Indian Drivers Are Ready For Advanced Comfort

*This is in partnership with Citroën India

Given that Indian roads have their fair share of challenges--whether it is your daily city commute or weekend drives--what do you think should be the most important factor when it comes to buying a vehicle in India? Power, style or comfort?

Comfort makes for an all-round better driving experience--vehicles designed for comfort offer great ride quality, and that helps a lot with safety since a driver feels less stress even on the worst of roads in a comfortable vehicle. Which means he or she will always have better control and the chances of anything on the road impacting the driver's ability to control the vehicle will be minimal. Plus, when everything is quiet and accessible, drivers can relax and enjoy the ride, and when noise and vibration from the road is reduced to a minimum, even the worst roads can be dealt with easily. When you add to that vehicle interiors designed to create a peaceful environment with innovative use of lighting and materials, driving is no longer a stressful task, but a relaxing and refreshing experience.

Citroën India, the Indian arm of renowned French auto brand Citroën, part of European auto major Stellantis, commissioned a study to understand what comfort really meant to Indian automobile owners, and the results were surprising, to say the least. During their fieldwork, Innovative Research Services found that 49% of Indians experienced physical strain while driving, 55% of Indian drivers felt uncomfortable due to honking, noise and pollution, and an incredible 92% of Indians found their drive to work uncomfortable. Incredibly, even for those who have a driver, 71% of Indians felt that sitting in the rear seat of a car feels congested.

For Citroën, this is a validation of the brand's philosophy of comfort and its particular relevance in India. Comfort has been an intrinsic part of Citroën's design and manufacturing philosophy for nearly a hundred years and the auto maker has been focused on creating comfort for drivers, whether they drive for pleasure or an everyday commute. The history of Citroën’s innovation in driving comfort goes back a long way. From the moteur flottant [aka floating engine] in 1932, which reduced noise and vibration, to independent wheel suspension in 1934, then friction dampers and shock absorbers soon after the second World War, hydropneumatic suspension in the mid-1950s, to variable power assisted steering in 1974, hydractive suspension in 1989, and now the C5 Aircross SUV which is soon launching in India with a range of comfort-driven innovations that are part of the Citroën Advanced Comfort programme.

Roland Bouchara, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing at Citroën India, says that with the Citroën C5 Aircross SUV, the brand does not just seek to recognize the importance of comfort in the daily lives of Indians but offers the true joy of driving. According to him, SUVs are not associated with real comfort but with higher seating, adventure and off-roading and this is where Citroën's Advanced Comfort Program will make a key difference. “We can’t guarantee road conditions or traffic levels, but what we can assure our customers (and passengers) in India, is a distinct sense of comfort whenever they drive the Citroën C5 Aircross SUV,” he explained.

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