Citroen C3

In essence, the Citroen C3 is designed to do most of what you'd want a modern supermini to do. It looks decent enough, has a varied and economical engine range, and offers plenty of space. But it's getting on in years now and feels it, lagging behind the class best in terms of handling, tech and cabin quality. It isn't particularly cheap either, which would have gone some way to making up for the shortcomings.

Those needing more space and practical features should look at the Citroen C3 Picasso, while the upmarket DS 3 supermini and DS 3 Cabrio convertible should satisfy buyers looking for more individuality, performance and a better drive.

Citroen's historic reputation has been based on its ability to do something a little bit different from the class norm. The C3 doesn’t take that off-beat approach, and instead aims to be a more conservative and competent rival to the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa and Hyundai i20.

The Citroen C3 is also only available with a practical five door body. That’s because Citroen has developed the three-door DS 3 range separately to attract buyers looking for a more premium feel, extra character - and a more dynamic drive. The DS 3 shares the C3’s platform and certain components such as headlamps and bonnet.

The first C3 was introduced in 2002 when you could also get a convertible version called the Pluriel, but that option disappeared when the second generation C3 appeared in 2009. One of the new car’s key features is the wide and tall windscreen with its large quarter-lights and heavily curved profile.

The current model was given a light facelift in 2013 and is available with varied choice of engines. Three-cylinder 1.0-litre and 1.2-litre petrol units give a moderate turn of pace, and are supplemented by a pair of 1.6-litre BlueHDi diesels, giving great torque and economy but pushing the price up.

There are four trim levels to choose from in the latest C3 range.  Electric front windows, remote locking and a CD player are pretty much all you get in the basic VT specification, while the VTR+ (our choice) adds air-con, cruise control and a 'Zenith' windscreen, which extends even further back over the driver. Alloy wheels are included on most VTR+ models too. The range-topping Exclusive trim stands out with a full-length panoramic windscreen, climate control and Bluetooth.

If you’re looking for even more practicality than the C3 hatchback provides, it’s worth taking a look at the C3 Picasso model, which is a mini-MPV designed to take on the Vauxhall Meriva and Nissan Note.

High speeds and motorway driving are handled pretty easily in the C3. It’s a refined long-distance cruiser, with one of the most comfortable rides in the sector. It’s softly set-up approach also pays dividends around potholed urban roads. The firm knows this is a priority for its customers, and we commend them for not following the 'sportier' trend of superminis.

But the trade-off is evident when you start to push the C3 even moderately hard, as the handling leaves a lot to be desired. The compliant suspension setup means the C3 rolls around in corners and the steering is quite vague, meaning it's pretty far away from the Ford Fiesta in terms of driver appeal. Indeed, it’s fair to say that many more up-to-the-minute rivals nail the balance between ride and handling much better.

The C3's latest three-cylinder PureTech petrol engines use direct injection technology and are designed to reduce weight along with running costs.

The C3 gets an entry-level 1.0-litre, 67bhp unit which is willing but a little sluggish for a larger supermini like this.  It’s called the PureTech 68 and comes with a five-speed manual gearbox. 0-62mph takes 14.2 seconds and it’s flat out at 101mph.

Next up is the larger 1.2-litre PureTech 82 that boosts power to 81bhp and which also – in manual guise - offers 0-62mph in 14.2 seconds, but with a 108mph top speed. Its torque is higher than the 998cc unit though, so it has a little more grunt through the gears. The PureTech engine is also available with Stop & Start and an automated gearbox, but this makes little difference to the performance figures.

The most powerful petrol engine is the 109bhp PureTech 110 S&S, which only comes with five-speed manual gears and delivers 0-62mph in 10.6 seconds and a 118mph top speed.

The C3's diesel engines are impressively economical on fuel and give decent performance, but they’re considerably more expensive and we’d only recommended them for high mileage drivers. They're at least reasonably quiet units, however.

Both diesels are versions of the same turbocharged 1.6 litre engine, starting with the 74bhp BlueHDi 75, which does 0-62mph in 11.3 seconds and 106mph. The 98bhp BlueHDi 100 S&S has more grunt – 10.8 seconds and 117mph being its headline figures.

The C3 was never an unattractive car to begin with, but the 2013 facelift addition of LED daytime running lights, a body-coloured splitter in the lower air intake and a bold double chevron grille freshened up the car’s stylish design.

Updated reflectors and taillights have also been fitted to the car’s rear end and the C3 is available in several striking body colours including the bold Ink Blue. It all helps to keep the car looking modern, but it's difficult to escape the feeling that Citroen's supermini is nearing the end of its life.

Inside, it looks adequately up-to-date with deep-set dials and colourful dash trim, while a large windscreen and bright dashboard make it feel light and airy. The range-topping Exclusive grade offers the panoramic Zenith windscreen, which extends back over your head for more light and an even airier feel.

While top-spec models offer plenty of glossy material to make them appear upmarket, if you poke and prod at a lot of the touch points they feel a little flimsy. The plastics below the normal line-of-sight levels look quite cheap, too.

It’s possible to order a black leather interior on the Exclusive model, as well as luxuries like automatic lights and wipers and an auto-dimming mirror, but even without such goodies, equipment levels feel generally decent as long as you opt for more than the entry-level VT spec. It means the C3 tends not to feel like a bargain basement car – but the price reflects this, too.

The C3 finished a disappointing 163rd place in our 2015 Driver Power survey. Part of that is due to its advancing years, but handling and build quality were particularly marked out by owners as being less than adequate.

On reliability the C3 didn’t fare too badly, with a score that ranked it 98th out of 200 cars – so just sneaking into the top 50%. Other than some trim quality issues and electrical quirks, the C3 seems to have remained relatively trouble-free mechanically. However there have been a number of recalls over its life, with issues such as fault brake servos, handbrakes and battery earthing among the most serious.

Citroen did climb 6 places as a manufacturer to 20th in 2015, but this is more likely to be because of improvements across the board in models newer than the C3. In spite of those improvements, reliability remains one of the areas that drags the manufacturer’s overall score down so there’s still work to do.
The C3’s safety rating isn’t all it might be either, having received only a four-star crash test rating from Euro NCAP when it was tested back in 2009, scoring just 40% in the safety assist category.

This is because ESP isn’t standard in the Citroen C3 range and is only an optional extra in the VTR+ and Exclusive models. The pedestrian safety score was only 33 per cent too. Driver, passenger and side airbags are included in all versions though, so at least the basics are covered, and the C3 scored quite highly for adult occupant safety at 83%. Child occupant safety was a less impressive 74%.