Citroën C3 Aircross

Citroën C3 Aircross
C3 Aircross at the 2012 Montevideo Motor Show
Overview
Manufacturer	Citroën
Production	2010–present
Model years	2010–present
Assembly	Porto Real, Brazil (Citroën Brazil)
Designer	Donato Coco Jean-Pierre Ploué[1]
Body and chassis
Class	Sport utility vehicle
Body style	5-door estate
Layout	Front-engine, front-wheel-drive
Related	Citroën C3 Picasso Citroën C4 Aircross Peugeot 207
Powertrain
Engine	1.6-L VTi 16-valve I4 (petrol)
Transmission	5-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,540 mm (100.0 in)[2]
Length	4,279 mm (168.5 in)[2]
Width	1,723 mm (67.8 in)[2]
Height	1,697 mm (66.8 in)[2]
Kerb weight	1,387 kg (3,058 lb)[2]

The Citroën C3 Aircross is a C3 Picasso-based sport utility vehicle (SUV), first announced by Citroën's Brazilian division in August 2010. The C3 Aircross is manufactured in Porto Real, Brazil, and was launched in Brazil and Argentina in September 2010.^[3] Compared with the C3 Picasso, the restyled C3 Aircross has raised suspension, chrome roof bars, mirror covers, side skirts and a rear spare tyre.^[4][5] The model is capable of running on E85 Bioethanol^[6] and is based on the Peugeot 207 SW platform.^[7] Ivan Segal, the managing director of Citroën of Brazil predicted sales of 30,000 Aircross models in a full year at launch,^[3] but lowered this expectation in 2011 to 2,000 Aircross models per month. Segal wanted to achieve this by targeting "young and adventurous" buyers.^[8]

Design and features

C3 Aircross rear side view, showing the higher ride height and spare wheel - added to create an off-road look

The Aircross features an upholstered fabric interior, with corduroy or leather options.^[9] The engine supports are designed to collapse downwards slightly in a front-end impact to prevent the engine from invading the cabin and injuring passengers. The C3 Aircross SX and Exclusive models have ABS, one of the few vehicles on sale in the Brazilian market with this feature.^[10] The C3 Aircross was designed with an obligation for green materials to be used where viable. 20 kg (44.1 lb) of the vehicle's polymers, include the parcel shelf, boot carpet, and partial use in the doors, are from natural fibres to meet this target.^[11]

Engines

In Brazil, the Aircross is available with a 4-speed automatic or 5-speed manual gearbox.^[12]

Reviews

Autoblog.com reviewed the C3 Aircross, giving a mostly negative review to aspects and features of the vehicle. The basic X model launched with no airbags, ABS, or temperature sensor; the last of which they consider to be a necessity in the hot Latin American climate. They criticised the boot, calling it awkward and complicated since it can only open once an arm carrying the spare tyre has been unlocked and swung out of the way, which increases the space required for parking. Further, in their review, they complained that the dashboard mounted displays were difficult for the driver to see comfortably, echoing concerns CNET had when reviewing the C3 Picasso, where they called the displays "not particularly readable" and possibly dangerous to use while driving.^[16]

Only one engine is available for the C3 Aircross; a 1.6-Litre HDi used in other Citroën cars, including the Latin American market's C3 Picasso. Autoblog.com's review was favourable to it since it performed very well in the Aircross off-road, although it was noisy on-road. They found no discernible issues with the suspension, which handled well on and off the road, traversing irregular terrain without issues.^[9]

Overall, Autoblog.com considered the price of AR$80,000 to be unrealistically high for the lack of features they considered to be essential, and when compared to rivals.^[9][17]

Sales

See also

• List of automobiles manufactured in Brazil
• List of Citroën vehicles
• Citroën C4 Picasso

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Citroën C3 Aircross.