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In the face of the declining performance of French brands in recent years, one of the Renault brands has no choice but to announce the withdrawal of fuel models from the Chinese market, while Citroen, which is also in the doldrums, is also under pressure. To this end, for the Chinese market, Dongfeng Citroen launched another Chinese "special" model, in order to achieve a rebound in sales.

Although the declaration map of the model was revealed at the end of last year, the new car is not scheduled to hit the market until this year. With the passage of time, it has been reported a few days ago that the model is about to be on the market, and the official model map has been exposed.

From the perspective of the vehicle shape of Dongfeng Citroen C3L, it can be said to adopt the cross-border hatchback SUV design style, which is very rare in the domestic market. The appearance continues the family design of Dongfeng Citroen, and the shape of the front is highly consistent with the current C3-XR, which is also due to the transformation of the model based on C3-XR. The headlights on both sides are placed on the extension line of the Citroen herringbone LOGO to form a V-shaped design, which connects the headlights on both sides through the chrome-plated middle net, which is full of the unique design sense of the legal system.

From the side of the body, the styling design of the model is also consistent with that of the C3-XR, but the hatchback design is used. it is not too much to say that this is the hatchback version of a small Citroen SUV C3-XR, after all, it also has a high ground clearance.

But it is precisely because of this "strange" shape so that the model suffered a lot of controversy, so that many netizens shouted "really ugly." But think about it, such a design may be designed by Citroen for Chinese consumers. After all, with the rise of the domestic SUV market, the high body of the city SUV is more in line with the choice of Chinese consumers, but at the same time, the slightly smaller rear space of the hatchback is obviously less than that of the hatchback, so there is such a new product.

As for the size, the length, width and height of the C3L are 4508/1748/1513mm, wheelbase 2655mm, which exceeds the higher positioning of the compact car C4Sega, so in terms of size, it can still ensure a certain amount of passenger space in the car.

As for the interior of the new car, there is no doubt that it is the same as the C3-XR, and the overall shape of the center console is regular.

In terms of power, the Dongfeng Citroen C3L will be equipped with a 1.2T three-cylinder engine codenamed HN11, with a maximum power of 116hp and a peak torque of 190Nm, matching the latest six-speed double-clutch transmission, which is the same as the current C3-XR. The price of the C3-XR 1.2t model is 10.89-117900 yuan, and the C3L is expected to be in this price range.

In fact, although the styling design of C3L is controversial, judging from the current performance of Dongfeng Citroen in the Chinese market, Dongfeng Citroen does attach enough importance to the Chinese market, hoping to quickly launch new products to the Chinese market and actively adjust to meet the needs of Chinese consumers. Only in a certain definition, the French model still retains a kind of "alternative design" that is unacceptable to the Chinese.

Of course, for this kind of design, it is also because the design of this kind of model is not common, so the overall consumer acceptance is not high, so it is more challenging aesthetic. However, the choice of models will also vary from person to person. Perhaps with the price compromise, it will also get a certain amount of sales.

According to statistics, the four major French brands Citroen, Peugeot, Renault and DS sold only 7118 vehicles in China in the first quarter, down 83 per cent from 33985 in the same period last year, accounting for less than 1 per cent of the market.

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