Rear guard
Citroen C3 Aircross £18,845 OTR/£21,975 as tested
In the interest of a properly all-round lifer experience, I have been a back-seat passenger (not driver, note) in the C3. This was not because I felt an unswerving need to be chaufeured around like Lady Muck, but because I have taken a few passengers on short and long journeys in the past couple of months... and they have all moaned about how hard and uncomfy the back bench is. Ungrateful wretches.
However, as these are all welladjusted, smart people, I decided not to dismiss their woes, but instead see how I felt in the back on an hour-long trip.
I will admit the seats are hard and slippery, and so you do slide around. This can be annoying and uncomfortable. But it is far from terrible back there. I reckon there is a surprisingly generous amount of legroom, and those window blinds are great for protecting back-seat passengers from the glare of the sun – on the odd day we get glaring sun in the UK, I know. Also, you just need to brace yourself for corners and you don’t slide. It does wonders for your core muscles.
Conclusion? The back-seat experience would probably be more enjoyable if we had chosen cloth seats, but that’s our fault. Learn from our mistake and don’t spec leather on a bench seat.
In non-back-seat news, the Aircross has improved its economy fgure again. I still have hope that we will get to the manufacturer’s claimed number. It may be a fool’s hope, but it’s still there.