A comfort zone with real power
CITROËN C3: EXCELLENT FOR SMALL FAMILIES
Model is a joy to drive, soft on the back and smooth on country roads.
Ihave often heard nightmare stories about French car manufacturers regarding the high prices one would pay for after-sales parts – and the lack of after market or used parts to repair your car without breaking the bank. But I was determined to forge my own memories in a French car and come up with my own unbiased opinion.
So a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of taking my first trip to Polokwane in Limpopo, not only was this my first time in Limpopo but it was also my first time testing a Citroën.
The specific model that I had was a Citroën C3 Aircross SUV, which is part of the compact
crossover family.
My initial thoughts on this car were that it was extremely spacious on the inside for such a compact car.
This could be attributed to the sliding rear seat which helped increase and decrease the capacity of your boot without compromising passenger space too much.
I went down to Polokwane to shoot a video of an event, and this obviously meant a boot loaded with camera equipment leaving with very little space to pack our clothing in.
So I decided to repack to see if I could free up more space, and to my surprise I discovered that the boot had a little false floor. After removing the false floor, I was able to free up a few more litres of boot space – and our luggage fitted comfortably alongside the camera equipment.
On the drive there the suspension did amazingly well on the highway as well as on the sandy rural road of Sheshego, where my aunty owns a plot of land.
If I had done this trip in my own car I probably would never have made it to the plot because these dirt roads are very bumpy.
My own car’s lowered suspension would never have coped, yet this little SUV handled it as though it were a full-sized SUV. I must commend Citroën on the build quality of the C3 Aircross suspension.
The little 1.2 litre engine in the C3 Aircross was more than capable of picking up ample speed on the highway to overtake other vehicles.
It didn’t feel like such a small engine at all and it wasn’t too bad on consumption either. I managed to get an average consumption of 7.7l/100km over the 900km and would attribute this to the fact that I used cruise control on parts of the road.
When it comes to the cabin and the comfort of my passengers the seats in this car were extremely comfortable.
Even on the long road where I sat on the highway for long periods without breaks, I never once felt like I was experiencing any back pain, nor did I feel I needed to take a break or to stretch.
The media system was very easy to use with all the features that you would want from a radio, such as Bluetooth and Apple carplay, but one major issue I had was that once a phone is connected to the USB port to charge it, it would automatically want to start up Apple/Android app – and this preventsyou from charging your phone and using Bluetooth simultaneously.
Although the engine impressed me, I was left a little disappointed by the limitations of the gearbox.
The changes on this automatic box felt a little bit rough at times and the car stayed in one gear for long periods of time.
But to combat this I put the car into the manual mode, which gave me greater freedom when the gears shift.
Despite my minor gripes, I have to say this little SUV would make a superb vehicle for a small family.
Viva, Citroën C3 Aircross.
My initial thoughts on this car were that it was extremely spacious on the inside for such a compact car.
I managed to get an average consumption of 7.7l/100km over 900km