[SacManBet]

https://youtu.be/Nw8DlmzlYeg?si=60yxuqJGBXq6oLnq

This new teaser shows interior design, ACC confirm in top model.

[Simha.k]

Whoever thought those flap type handles from the 90s is a great idea to be implemented in 2024 deserves an award!

They look so awkward and downright cheap and robs the look of the otherwise good looking car.

[ashutoshb]

Originally Posted by Simha.k

Whoever thought those flap type handles from the 90s is a great idea to be implemented in 2024 deserves an award!

They look so awkward and downright cheap and robs the look of the otherwise good looking car.

And cheap they must be. That cheap, that Citroen is still sticking with them. When I read that they have delayed the Basalt's launch to upgrade it's feature list, I thought these ones will be the first to go. It was the most criticised element in the C3 and the C3 Aircross. I am surprised that they have chosen to retain them.

[mally2]

Lets not forget the BMW M5 has flap door handles, these factors do not determine the product's merit.

[Doonite]

Originally Posted by mally2

Lets not forget the BMW M5 has flap door handles, these factors do not determine the product's merit.

Let's not also forget that BMW is a luxury brand that has everything going for it - features, looks, performance etc. which allows them to get away with flap type door handles (in the name of aerodynamics?).

Citreon does not have the brand appeal to pull these flap type handles off. Going off of their C3 hatchback & C3 aircross interiors and feature set, you'd think that they would do everything to actually sell these minimalistic tangible features to the customers eyes and cut corners in hidden areas (*cough* Koreans *cough*). It's not like they've set the safety charts on fire either.

Why give the critics another stick to beat you with, over such an irrelevant feature?

Just my two cents on this because I have seen this comment repeated lots of time since the M5 got showcased.

[slango97]

My humble opinion is that these door handle-related complaints are all due to being fed such opinions by journalists that flap-type ones are cheap (:

We're seeing more expensive cars return to flap-type handles for aerodynamics (as someone has posted above). How long will it be before they start criticising pull-type handles for the same reason?

Let's focus on overall quality, usability, dynamics, and safety. Such design choices do not matter at all. It still looks alright to me.

[ergon_9700]

Originally Posted by SacManBet

https://Youtu.be/Nw8DlmzlYeg?si=60yxuqJGBXq6oLnq

This new teaser shows interior design, ACC confirm in top model.

I think this may come with auto at launch. Because at 0:07 in the clip, at the bottom right the top of the gear lever looks like it is an automatic like the C3 Aircross.
It's like blink and you miss it. Eagle eyed viewers and BHP-ians can spot it.

[NiInJa]

Originally Posted by slango97

My humble opinion is that these door handle-related complaints are all due to being fed such opinions by journalists that flap-type ones are cheap (:

Off-topic post:

Thanks for saying it! I feel it is a perception that has been created over the years. You read 'flappy doors are cheap' a thousand times and the brain starts accepting it.

The door handles should go with the car's overall design, flappy or any other design doesn't matter. What matters is whether they 'feel' cheap.

I absolutely hated the pull-type door handles on my Brio, looked really bad
like some sturdy manhole cover handles !

The car would have done well without those big holes under the pull-type handles.

[AMG1]

Let me break this bubble! The handles we are seeing on Basalt are plain old cheap/cost effective flap type and not the 'flush ones' like in the M5. Its the same cheap flap type like in my Thar, or in cars like Celerio, Alto, etc. It has nothing to do with aerodynamics as it juts out of the body creating drag. The ones on new BMWs are actually recessed in the car's body and dosen't obstruct the air flow at all. Now thats the one for 'aerodynamics'. I know how cheap flap type door handles feel in my Thar (I am amazed how a 20l SUV still gets away with such cost cuttings) compared to the pull type premium feeling ones in my Elantra. There is a reason why budget cars in India and even abroad (Dacias, etc) get flap type handles.

Now to break the myth of Citroen using these handles as a design feature- they are doing it for cost cutting here while in abroad they are using premium pull types. Sharing pics of international C3 using pull type ones opposed to the Indian versions

[saikishor]

Originally Posted by AMG1

Let me break this bubble! The handles we are seeing on Basalt are plain old cheap/cost effective flap type and not the 'flush ones' like in the M5. Its the same cheap flap type like in my Thar, or in cars like Celerio, Alto, etc. It has nothing to do with aerodynamics as it juts out of the body creating drag. The ones on new BMWs are actually recessed in the car's body and dosen't obstruct the air flow at all. Now thats the one for 'aerodynamics'. I know how cheap flap type door handles feel in my Thar (I am amazed how a 20l SUV still gets away with such cost cuttings) compared to the pull type premium feeling ones in my Elantra. There is a reason why budget cars in India and even abroad (Dacias, etc) get flap type handles.

Now to break the myth of Citroen using these handles as a design feature- they are doing it for cost cutting here while in abroad they are using premium pull types. Sharing pics of international C3 using pull type ones opposed to the Indian versions

Citroen India is a joke. I cannot understand how they failed to analyse the Indian market. The car looks beautiful except for those door handles. I don't know what Citroen is going after. On one hand their European arm has such delicious products on offer and on the other hand we have their Indian arm dumping off such junk in our market. Guess these guys are inspired by Datsun and if that is the case, I would not be surprised if they disappear from our market after 4-5 years.

On another note, I signed up for the Basalt on their website. I don't know to what use it will be, but I'm curious if I would get a call back after the launch.

[r0nit7]

Originally Posted by SacManBet

This new teaser shows interior design, ACC confirm in top model.

While the competition has moved onto every imaginable feature available this side of 1cr including ADAS, etc. Citroen is "teasing" Automatic Climate Control - the sheer audacity

[antonylejos]

Originally Posted by Simha.k

Whoever thought those flap type handles from the 90s is a great idea to be implemented in 2024 deserves an award!

Originally Posted by saikishor

Citroen India is a joke. I cannot understand how they failed to analyse the Indian market. The car looks beautiful except for those door handles.

Originally Posted by r0nit7

While the competition has moved onto every imaginable feature available this side of 1cr including ADAS, etc. Citroen is "teasing" Automatic Climate Control - the sheer audacity

Looking at these posts, I’m really losing trust in Team-BHP as a car enthusiast forum. Not because I own a C3, which is a mechanically well-sorted car.

In other threads, already read lot of rants on C3.

Rarely do people here discuss the value offered at that cost—the ride quality of a car from a segment above, priced like a car from a segment below.

Are we merely a show-off forum, flaunting wealth and costly cars you have? Or are we all determined to ensure that new entrants to the Indian automobile market close down soon?

Does it even make sense to debate the type of door handle? When choosing a car, I didn’t even consider the door handle. Whatever type it is, how does it matter? A car’s main concerns should be driving experience, ride quality, suspension, engine , reliability, and service.

Looks are subjective. People decide whether they like the appearance or not; we don’t need reviews for that.

Revies should offer what one cannot perceive by looking.

[Simha.k]

Originally Posted by antonylejos

Are we merely a show-off forum, flaunting wealth and costly... by looking.

Maruti too received similar feedback when they switched from pull type to flap type handles in their Celerio. This world is a brutal place. They roast everyone.

Considering Citroën is a slightly premium brand over Maruti, imagine how people feel cheated because of poor cost cutting. Most American and European car makers(except luxury brands) heavily dilute the cars to meet cost requirements while launching those cars in India. They cut down on material quality and finish, lesser testing and approval, implementing cheap alternatives to bring down costs. People who've driven the cars in Europe when they drive the same car in India feel shortchanged. Ask me, I know it.

For many people, driving dynamics isn't everything. If it were the only criteria, Fiat and other EU brands today would be the bestseller in India. But we all know where they stand today.

I rest my case.

[antonylejos]

Originally Posted by Simha.k

Maruti too received similar feedback when they switched from pull type to flap type handles in their Celerio. This world is a brutal place. They roast everyone.

Considering Citroën is a slightly premium brand over Maruti, imagine how people feel cheated because of poor cost cutting....

Who feels cheated? reviewers who are bashing?

I do not feel cheated as a buyer, considering the price I paid. If I also limited my search to Maruti or car with maximum features, like most common people do, for the same price I paid for the Citroen C3, I could not even get a full-option automatic Wagon R (which costs approximately 50k more than the Wagon R AMT).

For the kind of driving I did in last 1.5 year (28000 kms with several long highway drives upto 1000 kms a day, multiple Mumbai-Kochi drives), I still cannot think of any other car in this price point, might have done justice.

Brezza base is another option I considered then. At 25% higher cost, it had considerably less ride quality on same roads I have test driven. I took a 20 km long test drive on Brezza , as it was my friend's car , not a showroom car..

Originally Posted by Simha.k

For many people, driving dynamics isn't everything.

I agree that for many people, dynamics aren’t everything. So I am not surprised that the C3 is selling less. My worry is that I expected Team-BHP members to be different from the common public. I waited for a few years and made multiple attempts to get Team-BHP membership, so I always looked up to Team-BHP as a group of people with more knowledge about cars than me. That’s the trust I am losing while reading about the Citreon.

Many posts, just feels like more of show-off, which compares their expensive stuff to cheap stuff without considering price point and do bashing.

Originally Posted by Simha.k

If it were the only criteria, Fiat and other EU brands today would be the bestseller in India. But we all know where they stand today.

Coincidentially, Fiat Punto Evo was the only car I considered when I was in market to buy my first car in 2015 & though, later I decided to go with another used car.

[Nanolover]

Flap type and pull type door handles- not taking this thread in a different direction. But I own the C3 turbo, spresso and tigor/ Tiago EVs so my 2 cents on the same.

The flap type handle in the spresso is a no brainer and since the doors are light , haven't noticed any issue at all. However this diddly flappy thing gets tricky once the doors have weight.

I curse the C3 every time I have to open its slippery flap handle. The doors are much heavier and my parking is slightly ramp inclined, so every time I open the door, my hand doesn't get enough leverage to pull the heavy door and the handle slips from my fingers resulting in that 'klak' sound and a busted ego.

The pull type handles on the tigor and Tiago are the best considering their heavy doors and you get enough leverage even in confined spaces to open them.

Point is flap type handles are opened with fingers and pull type with your closed palm, which gives better grip and strength to open. The mechanism and surface area / design costs more than the flappy arrangement.

So to summarise, light doors can be flappy, but bring door size and weight into equation, we need pull type for better leverage.