Citroën C3 Aircross Bluehdi Flair
Funky little thing
Deciding to make the replacement for the Citroën C3 Picasso an SUV rather than an MPV must have been about has hard as deciding whether to get out of bed in the morning. So here we are: the C3 Aircross, a B-segment SUV/ crossover/call it what you will.
It’s a 4.15m-long, C3-based, 1.6m-tall funkmobile that looks, I think, pretty interesting; in a fun, striking, slightly aggressive and angry Jelly Baby way. A bit like a Fiat Panda 4x4. Only, being a Citroën, it’s only ever a 4x2.
That’ll be because of the C3 supermini (and Vauxhall Crossland X) platform, which means this is a front-drive tall hatchback rather than a full-on SUV. Albeit one with 175mm of ground clearance, and hill descent control, an adaptable traction control for off road and all-season tyres on some versions. So it’ll get to places as rugged as you really want it to.
To beachside or mountainside or yurtside, presumably, for this is one of those cars ideally suited to your active lifestyle, don’cha know. There are roof rails, 60/40 split rear seats (like rear windows that open, not necessarily a given on a small Citroën), a fold-flat passenger seat and even, on this top version, a sliding rear bench to increase luggage capacity from 410 to 520 litres; perhaps up to 1289 litres with the rear bench folded. Think of how much active stuff you could get in there. And you will. Because damn, you so cool, bruh.
Mechanically? I suspect you don’t much care if you’re buying one of these. But given you’re reading this, you do. So you can have a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol with 81bhp, at a base trim that hardly anyone will buy from £13,995. The next trim level up, of three, from £15,100, is where it really starts. Adding a turbo to the 1.2 gives you 109bhp or 128bhp. The automatic option (109bhp only) is now a six-speed proper automatic, rather than the awful single-clutch automated manual. There are 99bhp and 119bhp 1.6-litre diesels too, both manuals. Pricing is all done by £19,525. There are struts at the front and a torsion beam at the back – both facts about as surprising as finding it gets dark at night.
If you’re fans of funky-looking exteriors, step right this way, then. If you’re fans of quite interesting interiors too. But not if you’re fans of high-grade, solid-feeling interiors. Inside, it’s all pretty small-citroën stuff – stiff, brittle-looking surfaces, a bit shiny in places, but dolled up here and there to look the part. The two higher-spec versions get a big touchscreen, which also, annoyingly, has the climate controls.
To drive? It’s okay. Better than you’d expect. Citroën has upped the roll stiffness over the C3, to prevent exacerbation of the supermini’s inherent wobble just as you turn, or brake, or accelerate, which makes it tiring to drive smoothly.
The Aircross, pleasingly, is much more controlled. Its roll rate is slower and more predictable, even though the steering remains light, and after making you think it’s not going to do much just as you start to turn, all of a sudden it then does quite a lot. So it’s still a bit Citroëny. As is the very quiet diesel and tidy manual gearshift.
All of which means? The C3 Aircross is visually extremely likeable, feels less solid than some rivals and is dynamically completely unremarkable. Refreshingly funky new Citroën, then, but, somehow, familiarly old Citroën.