Citroen Aircross to be its non-aggressive SUV

Concept has a minimalist interior and a friendly face.

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This is the Aircross concept, Citroen's idea of what a mid-size SUV should be like and, presumably, a pretty good idea of what a mid-size Citroen SUV will actually look like when it goes on sale next year.

The Aircross takes a lot of inspiration from the little C4 Cactus crossover, which has done quite well for Citroen, and moves many of its styling cues up to a bigger class - a bigger class, but not a more aggressive one. Citroen wants the Aircross to be an SUV that's tall and useful but not in your face, so it has rounded off the styling and tried to make it as friendly as possible.

There are clever touches too - the Air Bumps of the C4 Cactus have evolved here into Alloy Bumps, which use aluminium honeycomb to be more resistant to off-road knocks and scrapes. There are also clever little touches like the Air Signs - chrome finishers for the window surrounds that are supposed to emphasise the importance of the rear seats to the whole car, but which are also properly efficient little aerodynamic devices.

Inside there's a floating dashboard which uses two huge 12-inch HD screens for all data and information, and which can pass info from one screen to the other at the swipe of a hand. There's a mix of modern high-tech and classic materials such as corduroy and leather which is meant to give a retro-futuristic feel while Citroen has tried to keep the whole cabin as open and airy as possible to make all occupants feel as important as another. There are even webcams mounted to the outside, designed to make a social-media album of your journey. A modern day holiday slide show?

Underneath, there's a glimpse of Citroen's upcoming plugin hybrid system, which uses the familiar 1.6-litre THP turbo petrol engine and a 95hp electric motor to make 313hp. Charge up the batteries from the mains and you can go for a claimed 50km on pure electric power, while fuel consumption is claimed at 166mpg (1.7 litres/100km) and CO2 emissions at just 39g/km.

Published on: April 8, 2015