I am writing this review after Citroen has announced pricing for the Basalt. And I am glad I am doing so. The sticker price of Rs. 7.99 lakh (ex-showroom) changes the proposition completely. It is now the most affordable mid-size SUV in the country. And that is a big deal. You see, when the C3 Aircross was launched, it undercut the competition by 10 percent or so, but it offered the practicality that comes with seven seats. However, it has now emerged that the compromises that the C3 Aircross made to achieve that price tag made it seem not so attractive to buyers after all. Sales dwindled for a while, before Citroen announced the Basalt, and with it addressed the sore misses that the C3 Aircross had.
Design of the Citroen Basalt
The Basalt, the marketing would have you believe, is all about that sexy coupe roofline. To be fair, it does prompt a second glance from fellow road users. And when you spend some time with it, in this gorgeous shade of red (like I have), you begin to understand why. The front of the Basalt hasn’t been tinkered with. It continues with the face of the C3 Aircross, with the split grille, contoured bonnet and faux skid plate.
A prominent functional change is that the headlamps are now projector LED units. It is only when you move towards the sides that you realize the effort Citroen’s designers have put in. Apart from the overall silhouette, the squared-off wheel arches and the 16-inch alloys (different from those on the C3 Aircross) make it easily identifiable.
Past the C-pillar, the roof drops sharply as the boot raises in a lip to meet it. The taillamps have an angular, sharp design that juts out from the sides ever so slightly. The boot, much like the front, is contoured and adds some character to the rear. There is a mix of black and silver plastic cladding to spice things up just that little bit.
Interiors and features of the Citroen Basalt
There are still some bits that point to Citroen’s cost-cutting. The flap-type door handles are odd to see and so is the open keyhole on the driver’s side. But look past that, and you’ll notice that Citroen has listened to customer complaints and fixed a lot of the glaring issues with the C3 Aircross.
The dash looks very similar in layout, but there are a few new additions. There’s now auto climate control, wireless charging and crucially, power window switches are now on the door pads. There are a few spots with soft-touch materials in the cabin, and there’s a new central armrest. Still, there is no keyless entry-and-go, no ventilated seats, no sunroof and no cruise control.
The seats themselves, both at the front as well as at the back, are very well cushioned. At the back, there are a couple of neat additions in the form of winged headrests and adjustable under-thigh support. The under-thigh support can be adjusted in four levels and should be a boon for a lot of taller people (including me) who have to make do with no under-thigh support whatsoever in most cars. From the rear seats you get a good view of the road with a large glasshouse area, and the light-coloured upholstery further brightens up the interiors.
And finally for a Citroen for India, there is a sizeable features list. There are LED headlamps, 16-inch alloy wheels (a bit too small for the car in my opinion though), powered folding mirrors, floor-mounted rear AC vents, and a wireless charging. The cluster and the infotainment display are par for the course and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay work seamlessly. There is a 6-speaker audio system as well that sounds good. On the safety front there’s ESP, hill-hold, and a tyre pressure monitoring system.
Ride and handling
I remember when I drove the C3 Aircross for the very first time on the buttery smooth ECR just outside Chennai. The very first thought that popped into my head was, surely, the suspension can’t be this pliant. Soon enough though, we found some bad stretches of road and the C3 Aircross continued to impress. Citroen had somehow found the perfect ride and handling balance for India in their very first attempt.
The Basalt, I am very happy to say, goes one step further. Not only is it just as comfortable (might even have a nicer ride than its sibling) it is also highly engaging to drive. Goa’s narrow roads usually don’t give us a lot of opportunities to really test the handling of a car, but a short hill climb up to Cabo De Rama was the answer to our prayers. Good body control was evident on the winding corners that led up to our shoot location and I thoroughly enjoyed driving it there. And when we got to the rocky stretch of land that overlooked the Arabian Sea, the Basalt was more than happy to take the terrain in its stride while not making the occupants bounce about too much.
Sadly though, the steering is a letdown. It is very vague around dead centre and is pretty inconsistent too. And that meant that you end up doing a lot more corrections than you’d like. A better steering wheel would have made the Citroen Basalt a proper driver’s car, especially with the 1.2-litre turbo petrol engine.
Performance
And that was the engine that our test car was equipped with. Paired to a 6-speed manual transmission, it produces 110hp and 190Nm of power and torque respectively. And that is good enough to propel the car to 100kmph in under ten seconds. But the numbers themselves don’t tell you the story of what is an exceptional engine.
It is creamy smooth, very refined and loves to rev with linear power delivery. All that together in one package is rare, particularly so for a small capacity engine. The manual gearbox on the other hand is just about alright. Gears slot in with relatively low effort, but the clutch is a tiny bit inconsistent, not a deal-breaker but not particularly nice either. If I was looking at buying, I’d probably consider the auto box that’s available.
Should you buy the Citroen Basalt?
So where does that leave us then? The Citroen Basalt, to me, makes absolute sense. Sure, the features list is a little short. But what you are getting a very compelling package with good looks, performance and comfort for a fair few lakhs less than what you’d otherwise have to pay for a competitor. Oh, and if you are sold on the proposition that the Citroen Basalt offers, steer away from the naturally aspirated engine and pick the turbo-petrol. It is just a much nicer engine. It does bump up the price from the 8 lakhs that has got everyone’s attention, but it still is a very good deal at Rs. 13.62 lakh for the top-spec automatic.
