers a wheelbase of 2m65, or 2 cm less than its big brother, while the ground clearance is 18 cm, again 2 cm less than the C3 Aircross. With a length of 4m35 and a height of 1m59, the Citroën Basalt is a large and spacious vehicle, which is confirmed by its 470-litre boot, which is enormous for an SUV coupé, equivalent to that of the new C3 Aircross in Europe. The Basalt should therefore prove to be particularly generous in terms of space and comfort for its occupants, two of the Citroën points that the brand wishes to highlight.
A wider range
Citroën also lifts the veil on the engines offered for the Basalt in India, where it will offer a fairly wide range. The brand will offer the Basalt with a 1.2 Puretech engine of 83 hp, which will be mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. Citroën will also offer a more powerful version of 110 hp with a manual or automatic gearbox, both with six speeds.
Finally, Citroën announces that the Basalt will be offered in five solid colours: polar white, steel grey, platinum grey, cosmo blue and garnet red. The white and red colours also have a two-tone black roof. The brand has not revealed the range of trim levels, which should take on the European names You, Plus and Max, but we do know that the Basalt will offer six airbags as standard, ESP, hill start assist and a tyre pressure monitor. In terms of comfort equipment, Citroën offers air conditioning, which is now automatic and uses the control panels of the European C3 and C3 Aircross, a 15 watt induction charger, electric mirrors and cruise control. Citroën also took advantage of the Basalt to revise the key, which, like the C3 in Brazil, is foldable and bears the new brand logo.
Finally, the Basalt completes Citroën's C-Cubed range and will only be sold in Asia and Latin America; internal competition with the C4 in Europe would be fatal for the compact saloon, whose dimensions are very similar. We will have to wait a few more weeks to know all the details of this first SUV-coupé from the brand, which promises success with an attractive exterior design and a slightly revised interior with enriched equipment that should make it a solid weapon against the competition, including the upcoming Tata Curvvv.
Comments