Citroen C3 Testing Continues As Launch Nears

The Citroen C3 has again been spotted testing in India sans any camouflage. The test car's lack of side cladding and alloy wheels seen on the vehicle at the time of its debut last year suggest that this could be another mid-spec variant. Based on Citroen's CMP platform, the new C3 for India will sit in the B+ or premium hatchback segment and is Citroen first mass-market model for India. The car will be produced alongside the larger C5 Aircross at the company's plant in Tiruvallur.

The C3 follows a crossover inspired design with upright styling, and gets 180mm ground clearance and plastic cladding on the lower sections of the bumpers, wheel arches and side sills. Higher variants will wear cladding on the lower doors as well with dual-tone variants set to feature contrast inserts in the cladding. The C3 features a split headlamp set-up with slim LED DRL units atop the main headlamps. The units are joined by a chrome strip running the width of the front fascia and incorporating the company's double chevron logo. A prominent grille sits lower down on the front bumper with a faux diffuser adding to the crossover look.

Fully-loaded model wears cladding on doors and alloy wheels.

While the cabin isn't visible in the image, the C3 will get a clean and uncluttered cabin with the fully loaded model featuring a digital instrument cluster – it's a simpler dot-matrix-style readout in place of a full-colour display, and landscape style 10-inch touchscreen atop the centre console.

Fully-loaded C3 to get digital instrument panel and 10-inch touchscreen.

Citroen is yet to confirm engine details though the car is expected to come with a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine developing around 100 bhp and 160 Nm. Reports suggest that a 1.5-litre diesel engine could also be part of the line-up.

The C3 will be the first of three Citroen small cars set to launch in India by 2024. The three models will all be made in India and form part of the company's C Cubed programme.

Image Source: Arpit Rathi