Introduction

Citroen, the French car brand which is now a part of Stellantis group started its journey in India by launching its premium flagship car the C5 Aircross SUV. Now they are bringing in the Citroen C3 into the premium hatchback category which is a very competitive mass-market segment. Does this car have what it takes to compete against the likes of its competition like Hyundai Venue, Maruti Baleno, Nissan Magnite, and Tata Punch? Let us find out in this review.

Styling and Design Details – How does it look?

The Citroen C3 looks pretty stylish and premium overall. How does it look from the front?  – The stylish chrome strip across the front grille flows into the Chevron emblem – This  blends really well with the aesthetics of the car. The Dual LED DRLs (Day-time Running Lamps) are positioned uniquely and splits distinctively in the front. The car gets Halogen headlamps and halogen based Fog lamps that are housed inside orange styling element – which is pretty eye-catching. The car gets a higher bonnet than a typical hatchback giving it a SUVish look –  (high stance). Overall its a lovely car with refreshing looks.  There are 4 mono tone colors and 6 dual tone colors for you to choose from. Check all colors in this article: 2022 Citroen C3 Colors .

When it comes to side profile, the car gets a thick cladding across its length and a strong wheel arches. The C3 features 15-inch alloy wheels – one could customize the alloy wheel styling. At the top, the car gets a very funky looking roof rails – the colors are customizable. The door handles can be either body colored or with chrome depending on your liking, the ORVM (Outer rear view mirror) colors can be customised as per your liking. There is also a stylish element added at the bottom of front door which again improves the looks of the car. This is a sub 4 meter car with a length of 3981mm with a very large wheelbase (2540mm) – larger wheelbase leads to more comfortable and spacious experience inside the car.

How does the new C3  looks from the back angle? The rear side of the car carries a pretty minimum design – at the very centre, the Citroen Chevron brand emblem has been embossed also there is a C3 badge on the right side. The C shaped Tail Lights looks somewhat similar to C5 Aircross’s taillamp design and it extends uptil the boot door.  The exhaust styling elements looks pretty nice as well. One can also add spoilers etc by choosing a customization pack.  Important to note the C3 doesn’t feature rear wipers even in the top trim.

Interior Styling and how the Cabin feels like?

Lets talk about the inside of the car.  You can notice a very large 10 inch infotainment touch screen system at the centre and nice design patterns on the front dash. It Feels very roomy from inside. You get to see good view of the road and traffic from the driver’s position. The steering wheel can be adjusted for the height.  The quality of materials, overall look and feel inside the car is top-notch.  C3 features a very small and readable MID – The MID displays a prominent gear indicator, speed, Distance to Empty and other useful trip information. USB and 12v socket are present for front passengers.  Connectivity features like bluetooth and wireless Android Auto/ Apple CarPlay works flawlessly, that really comes handy for map navigation without bothering about USB cables, a feature which we loved in Nissan Magnite. 

How good is rear Passenger Comfort?

2 to 3 people can easily sit at the back. The legroom and headroom is decent enough for a car of this size. The rear seats comes with an integrated headrest. The seats are made of good quality fabric material. The one-touch power windows for rear doors has been positioned in the middle instead of mounting on doors.   2 fast charging USB ports are also offered for the rear passengers. The back seat is fully foldable which can provide additional room to keep more items at the back. The car offers a very large 315 litre boot space for your luggage. 

Storage Space – Has it got enough space for your things?

Plenty of storage spaces are offered in the front – The Glovebox is large there is ample space and multiple place to keep your phone in the middle. There are bottle holders in the middle and also on door pockets. 

Connectivity, Music, AC and more – How cool is the car?

The music speakers are mounted on to A-Pillar to play your favourite songs – the quality of sound is good. There are Three radial dials to control and adjust the AC setting-very easy to access from the driver’s end as well as co-driver’s en. The controls on the 10 inch touch screen are pretty reachable and accessible for the driver…. Display quality of the infotainment system  is good. We wish it had a rear parking camera at least in the top trim – could have made full use of this large screen. The car features rear parking sensors that should help you when you are backing the car. AC works really well  – There is no dedicated AC vents for rear passengers – but Citroen claims the AC has been optimized for Indian summer and is engineered for all the passengers in the car.

Driving the Citroen C3

We got to drive 2 cars during the media drive of C3, the one powered by 1.2 liter Naturally Aspirated engine variant and the 1.2 litre Turbo charged petrol variant. The heart of the car is the engine and Citroen has done a great job by offering 2 options for its customers . The Puretech 82 NA engine delivers a peak power of 82 PS and maximum torque of 115 Nm where as the Turbo-charged Puretech 110 delivers a peak power of 110 PS and max torque of 190 Nm. The smaller 82 PS  engine is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission gearbox whereas the bigger 110ps engine is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox. There is no  automatic gearbox on offer at this point in time, 

Steering control was neither stiff nor hard it – was just right.  Riding on highway was great – One can make the full use of 6-speed gearbox on highways, it may be unusable for shorter distance commute. Driving the car through the tough humps without hurting your back is a super power specially offered by Citroen in the name of “Flying Carpet effect” which is a part of its proprietary tech – “Citroen Advanced Comfort”. This well engineered suspension system – works as advertised. Extremely useful for you and your family for a stress free travel experience. 

 Citroen claims it offers Theatrical panoramic view for rear passengers. The pickup was good in turbo variant when compared to small engine, top speed which we went was around 140 kmph, The car offers 2 safety airbags in the front as standard option. If you are at the rear seat —– you would enjoy the comfort offered by this car. 

Citroen claims a mileage of 19.4 kmpl for Turbo charged engine AND 19.8 KMPL Mileage for normal engine. The Car gets a 30 liter fuel tank. The car seems well tested and we didn’t find any issues during our short drive in Goa.

Price and Variants

Features wise, the all new Citroen C3 comes in 2 trim levels – LIVE and FEEL – FEEL being the top variant offers dual tone colors, touchscreen infotainment system, wireless android auto, 4 speakers, etc. The price announcement is due on July 20th – the car will be officially launched. Find thedetailed specs, dimensions, feature list at the end of this blog.

Verdict

Who should buy the new Citroen C3’? It is for someone whose primary requirement is comfort, refined driving experience and high quality suspension. The car offers a comfortable experience not just for driver but also for those who travel along with you.

Here are Some Good Things which C3 offers – The Suspension system with Flying Carpet Effect is amazing, The Cooling effect inside the car is great, 2 engine options with one being Turbo, offers good mileage, design and styling details of the car are great, Wireless Android auto, One touch power windows. plenty of storage space, big boot of 315 litres all these factors makes it a really good car. 

Talking about the cons, Citroen C3 misses on many Tech features like Start stop engine button, parking camera, no tachometer, no rear wipers, no rear view camera etc, no electrically adjustable mirrors. Those who want these can choose the aftermarket options.

Final Thoughts

This car is ideal for those who prefer comfort and high quality driving experience over tech features.  In the market there is a demand for quality cars that drives well, which is more spacious and comfortable. Citroen fits this demand. A very good attempt by Citroen to capture the segment by purely of its engineering and innovations on drive and comfort rather than focussing on tech feature list. If you are making a feature-to-feature comparison with cars like Magnite, Punch, Venue, i20 or Baleno, the new C3 seems to be behind, having said that, the car’s unique character is suspension, comfort and driving dynamics which hands down beats other cars in this segment. Citroen is going to be a great European car with deep penetration across India if priced well and offered with a good service network.

Download Citroen E-brochure from here and find the specs sheet of Citroen C3 below:

What do you think of the new Citroen C3? Let us know by commenting below.