The Citroen Basalt is the newest entrant in the midsize SUV space, which comes with a unique coupe-like design to differentiate itself from the traditional offerings in this segment. This, of course, is one of the most crowded segments in the market currently, with nearly a dozen models available with a variety of powertrain options including petrol, diesel, hybrid, and even CNG. The Basalt will, however, be a petrol-only offering and here we look at how it fares against rivals in terms of fuel efficiency.
Citroen Basalt powertrain, specs, fuel efficiency
Powering the Basalt are two 1.2-litre petrol engine options. There's the 82hp, 115Nm naturally aspirated unit and a 110hp turbo-petrol engine. The turbo-petrol engine comes mated to either a 6-speed manual gearbox (where it makes 190Nm) or a 6-speed torque converter automatic (generating 205Nm), while the NA unit gets a 5-speed manual only.
Citroen claims fuel-efficiency figures of 18kpl for the naturally aspirated petrol, 19.5kpl for the turbo-petrol manual, and 18.7kpl for the turbo-petrol automatic.
Citroen Basalt fuel efficiency vs rivals
Citroen’s base 1.2-litre, naturally aspirated petrol engine is the smallest among the naturally aspirated engines here. Also down by one cylinder, at 82hp, it’s the least powerful of the lot by a fair margin, and it’s still not the most efficient one. The Grand Vitara and the Hyryder duo with their mild-hybrid tech continue to be the most efficient of this lot, even with their automatic gearbox and AWD setup. The Japanese duo is followed by the Taigun and Kushaq, with their respective 115hp, 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engines. The Basalt is, however, more efficient than the likes of the Creta, Seltos, Elevate, and Astor.
As for the higher-spec turbo-petrol engine, here too, the Basalt has the smallest and the least powerful engine that’s down by one cylinder compared to rivals, except for the Astor. In its manual guise, the Basalt is the most efficient SUV here by a reasonable margin.
Meanwhile, with the automatic gearbox, it is more efficient than the Creta, Seltos and Astor, but less efficient than the 1.5-litre turbo-petrols in the Taigun and Kushaq that come with cylinder-deactivation technology. The Basalt is also more efficient than its sibling, the C3 Aircross SUV, with which it shares its powertrains. This is likely due to the more aerodynamic body style.
Do note that rivals like the Creta and Seltos additionally get a diesel engine, while the Grand Vitara and Hyryder are available with hybrid and CNG powertrains. The latter two, with their 1.5-litre strong-hybrid engines, are the most efficient in the entire midsize SUV class, with a claimed fuel economy figure of 27.97kpl; CNG versions of both SUVs have a claimed efficiency of 26.6km/kg.
All fuel-efficiency figures are ARAI-claimed. *Astor's claimed fuel-efficiency is as per ICAT.
Uday Singh
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Rivan RS 
Suraj Viswanathan
Glenn Noronha
Dhruv Dhaka
