Light, airy and great value for your money

Little details can have a big impression, and in this case all I want is some rubber lining on the bottom of the cubby holes fitted to the C3 Aircross. Citroen has just facelifted this model and among the changes is an enlargement of the storage space on the centre console.

That’s really handy but when you put your keys and other junk in there they rattle around. And that’s annoying.

With many facelifts it’s impossible to tell what’s been done. Not so with this one. The C3 Aircross has now got an aggressive looking front end that comes complete with modern LED lamps.

Actually, I quite like the softer face of the current car, especially with coloured inserts around the foglamps. It’s a shame that car companies have to do change for change’s sake for fear of their cars looking old fashioned.

But never mind, there’s plenty to still like here.

For one there’s the price.

The C3 Aircross range actually starts at £17,320 for the C-series trim level. Even this comes with LED headlamps, parking sensors, cruise control and Apple Carplay as standard.

Citroen says not many people buy this model and that three-quarters of buyers opt for the top of the range Shine Plus. That’s what our test car is – and it’s still extremely good value at £21,500. ,The engines and transmissions have been carried over from the outgoing car and all of them can be found in various Peugeot and Vauxhall models too. Ours has the 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine and six-speed manual gearbox. The motor has 110PS when fitted to the manual gearbox but you can get a 130PS version with the auto box.

A 1.5-litre diesel is available but almost nobody buys it – imagine reading that sentence even 10 years ago – and as yet there’s no electrification available, not even a mild hybrid. You get a heck of a lot of car for your money with this Citroen.

It looks surprisingly substantial from the outside – a bigger car than rivals such as the Renault Captur and Seat Arona and more roomy on the inside.

Clever design and attention to detail allows you take maximum advantage of that space, too.

The boot floor can be set at two different levels, and the front passenger seat folds flat so that you can carry objects up to

2.4m long. The rear seats also split, slide and recline. If you’re going to be carrying adults in the back, particularly tall ones, then you might not want to buy the optional panoramic sunroof as it swallows up some headroom.

There’s more storage space in this new Aircross, in the centre console as mentioned and in the door bins.

Citroen makes a big thing of comfort, which considering it’s the most important aspect of a car, is a good thing.

For example, the revamp brings seats which are 15mm thicker.

At 1,179kg the Aircross is respectably light so its 110PS (about 108bhp) is adequate. The gearshift is less impressive and feels rather vague. Citroen quotes an official 51.5mpg combined fuel consumption which you will get close to if you drive smoothly.

Talking of smooth, the new C3 Aircross is disappointingly choppy over bumps. Since comfort is Citroen’s thing you’ve a right to expect better.

It’d be great if they’d bucked the trend by not worrying about body roll and saw it as something customers would be happy to live with if the ride quality was Rollsroyce plush.

This Aircross an interesting car. It’s a crossover but it’s also a bit old school people carrier.

One that is very good value for money, especially this top of the range model.

Even the entry-level car gets parking sensors and Apple Carplay