Citroën wants to strike hard in 2025. His new SUV, which arrives on the market with a lot of advertising, clearly targets the Dacia Duster and its attractive price.
Prepare to see it everywhere, at least on your screens before our streets and highways. Citroën begins the year with the launch of its new version of the C3 Aircross whose advertisements are starting to flock on television. With this new SUV, the chevrons brand clearly tackles a heavyweight on the market: the Dacia Duster.
The Frenchman arrives in his new version in 2025 and relies on a complete overhaul of his look and the engines to come and tickle his Romanian rival, reference of the low-cost. Which one will get out of this match? Linternaute.com was able to try them a few months apart to make an opinion and give you some comparison points.
Let’s start with the strengths of the C3 Aircross, the newcomer and outsider on the SUV market at very attractive price. Mistamorphosed, it goes from 4.16 meters to its previous version at 4.39m and displays a look of real adventurer. On board, the atmosphere is upmarket and the habitability is progressing, in particular thanks to an optional third row of seats for a 7 -seater version. Under the hood, three engines including an unprecedented 100% electric and a convincing 48V hybrid. The petrol-electric block seduces by its softness and sobriety (5.9 l/100 km). On the equipment side, digital instrumentation and 10.25 “touch screen appears. Finally, general comfort worthy of a higher segment hits the bull’s eye.
On the side of the Dacia Duster, the main asset remains its unbeatable value for money. If he keeps his size (4.34 m), his style is more dynamic. Even with predominant plastic, the dashboard is getting a facelift with a digital counter and a 10.1 touch screen “. In driving, its precise direction and its reasonable weight make it an ally both on small roads and on the highway. The Duster turns out to be very reasonable with the pump with only 5.3 l/100 km recorded during our test in Spain.
What are the weak points? On the C3 Aircross, we still regret a certain lack of dynamism and limited autonomy on the electric version. As for the Dacia SUV, the performance of the hybrid coast engine remain perfectible, as is the delicate braking to dose.
Verdict? The C3 Aircross scores precious points in terms of presentation, comfort and modularity. Assets which in our opinion justify its price positioning, with a price of 1700 € above the Duster for the two hybrid versions. But the Romanian SUV has not said its last word and retains a price-price report that is still as formidable and a noticeable upright. The C3 Aircross undoubtedly has more modularity illustrated by its 7 -seater version but also more options for its range. Sufficient to shake the mastodon Duster who has attracted many French people for 20 years? The final verdict will of course be that of sales with a first assessment to follow at the end of the year.