The Basalt SUV Coupe is the French carmaker’s fifth product for the fiercely competitive car market in India. The automaker has been under pressure over the past five years in the country, struggling to sell its cars primarily due to poor product planning and pricing too.
The SUV Coupe style combines a coupe-like low, rounded roof with a raised body with high ground clearance and body cladding. Until now, SUV Coupes were offered only by the luxury carmakers such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Now mass car market player Citroen has launched an SUV Coupe which will be followed by Tata Curvv soon.
We took the brand-new five-seater Basalt SUV Coupe for a spin to find out if Citroen has got it right this time.
The Exterior
Based on the C-Cubed platform, which underpins the Citroen C3 and Citroen C3 Aircross, the Basalt shares many parts with its siblings. It is powered by a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine paired to 6-speed manual and automatic transmissions and a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol mated to a 5-speed manual transmission.
The SUVs sloping coupe-like roofline, along with the squared-out wheelarches, pronounced tail lamps, and lowered ground clearance gives the Basalt a more emotive presence. The car runs on 16-inch alloy wheels which look smart and it has plenty of creases and curves, which are subtle. Features include LED projector headlamps, LED DRLs, 3D effect halogen tail-lamps and a shark fin antenna. There is a black cladding running along the wheel arches and sides and black inserts on the doors and C-pillars. The roof rails are not provided. The Basalt’s has a ground clearance of 180 mm which is good enough for most driving conditions.
The Interior
Once you step in, you notice that the interiors of the Basalt are very similar to the C3 Aircross. There are two interior trims on offer, which will depend on the variant and body colour you choose. Our test car had black and white dual-tone interiors with piano black, silver and chrome inserts. The cabin is spacious and despite the sloping roofline, the headroom is adequate enough. The steering wheel and the buttons on it feel nice and sturdy to operate. The driver seat is height adjustable and the steering is adjustable for height to get a comfortable driving position. Frontal and side visibility is good, but the rear visibility is not that great due to the thick C-pillars and small windshield. The seats are comfortable with a nice fabric finish. The front armrest is larger while the headrests are now designed to be more supportive than before. All the door pockets can hold 1-litre bottles and you get a well-sized glovebox with additional storage spaces on the lid. The centre console has a phone tray below which you have a wireless charging pad and 2 cupholders. There is a small cubby hole below the handbrake to keep change and another storage area in between the front seats for the rear passengers to use. The front seats have deep seatback pockets for the rear passengers to keep stuff. The rear bench has a comfortable adjustable thigh support, which is quite a unique offering which is also very comfortable. The boot, at 470 litres, is really big enough for a family's vacation luggage. One can fold the rear backrest down to expand cargo space considerably.
The Basalt is equipped with the automatic climate control unit and comes with a digital display and good switches. A 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system is standard while the instrument cluster is a 7-inch screen. There are multiple USB ports in addition to a large wireless charging pad at the front. Although there are no ADAS features but six airbags, ESP and TPMS are standard across the range. Though the Basalt is equipped with many features to attract buyers, it has no sunroof, ventilated seats, keyless entry and go, ambient lighting, auto-dimming IRVM, 360-degree camera, cruise control, auto headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, telescopic steering adjustment and 60:40 split for the rear seat.
The Drive Experience
Powering the Basalt is a 1.2L turbo-petrol engine of Citroen's EB family of engines. This 3-cylinder unit is mated to a 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission, which produces 109 BHP and 205 Nm, which is 15 Nm more than the manual transmission. Once you take off your foot from the brake, the Basalt AT moves forward without any fuss. Its electric power steering is very user-friendly and light. The automatic transmission is smooth and compliments the engine well. If you are driving in the city, a light accelerator is enough to pick up speed gradually depending on the traffic.
While driving with a light foot or even medium throttle, the gears change smoothly. The turbo-petrol offers brisk acceleration and takes over a vehicle ahead whenever needed. For bumper-to-bumper traffic conditions, there is a fair amount of 'crawl' available too. Just lift your foot off the brake pedal in 'D' and the Basalt will crawl forward at 7 km/h, allowing you to drive in thick traffic with just one pedal (the brake). Significantly, the powerful engine of the Basalt AT makes the highway drive easy and comfortable, hitting triple-digit speed easily. Overtaking is smooth and efficient. The Basalt’s clutch is light and as you pick up speed, only some engine and turbo noise permeates into the cabin. But the sound is not annoying. Overall, driving the Basalt is comfortable even though it is not as spirited as other cars equipped with bigger engines.
The Basalt’s suspension is good as it absorbs small potholes and the ride over uneven roads in the city is quite good. The car takes even bumps quite well and glides over bad roads without any hitch. Even as you feel the large potholes, the car handles them well. The drive is smooth on the twists and curves of the roads. Equipped with ventilated disc brakes at the front and drum brakes at the rear, braking performance is super as the car comes to a halt as expected, boosting your confidence.
Should I buy one?
This spacious, well equipped with a striking exterior design, the Basalt is a head turner. The well-engineered and extremely comfortable SUV Coupe is a family car. With an aggressive price from Rs 7.99 lakh to Rs 13.62 lakh for its six variants, it is certainly value for money, drawing undecisive potential buyers towards it.
