An uncovered test vehicle of the Citroen C5 Aircross was spotted in Chennai.
The Citroen DS 7 Crossback was spotted testing in India last year. Now, an uncovered test vehicle of the C5 Aircross has been spotted on Indian roads, undergoing testing in Chennai. The C5 Aircross is underpinned on the PSA EMP2 platform, which is also seen on the DS 7 Crossback, the Peugeot 3008 and the Vauxhall Grandland X. The C5 Aircross made its debut in April 2017 in Shanghai, and subsequently went on sale in many European markets.
The vehicle is sold in the international markets with 1.2-litre and 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engines, as well as 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre diesel engines. The engines can be mated to either a 6-speed manual gearbox or an 8-speed automatic gearbox. The 1.2-litre turbo-petrol and the 1.5-litre diesel churn out 130 BHP and the bigger 2.0-litre diesel engine gives out 180 BHP. The carmaker has not skimped out on safety features and offers the vehicle with Grip Control with various driving modes for different surfaces, hill descent control, hill hold assist, blind spot assist, automatic headlamps, attention assist and cross-traffic detection.
The Citroen C5 Aircross measures 4500 mm in length, 1840 mm in width and has a height of 1670 mm. The 2370 mm wheelbase makes it longer than the Hyundai Tuscon, but shorter than the Tata Harrier. It has a notable ground clearance of 230 mm. The SUV features a split grille design with wraparound split headlamps with LED DRLs placed above the headlamps. It has a dual-tone front bumper, that gives it an aggressive look and compliments the split-headlamp set-up. Around the side of the car, it gets blacked-out A, B, and C-pillars that give a floating roof feel, the side profile is made bulkier by adding chunky plastic cladding. It also gets rectangular tail-lights and a dual-tone rear bumper with integrated exhausts.
Another notable point is that, Groupe PSA’s Greenfield facility located in Hosur, Tamil Nadu has started manufacturing the 1.2-litre petrol and 2.0-litre diesel engines. These powerplants are currently being exported and are owned by PSA AVTEC Powertrain, in a 50:50 joint venture, that was set up in 2017 between Groupe PSA and AVTEC. It is still not confirmed whether Citroen will launch the C5 Aircross in the India market, but the test vehicle could be a mule for the made-in-India engines and transmissions built by PSA-Avtec.
Citroen C5 Aircross
– The SUV gets 4 engine options in the international market
– A 6-speed manual and an 8-speed automatic gearbox are offered
– The car comes with Grip Control, with selectable modes for different surfaces
Source – AutocarIndia.com
