French carmaker Citroen is working hard for a coupe in India, even though it hasn’t received as much as expected. Citroen sold only 404 cars last April. This is a 60% decrease compared to April last year.
Despite this situation, Citroen is gearing up to launch a new coupe SUV in India soon. Already in India, Citroen sells four models namely the C3 hatchback, C3 Aircross SUV, C5 Aircross SUV and the E-C3 electric car. The company is currently testing a new mid-size coupe SUV called Basalt on Indian roads.
The company launched the concept model of this coupe SUV earlier this year. The production version of the concept model is currently being tested on roads. The production model has almost the same design as shown in the concept model. The currently tested model is missing features like LED headlamps and alloy wheels.
The company is expected to offer these features in the top-end variant. Along with this, it is expected to get LED projector headlamps, automatic climate control, auto-dimming IRVM, rain sensing wipers, keyless entry, push button start and ventilated seats.
Citron also puts a lot of emphasis on safety in this Balasalt Coupe SUV. Hence, six airbags, ISOFIX points and seatbelts will come as standard. Efforts are being made to follow global safety norms in India as well. Notably, the company’s E-C3 electric hatchback model sold in India received a 0-star rating in the latest Global NCAP safety test.
In this new Basalt coupe SUV, Citroen is expected to use the same engine used in the C3 Aircross. The C3 Aircross is powered by a three-cylinder, 1.2-litre turbocharged engine. The engine is capable of producing 108hp of power and 205Nm of torque. Also, the engine comes with two gearbox options, a 6-speed torque converter automatic and a 6-speed manual. With the manual gearbox option, the torque drops to just 190Nm and that’s it.
