COVER New Citroen C3
Is stylish new supermini as good to drive as it looks?
REMEMBER the old Citroen C3? Probably not – it’s one of a series of fairly forgettable cars from the brand over the past decade.
The all-new C3, however, is among a raft of Citroens that’s a whole lot more memorable. It’s a breath of fresh air in an ultra-conservative market dominated by Ford’s Fiesta, the Vauxhall Corsa and Volkswagen’s Polo. The C3 sticks a cheeky two fingers up at supermini convention, with a mix of style, tech and comfort – the latter being a very important part of Citroen’s recent reinvention.
According to the once-again fashionable French brand, comfort is much more than just a squishy ride, as it was with those popular models of old. Now it’s been rebranded as Citroen Advanced Comfort and is more about visibility, ventilation, connectivity, usability and, yes, still what you feel through your bottom.
So the new C3 is full of easy-to-use features: the seven-inch touchscreen now works with the precision of a top-end tablet computer rather than a petrol station special, the view out is good from all seats, plus the boot is one of the biggest in the class and easy to get to. Even the door bins have a dash of French flair, painted white to make them easier to see.
There’s also a world-first built-in dash cam on top-spec Flair models (a worthwhile £380 option on mid-spec Feel) that has all the safety benefits of regular dash cams but with added social sharing – through an app, of course – and no unsightly wires.
Space
This is still a supermini, though, so space in the back seats is good enough for family use, but not super-generous. The headroom is good and kneeroom is okay for anyone of average height, but shoulder space is a bit tight, especially for three.
Yet this is a car with a sense of charm and character that will help you overlook the few flaws it has – like some of the plastic quality across the top of the dash and on the doors.
The spirit of the Citroen C4 Cactus is clear in the C3, from the smaller Airbumps down the sides on Flair models (with snazzy colour inlay depending on your colour scheme) to the strap door-pulls. The minimalist dashboard is dominated by the touchscreen that controls infotainment, ventilation and navigation (an extra £500 for the latter, though) and there are further splashes of colour that add to the funky feel.
If you get a kick out of spending time inside, you’ll get an equal thrill checking out the car on your driveway. Narrow LED driving lamps sit at bonnet level, swooping around the front and into the grille with Citroen’s double-chevron logo. Inset lower down are the headlights, either side of a widemouthed grille. Black Suv-style cladding surrounds the bottom of the car, with yet more colour around the foglights – again reserved for the top-spec Flair
“The C3 sticks a cheeky two fingers up at supermini convention, with a mix of style, tech and comfort”
cars. Things are rather pert at the back, too, with three-dimensional-looking rear lights, while there’s the option of red, white or black roofs plus contrasting details where the top meets the body. All so often, these ‘splashes of colour’ can be overdone, but it all works cohesively on the C3.
So there’s no doubt about the showroom appeal, but does the car deliver on the road? In spite of it sitting on an old-tech platform, Citroen’s engineers have given the C3 a gait that sits nicely between relaxed and sprightly. It’ll not have you screwing your eyes up as you go over bumps, but nor will it have you eager to string a series of bends together.
The steering errs on the side of comfort, as you’d expect, while the car will lean if you push too hard in corners – although most buyers rarely would anyway.
We drove the award-winning 109bhp 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine. Its cheeky nature is perfectly in-keeping with the new C3, giving decent performance, an engaging engine note (some might find it a touch too vocal) and decent fuel economy – Citroen’s official figures claim 61.4mpg.
So for all that, it’s going to be expensive, right? As the Fiesta moves further upmarket, the C3 seems reassuringly affordable, starting at £10,995 for a 67bhp 1.2-litre Touch model with a reasonable smattering of equipment.
Most buyers are expected to ignore that trim, though, and they’d do well to avoid the diesels, too – they’re not as nice to drive and difficult to justify the extra cost. Our top-spec Flair model cost a still reasonable (given the amount of kit on board) £15,995. Many buyers will be tempted by the extra kit and the added dose of style it brings.
Alternatively, the 81bhp version of the three-cylinder engine in Feel trim, which is still nicely equipped, is a sound buy at £13,745, especially as that’s not far from the price of an entry-level Fiesta these days.