Citroen Basalt Coupe SUV, the newest offering from the French carmaker, is all set to be launched in India tomorrow, August 9, 2024. It will be the second Made-In-India Coupe SUV to go on sale in our country, the first one being the Tata Curvv EV, which was launched on August 7. In fact, the Basalt will directly compete with the internal combustion engine version of the Tata Curvv, which is slated to be launched on September 2.
Now we have already driven the new Citroen Basalt but right now, our opinions are under embargo. Having said that, we have shared all the specifications and feature details, which you can find on car&bike. And our full review, on the other hand, will go live tomorrow. While we don’t know the pricing yet; that will be announced tomorrow, however, we can take a guess, and we expect the new Citroen Basalt will be priced quite competitively.
Also Read: Citroen Basalt Coupe-SUV Debuts: Dimensions, Features, Engine Options Detailed
The Citroen Basalt will be a Coupe SUV and compete in the compact SUV space
Now, although the C3 Aircross will receive a minor update soon, at the moment, the compact SUV is priced at Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 14.33 lakh (ex-showroom). We believe the new Citroen Basalt will be launched at an introductory price between Rs. 8 lakh to Rs. 13 lakh (ex-showroom).
Yes, that is because, although the new Citroen Basalt is built on the same platform as the C3 Aircross, and will share most of its features, the former also gets the option of a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine. The C3 Aircross is only offered with the more powerful 1.2-litre turbo petrol motor. Furthermore, the fact that the Basalt doesn’t offer the option for a variant with 3-rows, the carmaker will be able to undercut not just other compact SUVs, but also the C3 Aircross.
The new Basalt will come with a lot of new features that will also be seen in the C3 Aircross
In addition to the stylish coupe SUV design, the Basalt also comes with some modern features like – projector headlamps, LED DRLs, and diamond-cut alloys. The cabin is loaded with a 10.25-inch touchscreen unit, and a 7-inch digital instrument cluster, along with a wireless phone charger, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and connected car tech. But the Basalt misses out on a panoramic sunroof, something that will be offered with the Curvv.
The Basalt will be available with two engines. The first one is the naturally aspirated 1.2-litre petrol producing 81 bhp and 115 Nm of torque which is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. Then you have the 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine with the choice of a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed automatic transmission. While power output remains the same for both gearbox options (108 bhp), there’s a difference in torque output - 195 Nm for the manual, and 210 Nm for the automatic version. ARAI-certified fuel efficiency is rated at 18 kmpl for the naturally-aspirated 1.2-litre version, 19.5 kmpl for the turbo-petrol manual, and 18.7 kmpl for the turbo-petrol automatic.
