Citroen C4 Aircross set for Geneva

Sitting on platform shared with the Mitsubishi ASX compact SUV, the Citroen C4 AirCross will join the Peugeot 4008 in Australia's already crowded compact SUV market by the end of this year, with a launch at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney a likely kick-off point.

The Citroen SUV will be unveiled in the metal at the Geneva motor show next month and is smaller than the Outlander-based C-Crosser, with which much is shared with the Peugeot 4007.

The French brand is set for a busy 2012, with the imminent arrival of the DS4 and DS5 before the halfway mark, as well as drivetrain changes throughout most of the current range.

The AirCross specs sheet shows both two and four-wheel drive models on offer, with the latter having the ability to flick between front, all and locked-in four-wheel drive.

Citroen is also claiming low CO2 numbers for the little SUV - as little as 119g/km of CO2 for the front-drive 82kW/270Nm 1.6-litre turbodiesel HDi 115 engine,  thanks in part to the idle-stop system that is standard across the range.

But until one of the diesels - most likely the 110kW/300Nm 1.8-litre turbodiesel 150 HDi - gets an automatic the range will most likely be two-litre petrol-powered, with 113kW and 198Nm and a CVT auto or five-speed manual.

"There's no self-shifting gearbox with a diesel yet, the marketplace is predominantly automatic, the 150 is the most likely to come here once it gets a self-shifting gearbox," says Citroen Australia spokesman Edward Rowe.

Both front and all-wheel drive options are being considered by Citroen importer Ateco Automotive but expect the AirCross to give Citroen a solid sales boost when it goes on sale here in the mid to high $20,000 bracket.

With no plans for the larger C-Crosser to make an appearance in Australia, the AirCross is an important vehicle for the French brand.

"Because we have no vehicle in the range like this, it will be additional to what we have now. It'll be around the same price as a C4, the vehicle will have to be competitively priced against it's rivals," Mr Rowe says.

"It's important for Citroen, it competes in a major market sector - clearly, wherever there are more customers you're more likely to make a sale, if you have a good offer in the largest sector you're more likely to make sales."

Among the features set to appear in the AirCross are the idle-stop fuel saving system, brake energy recovery, a panoramic glass roof, a Navidrive touch-screen satnav, a rearview camera, keyless entry and ignition, seven airbags, the availability of a Rockford Fosgate eight-speaker sound system and 18in wheels.