AFTER years of discounting their cars across Europe Citroen's newly-appointed management team is to take a leaf out of the Irish franchise holder's policy on selling cars.

Gallic Distributors, who are one of the eight private company importers in Europe handling Citroen, dropped the sales tactic of discounting new models earlier this year after seeing market share fall.

"Citroen's new policy is to cut out discounting and cash-back.

The need to build desirability around our models is now realised, " says Paul Creegan who leads the Gallic Distributors team.

His company has been giving better value for money by way of improved pricing and specification on car and commercials for months and is glad a difficult two years for Citroen are over.

Over the next two years the PSA company in France, which is the holding company for the Citroen and Peugeot brands, is to launch 29 new models and reduce the average model age from four-and-a-half years to three years as part of a plan to increase sales from 3.3 million to four million new cars.

The C-Crosser is Citroen's first ever SUV and it will be followed by a C5, a new bigger Berlingo, and a totally new sub-Berlingo model. The new C-Crosser is impressive with a modern sporty look and is powered by a 2.2-litre HDi diesel engine which puts out 156bhp.

The low centre of gravity, achieved by lower engine mountings and light weight aluminium in the upper body areas gives it car-like driving qualities and good roadholding.

The latest technology in 2WD / 4WD has been built into the CCrosser. In urban driving the 2WD saves fuel and is adequate for ordinary driving conditions.

But when the going gets tough a simple flick of a button on the centre console gives torque to the rear wheels as required to maintain stability and safety.

There is also a lock-up button which sends one-and-a-half times more torque to the rear wheels.

The engine puts out 156bhp at 4000rpm and develops 380Nm of torque at 2000rpm and coupled with a smooth six-speed gearbox is responsive and reasonably quiet. It was developed in conjunction with Ford and is also used in Land Rover and Jaguar models.

Citroen boast that emission levels at 191g/km are lower than the Lexus RX hybrid (192g/km) thanks to a diesel particulate filter. The engine can run on 30% bio-diesel without any modification to give a cleaner burn and fuel consumption is as low as 7.2L/100km in mixed driving. Again Citroen point out that this is lower than the Lexus RX hybrid at 8.1L/100km.

A big effort has been made to make the C-Crosser as safe as possible in the event of an accident. There are six airbags and ESP is standard with traction control and anti-lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution.

In the cabin area seats are comfortable and a high quality appearance has been achieved.

The dashboard area is well planned with controls easy to use. The result should please the target market . . . affluent family buyers who Citroen say will use it as a business vehicle during the week and a recreational vehicle at weekends.

The Dynamique gets all the safety equipment, 16-inch alloy wheels, climate control, cruise control and electric folding mirrors. The Exclusive version adds leather seats, 18-inch alloy wheels, rear parking sensors, heated front seats, electric driver seat adjustment and rear privacy glass. Both versions have a five plus two seating arrangement.

The C-Crosser is targeting the biggest segment of the SUV market where the Hyundai Santa Fe is the clear leader with 35% of the segment. The C-Crosser comes in at a lower price in the Dynamique trim with more standard equipment and at the Exclusive level it also fares better on price and equipment.

The good quality build, price and specification will bring this Citroen firmly into contention in the SUV market.

VITAL STATISTICS

Model Citroen C-Crosser
Engine 2.2 HD1 156bhp
Length 4646mm
Width 1806mm
Height 1713mm
Wheelbase 2670mm
Acceleration 0-100km/9.9sec
Top speed 200km/h
Transmission Six-speed manual
Economy 7.2L?100km
Price �41,850
C02 emissions 91g/km