Citroen Aircross SUV Scores 5-Star Safety Rating In Bharat NCAP Crash Test
Citroen launched the C3 Aircross in India in September 2023. Two years after its market entry, the SUV has now been crash tested by Bharat NCAP, India’s own new car safety evaluation program. It has been awarded a full five-star safety rating. It scored five stars in Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) and four in Child Occupant Protection (COP). The Aircross is available in five and seven-seater configurations. The safety rating applies to the five-seater version. It currently has its ex-showroom prices in the range of Rs 8.32 lakh-14.10 lakh.
Aircross Score Five-Star BNCAP Rating
In adult occupant protection (AOP) tests, the SUV scored 27.05 points out of 32. The structure and footwell areas were rated as stable and capable of taking more load. Head, neck, chest and knees of the front passenger enjoyed good/adequate protection.
The vehicle scored 11.05/16 in the frontal offset test and 16/16 in the side movable deformable barrier test. The good performance in side impact tests contributed much to its overall five-star score in adult safety.
In Child Safety tests, it scored 40 points out of 49, and was awarded a four-star rating. In dynamic tests, the vehicle scored full marks- 24 out of 24. Full marks were secured in CRS installation tests as well (12/12). The Aircross did not, however, perform well in the vehicle assessment test. It secured 4 out of 13 in these.
Marginally Safer Than The Basalt
The Aircross is the second model from Citroen to be crash-tested by Bharat NCAP. In October last year, the Basalt coupe was evaluated by the body. It was the first non-Tata car to be tested by the program.
The Basalt was awarded an overall four-star BNCAP rating. It scored four stars in both AOP and COP. The respective scores for these were 26.19 out of 32 and 35.90 out of 49. Clearly, the Aircross SUV scored more than the coupe in both these. The AOP scores of the Aircross are 0.86 points more than those scored by the Basalt, while the COP scores differ by 4.1 points.
Safety Tech
The Aircross SUV comes packed with safety tech and features. It gets six airbags, ISOFIX child seat mounts, electronic stability control, tyre pressure monitoring system, and hill-hold assist as standard.
More About The Citroen Aicross
The company launched the updated Aircross in October 2024. It saw the addition of a new engine and several interesting features. The vehicle also dropped the ‘C3’ from its name and is now called just the ‘ Aircross’. The mid-size SUV now comes with LED headlamps and automatic climate control on the higher variants.
The power window controls have been moved to door pads from the centre console. The vehicle also gets a rear AC vent, passenger grab handles, electrically folding mirrors, flip key, a large sliding front armrest, a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment, a 7-inch digital instrument cluster, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, connected car tech, rear parking camera, and more. The higher-spec Plus and Max can be had as seven-seaters as well.
The Aircross comes with two engine options- a 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine that makes 82hp and 115Nm, and a 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder turbo-petrol that produces 110hp and 190Nm. The former comes with a five-speed manual transmission alone. The latter, however, can be had with a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission.
The Aircross falls into a segment with fierce competition. It battles the likes of Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Maruti Grand Vitara, Honda Elevate, and more. It, in fact, leans towards the lower end of this spectrum. Citroen is now preparing to roll out another major update on the Aircross. Expected to feature a heavily reworked interior and a more comprehensive feature list, the new SUV will likely be out in the next couple of weeks.