Orders for the budget Citroen Basalt SUV have started in India; it will later reach Latin America and other developing markets.
Basalt is the third Citroen model built on the budget Smart Car platform, the first two being the current Citroen C3 crossover hatchback and the three-row Citroen C3 Aircross crossover. The Smart Car platform was initially developed for developing markets (Africa, India, South America), but last year it was adapted for Europe, where it has already been used to launch the local Citroen C3 and Citroen C3 Aircross, as well as the new generation Opel Frontera and the Fiat Grande Panda cross-hatchback. It is possible that the Citroen Basalt will also receive a European registration, but, of course, in a much refined form.
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The Indian Citroen Basalt is as simple as a drum, especially in the basic You trim level on stamped wheels, with simplified exterior decor and a «bald» interior, where a storage tray is installed instead of a multimedia system screen, and the steering wheel sports plugs in place of buttons. Nevertheless, the «base» has six airbags, ESP, Isofix mounts and rear parking sensors.
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Basalt «at the maximum level», namely in the top-end Max configuration, has an extended external protective plastic body kit, 16-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, improved interior trim, more comfortable seats with central armrests, separate air vents for second-row passengers, climate control, a 7-inch instrument screen with customizable graphics, a 10-25-inch multimedia screen, a rear-view camera and other small amenities.
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The overall length of the Citroen Basalt is 4352 mm, width is 1765 mm, height is 1593 mm, wheelbase is 2651 mm. Trunk capacity is 470 l. Fuel tank capacity is 45 l. Front suspension is McPherson type, rear is semi-independent with transverse torsion beam. Front brakes are ventilated disc, rear brakes are drum in all trim levels. Power steering — electric.
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Only two petrol engines have been announced for the Indian Citroen Basalt, there are no electric versions yet. The junior petrol engine is a 1.2-litre 3-cylinder naturally aspirated engine from the PureTech family, producing 82 hp and 115 Nm, paired with only a 5-speed manual transmission. The second engine is the same 1.2-litre PureTech, but turbocharged, increasing the power to 110 hp, while the maximum torque in combination with a 6-speed manual transmission is 190 Nm, in combination with a 6-speed hydromechanical automatic — 205 Nm. The drive is only front.
In India, the Citroen Basalt costs from 799 thousand rupees or 885 thousand Russian rubles translated at the current exchange rate. The direct competitor of the new Citroen will be the coupe-shaped crossover Tata Curvv — it will enter the Indian market in early autumn. If you don’t get attached to the coupe-like form factor, then there are more profitable offers on the Indian market — for example, the Tata Punch crossover with a price tag of 612,900 rupees (678 thousand rubles).
Tata Punch according to the results of the first half of the year, 2024 became the best-selling new car in India — 126,429 units were sold. (data from the BestSellingCarsBlog resource), while the Citroen brand sold only 3,670 cars in India over the same period, which is 42.2% less than sales in January-June 2023. The tenacity with which Stellantis clings to the Indian market is astonishing, and perhaps it was fruitless investments in India that contributed significantly to the sharp decline in the corporation's overall profits in the first half of the year.