[poised2drive]

C5 Aircross looks sublimely brilliant and congruently designed for an SUV - neither overtly aggressive nor just a puny push-off, which is actually good and like a breath of fresh air.

And this is a company that pushes the boundaries of the automobile industry with multiple "first of its kind" milestones like-

"In 1934, the firm established its reputation for innovative technology with the Traction Avant.[4] This was the world's first car to be mass-produced with front-wheel drive, four-wheel independent suspension, as well as unibody construction, omitting a separate chassis, and instead using the body of the car itself as its main load-bearing structure.[5]

In 1954 they produced the world's first hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension system[6] then, in 1955, the revolutionary DS, the first mass-produced car with modern disc brakes[7] and, in 1967, they introduced in several of their models swiveling headlights that allowed for greater visibility on winding roads; "

from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C3%ABn

I hope Citroen took a leaf or 2 from the Kia marketing strategy and I sincerely wish the French to develop a larger consumer base in India - otherwise dominated by Japanese-Korean Giants, unlike their European counterparts and not compromise the structural integrity and safety of their Indian cars.

[fastturtle10]

Curious to see if this will be the inevitable death of premium sedans in India, a new breed in our market, CSUV/SUV's with a focus on comfort. With India's growing preference towards CSUV/SUV, Citroen offering one with comfort-oriented (if it lives up to it that is) will leave a mark on the market.

[S.MJet]

Originally Posted by avira_tk

It's a good thing they are sharing showrooms.

Could you elaborate or share source, haven’t read anything related to Jeep and Citroen sharing showrooms.

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by S.MJet

Could you elaborate or share source, haven’t read anything related to Jeep and Citroen sharing showrooms.

I went to the Jeep dealer to get my Punto serviced and the showroom was being renovated, I thought so and enquired, the lady at the desk said that it was done in preparation for Citroen launch. The floor was being split in half, different themes for each brand and so on.

[ATRONIX]

Dealership walkaround video of the C5 Aircross is up.

https://youtu.be/sah5vC7x-bc

[fordfreak]

Looking forward to seeing the C5 in the flesh soon! I love the design, features, engine option, etc. Seems to be an overall well balanced package.

However, I'm a little confused about something I observed.

Vehicles in the pictures from the media drive - Gear shifter is located on the left side of the centre console (far from the driver on an RHD car).

Vehicle in the walkaround video - Gear shifter is located on the right side of the centre console (closer to the driver on an RHD car).

Can someone clear out why this is the case? Am I missing something here?

[CapKoura]

Originally Posted by fordfreak

Looking forward to seeing the C5 in the flesh soon! I love the design, features, engine option, etc. Seems to be an overall well balanced package.

However, I'm a little confused about something I observed.

Vehicles in the pictures from the media drive - Gear shifter is located on the left side of the centre console (far from the driver on an RHD car).

Vehicle in the walkaround video - Gear shifter is located on the right side of the centre console (closer to the driver on an RHD car).

Can someone clear out why this is the case? Am I missing something here?

The media drive vehicles could be a CBU import which were made in an LHD country, for the purpose of exporting to RHD countries. In such cases, these small details are often overlooked by the manufacturer (an example is the automatic gear lever in the current XUV500. It has the P-R-N-D markings to the left of the gear lever, whereas it should be to the right in an RHD market). Just my guess.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by fordfreak

However, I'm a little confused about something I observed.

Vehicles in the pictures from the media drive - Gear shifter is located on the left side of the centre console (far from the driver on an RHD car).

Vehicle in the walkaround video - Gear shifter is located on the right side of the centre console (closer to the driver on an RHD car).

Can someone clear out why this is the case? Am I missing something here?

Great observation! Actually the gear lever is supposed to be closer to the driver. If you see the videos of LHD models (for example, see the overdrive video in Post # 182 in this thread), you will see that the gear lever is closer to the left side. Similarly, in the RHD car in the walkaround video you referred to, the gear lever is on the right hand side, which makes sense too.

However, as you correctly pointed out, the pictures from the media drive show a RHD car with the gear lever on the left hand side. That is clearly an anomaly. It is possible that Citroen hurriedly prepared some cars for media drive, which were not necessarily in the final production configuration. It sure is a weird thing.

I hope it was just an anomaly in the media cars and the production cars will have gear lever on the right. Else it will be a major ergonomic flaw.

[Venkatesh]

Citroen C5 Aircross walkaround video by Gaadiwaadi

https://youtu.be/c78mxqjdAgw

[Nithesh_M]

Very curious to see what Citroen's gameplan is for India. Rumoured pricing is expected to be over 30 lakhs OTR. With FCA struggling to sell their models over 25 lakh rupees despite Jeep or even Fiat having strong brand values, who are Citroen targeting? Would their dealers even make profits selling single digits a month long term?

[AshwinRS]

Originally Posted by fordfreak

Looking forward to seeing the C5 in the flesh soon! I love the design, features, engine option, etc. Seems to be an overall well balanced package.

However, I'm a little confused about something I observed.

Vehicles in the pictures from the media drive - Gear shifter is located on the left side of the centre console (far from the driver on an RHD car).

Vehicle in the walkaround video - Gear shifter is located on the right side of the centre console (closer to the driver on an RHD car).

Can someone clear out why this is the case? Am I missing something here?

I may be wrong, but I must point out that this is not a video from an Indian dealership. I say so based on the following observations:

1. Have a closer look at the video at 00:32 to 00:37 and from 3:46 to 3:47 - the cars parked outside give away the fact that this video has not been shot in India.

2. At 00:39, you see a red car - a colour that is not on offer in India on C5 Aircross.

3. The whole ambience of the showroom is different from what has been shown in their La Maison Citroën showroom video.

Therefore, we see a difference in the placement of the gear shifter (since this car is for a different market, I guess?). Let's see.

[Mu009]

Originally Posted by fordfreak

I'm a little confused about something I observed.

Vehicles in the pictures from the media drive - Gear shifter is located on the left side of the centre console (far from the driver on an RHD car).

Originally Posted by CapKoura

The media drive vehicles could be a CBU import which were made in an LHD country, for the purpose of exporting to RHD countries. In such cases, these small details are often overlooked by the manufacturer

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

However, as you correctly pointed out, the pictures from the media drive show a RHD car with the gear lever on the left hand side. That is clearly an anomaly.
[...]
I hope it was just an anomaly in the media cars and the production cars will have gear lever on the right. Else it will be a major ergonomic flaw.

Originally Posted by AshwinRS

I may be wrong, but I must point out that this is not a video from an Indian dealership.

Therefore, we see a difference in the placement of the gear shifter (since this car is for a different market, I guess?). Let's see.

I think I can shed some light on this. Like a whole bunch of brands, Citroën doesn't put in the effort to properly tailor its models to RHD (minority) markets. It's been on sale in the UK for years with RHD but shifter placed on the"wrong" side, and that's how it'll come to India. In the same way, the glovebox on the C5 is going to be near useless thanks to it being very small as a lot of the circuitry behind the dash hasn't been relocated from left to right. I've been checking out this car for a couple of years and have even recommended to a couple of people that they wait for it to launch, that's how I know. Yes, it's comfortable (ride and space), but like any French product, the ergonomics, plastics and finish aren't the best (but of course, we Indians can judge "premiumness" from a brochure).

Take a look gents (jump to 39s and 3m10s if you can't be bothered to watch it all):

https://youtu.be/CTSzvENbJhQ

Mind you, I'm not dismissing the car - I think the crossover trend is complete BS, and only makes sense in countries like India with craters for potholes proliferating roads - but what's even worse is the sporty crossover trend. I like the fact that something with no sporty aspirations and a focus on comfort not only exists, but is coming to my local market.


Anyhow, as a related aside:
This stuff is common. Original Indian Ecosport with LHD-oriented wiper age indicator controls. Remember the Compass and its infotainment tilted towards the driver:
https://www.team-bhp.com/carpics/201...compass-53.jpg

More worryingly, as rumoured by a very reliable member here, the reason the Harrier hasn't been sent to GNCAP is that even the FCA 2.0 engine isn't properly converted to RHD and the fuel filter is still on the right side and a potential hazard to the driver's feet. Which is really surprising - it's bad enough that FCA doesn't even bother to re-mould plastics and re-orient the screen for RHD, but I can't see how they get past this safety issue with the 2.0 equipped Compass in RHD markets like the UK and Australia. Probably there's extra reinforcement in those models to prevent cabin intrusion of the filter into the driver's side on impact (speculation, but a safe logical deduction). Who knows whether that's carried over to the Indian Compass. Meh. It is what it is...

[TorqueIndia]

Quite like this car and it's quirky design. So now it's a STELLANTIS right ?

Is that 2.0L diesel from FCA ? State of tuning looks impressive !

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by Mu009

I think I can shed some light on this. Like a whole bunch of brands, Citroën doesn't put in the effort to properly tailor its models to RHD (minority) markets. It's been on sale in the UK for years with RHD but shifter placed on the"wrong" side, and that's how it'll come to India.

I see your point and that was my first thought too. Not only Citroen, but many other companies have done improper conversion from LHD to RHD in the past. However, the car shown in the walkaround video in Post # 230 above shows a RHD car with gear level on the right side! That shows that Citroen did make a proper RHD car with proper positioning of gear lever! And that raises the question of which one is actually the production design for India. Because now we have seen all permutations and combinations built by Citroen, so to speak.

If all cars (RHD or LHD) had gear levers on the left side, then this question would have been moot.

[Mu009]

Originally Posted by TorqueIndia

Quite like this car and it's quirky design. So now it's a STELLANTIS right ?

Is that 2.0L diesel from FCA ? State of tuning looks impressive !

No, it's a Citroën. Stellantis is just the name of the parent company post the merger of FCA and PSA.

And no, this 2.0 diesel is a PSA engine, different from FCA's multijet.

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

I see your point and that was my first thought too. Not only Citroen, but many other companies have done improper conversion from LHD to RHD in the past. However, the car shown in the walkaround video in Post # 230 above shows a RHD car with gear level on the right side! That shows that Citroen did make a proper RHD car with proper positioning of gear lever! And then that raise the question as to which one is actually the production design for India. Because now we have seen all permutations and combinations built by Citroen, so to speak.

If all cars (RHD or LHD) had gear levers on the left side, then this question would have been moot.

You're quite right. Just went through the video. And to me it very much looks like a walkaround at an Indian outlet.

So here's my revised theory - they appear to have done a bit more work wrt RHD conversion. Whether that's with time for everywhere, or for India, I don't know. Either way, it's good.

And yeah, the media cars (and the ones used for brochures pictures ) are probably CBU RHD models with the gear lever inexplicably still in LHD orientation on those