Complete Buying Guide: Citroen Basalt

It’s no secret that Citroen hasn’t fared well in India so far. Offering a great ride quality in its cars with only basic amenities to keep their cost down, hasn’t worked out well for the French carmaker. In a bid to make progress, Citroen has now taken on an all-new venture and launched the first mass-market Coupe SUV, Citroen Basalt. As compared to other Citroen cars, the Basalt is more feature-rich with respect to price. Speaking of price, the Basalt is priced closer to the compact SUVs, even though it rivals mid-size SUVs like the Hyundai Creta.

So, should you buy a Coupe SUV that undercuts its rivals and offers a unique body style? To help you out, here is a complete guide to buying a Citroen Basal that educates you about its good and not-so-good qualities, and helps you bring home the best variant for you.

Citroen Basalt Specifications

Why you should consider the Citroen Basalt

Unique design

Even though the coupe SUV design has received polarised opinions, it’s been more liked than disliked. There is a reason the BMW X6, the first coupe SUV, earned massive popularity and opened gates for many more. Citroen is known for the fashionable appearance of its cars and has designed the Basalt with precision, giving it a magnificent attire. The Basalt brings almost the same striking face as its sibling, the C3 Aircross. The sleek V-shaped pattern for the LED DRLS flanking two chromed parallel slats with a chunky open area lower down makes for a nice mix of sporty and muscular characters. 

However, the side profile is where the main appeal lies. Citroen has done a great job, sticking to the conventionally straight waistline instead of the rising one seen on most coupe SUVs. This along with the sloping roofline and pinched window line, adds a sophisticated touch, while the isolated black cladding on the bottom of the doors and across the bottom of the Basalt, adds some muscles. Like the front end, the Basalt maintains the mix of sportiness and muscularity at the back with the stylish stubby wraparound tail lamps with a chunky dual-tone bumper. Overall, this stylish French coupe SUV is certain to hold viewers spellbound.

Spacious & Comfortable

Primarily, the Citroen Basalt is a family car, and in that light, it shines bright. Citroen has very well distributed the space across the seats. To speak of the front seats, both are aptly spacious and contoured to hold in even large-framed individuals comfortably. Likewise, the rear seat is aptly angled and well-shaped to offer the right seating position. It also has two adjustable winged headrests to prevent your head from sliding off. So, should you decide to take a cat nap, rest assured your head won’t fall off on your fellow passenger. 

Cushioning is on point across the seats, and in the rear seat, the Basalt offers a unique and very useful feature – adjustable thigh support up to 87 mm, which raises and locks thigh support in four steps. With all this, it’s worth mentioning that Citroen has managed to offer ample headroom despite the sloping roof line, while under-par headroom is a commonly found inadequacy in most coupe SUVs.

Great ride quality and excellent handling

A superb ride comfort has always been one of the key advantages of Citroen cars and the Basalt embodies the same spirit. Its suspension set-up is engineered for maximum comfort and as far as its rivalry with mid-size SUVs is concerned, its calibre to absorb bumps is second to none. The Basalt is based on the C-Cubed platform which also underpins C3, eC3, and C3 Aircross, however, its coupe SUV design has allowed it to lower the centre of gravity, making it the best of this lot in terms of ride quality. 

Not only does the Basalt smother the bumps and jerks that come from the surface, but it also maintains a nice poise while going over uneven patches, not letting side-to-side rocking movements discomfort the passengers. Moreover, the Basalt’s great ride comfort doesn’t come at the expense of handling, and this balance between ride comfort and handling is a rare perk across the automobile industry. The nifty suspension setup significantly reduces body roll and its combination with the impressively responsive steering makes the Basalt an enjoyable car to drive.

Appealing affordability

In India, Citroen cars are far more affordable than their respective rivals and this holds true for the Basalt as well. Priced at Rs. 7.99 – 13.83 lakh (ex-showroom), the Basalt has been priced against the higher variants of popular compact SUVs like the Hyundai Venue and Kia Sonet. This makes it the largest car under Rs. 10 lakh. It’s also worth noting that the Basalt offers a torque converter automatic at Rs. 12.79 lakh, a price where you can own midsize SUVs with manual transmissions.

Why you should not consider the Citroen Basalt

Shortage of features

When it comes to features, Citroen cars in India have been seriously under-equipped as compared to their rivals. Citroen has taken a few positive steps in this direction with the Basalt, such as offering LED projector headlamps instead of halogen, and automatic climate control instead of manual. However, the Basalt still misses many modern-day essentials such as cruise control, 60:40 split for the rear seat, telescoping steering adjust, rain-sensing wipers, automatic headlamps, push start/stop button, and auto-dimming IRVM. Along with these, it also lacks some premium features such as the sunroof, ventilated seats, 360-degree camera, ambient lighting, and more. So, if you want a feature-rich car, the Basalt is certainly not the one for you.

Evident cost-cutting measures

To keep a car affordable, every carmaker takes cost-cutting measures, but some manage to hide such measures better than others. The cost-cutting measures that Citroen has taken to keep the Basalt affordable are quite evident. The plastic used on the dash and doors feels of low quality as per the current standards of mid-size SUVs and even sub-4m compact SUVs, and the same is true for the upholstery. Moreover, the sound quality of the Basalt’s music system is mediocre. Overall, the Basalt’s cabin doesn’t feel as premium as expected of an SUV of its segment.

Citroen Basalt Variants

If you have made up your mind to buy a Citroen Basalt after learning its pros and cons, let’s take a look at the Basalt’s variants and their prices.

Best Citroen Basalt Variant to Buy

The base and most affordable variant of the Basalt is almost barebone and misses some crucial features like rear power windows, music system, steering adjustment, and more. However, the next variant is significantly more expensive, so, if you are comfortable with aftermarket features and want a coupe SUV on a tight budget, then this variant is of considerable value.

Over the base variant, the next variant – Plus asks a premium of Rs 2 lakh for petrol-manual, Rs 3.5 lakh for turbo petrol-manual, and Rs 4.8 lakh for turbo petrol-automatic. For these additional prices, this variant offers the additions of a 10.2-inch touchscreen infotainment system, a 7-inch digital instrument cluster, wireless Android Auto & Apple CarPlay connectivity, remote central locking, rear power windows and more. However, some perks are limited to turbo-petrol variants, such as LED projector headlamps, automatic climate control and rear AC vents, fog lamps, rear defogger, engine idle start/stop, and more. Of all the Basalt variants, the Plus variant delivers the most value.

Over the mid variant, the top variant – Max asks a premium of Rs 79,000 for turbo-manual models, and Rs 83,000 for turbo-automatic variants. For these additional prices, the Max variant offers the perks of winged rear headrests, leatherette upholstery, 16-inch alloy wheels, boot lamp, two tweeters, adjustable thigh support, rear camera, and others. This can be worth buying if you want to own the fully-loaded model of the Basalt, however, the Plus variant is still a better value-for-money proposition.

Citroen Basalt Warranty and Service Cost

Citroen offers the Basalt with a standard warranty of 2 years or 40,000 km and this warranty can be extended at the dealerships. The first service of the Basalt remains free, while the annual service charges are approximately Rs 4,027 at 1 year/10,000 km, Rs 8,202 at 2 year/20,000 km, Rs 5,354 at 3 year/30,000 km, Rs 10,414 at 4 year/40,000 km, and Rs 8,039 at 5 year/50,000 km.

Summary

With the Citroen Basalt coupe SUV, the French carmaker has made a solid attempt to gain traction in the Indian car market. While the mould-breaking SUV feels technologically lacklustre, it certainly offers a lot of value for its asking price. It can be a capable family car for you on a budget and its stylish design is sure to grab a lot of attention on the roads for the next few years or at least until mass-market coupe SUVs become commonplace. If you see the Basalt as the right car for you, this buying guide will help you examine the car as per your suitability and bring home a variant that meets your needs.

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