The small car market is expanding all the time with a great variety of brands, styles and configurations now available. Citroen's new C3 sits at the premium end of the class, where prices are in the low-mid $20,000 bracket. That's a lot for a small car, but if you want something completely different, the stylish, safe and refined C3 is certainly out on its own.
Value for money
Pricing
The C3 SX costs $19,990 for the five-speed manual. The Exclusive is $20,990 or $22,990 with a four-speed automatic. All use the same five-door hatch body and are powered by the same 1.4 litre, 57 kW four-cylinder engine.
Warranty
Two years/unlimited kilometres. The market average is three years.
Standard features
Air is standard, with automatic temperature control on the Exclusive auto. The SX also has remote central locking, power front windows and mirrors, a CD player and cloth upholstery.
Nice touches not usually found in this class include two glove boxes (one chilled), a speed-camera friendly big digital speedo (plus a speed alert warning), instrument lighting which allows non-essential displays to be switched off at night for better vision and bright headlights by small car standards (with adjustable beam angle.)
The Exclusive manual adds ABS brakes with electronic distribution and automatic emergency power assistance, velour trim and a few other frills; the Exclusive auto has rain-sensing wipers, an exterior temperature gauge and time delay headlights off.
Retained value
The C3 is a new model, so it has no resale value history as yet.
Design and Function
Ergonomics
Up front, the C3 is one of the most spacious small cars around. The high roof provides plenty of head room, while the curved front pillars, deep dash cowl and upright windscreen create an unusual but pleasant effect, like you're sitting in a bubble.
The driving position is one of the few in small cars which can be tailored to suit any physique. The long travel driver's seat is height adjustable, while the wheel is adjustable for height and reach.
The tall seat and large expanses of glass give you clear vision around the car; access is also excellent because the seat's hip point is high, the front doors open wide and you don't have to duck under a low roofline.
Apart from the tachometer, which arches over the digital speedo and is difficult to read, the rest of the dash layout is reasonably straightforward.
The airconditioning is effective, and the clever spherical vents can direct air anywhere you like. Duplicate audio controls are provided on the left wand.
The only real annoyance, and a potential safety issue, on the test car was the blinkers' occasional refusal to self cancel.
Innovation
In some respects, particularly the use of multiplex wiring which allows for several functions to be integrated into single circuits, the C3 is quite innovative by small car standards. It certainly looks it too. However its engine is relatively old tech, and overall space efficiency is not up with current standards, exemplified by Honda's Jazz, Mazda's2 and the Toyota Echo.
Safety
The C3 is undoubtedly one of the better small cars in terms of active and passive safety, scoring four stars out of five in Euro NCAP crash tests.
The C3 is comprehensively equipped with crash protection gear, including height and tilt-adjustable front head restraints, front and side airbags, a retractable steering column and pyrotechnic seat belt tensioners with force limiters.
You can also activate the rear door child safety locks via a button on the dash, which is very convenient.
Security
An immobiliser and remote central locking are fitted. If you accidentally unlock the doors with the remote, they self lock again in 30 seconds.
Comfort
The driver's seat itself is luxuriously padded in typical French style, though it lacks proper bolstering and the cushion is narrow and short.
The hard plastics used for the dash and door trims, done in a pastel blue/goosebumps texture in the test car, are an acquired taste. However you could never call the interior bland.
Space and practicality
The C3's rear seat space, in contrast to the front, is very tight. Tall adults will have trouble even wedging their legs into the small gap behind the back seat, which has a short cushion.
The reach-adjustable wheel and long front seat travel means that an average-sized driver can move forward and liberate some rear seat leg room, but the C3's overall space efficiency is poor.
Three-rear-seat head restraints and lap/sash belts are fitted should a trio of masochists take a ride. The child restraint anchors are under the tailgate, where tether straps will interfere with load carrying capacity.
The boot is average in size, but has a high lip over which objects must be lifted. The 60/40 split-fold rear seat back extends the floor to nearly 1.5 metres; a big step in the middle again compromises its usefulness. A full-sized spare is underneath.
Build and finish quality
The test car's interior was squeak and rattle free. Like other small Euros, some of the C3's plastic trim and panel fit was a bit rough. The body is solid, but the tinny clang when closing the doors gives the opposite impression.
On the Road
Fuel efficiency
On the highway, fifth gear is pulling a mere 2600 rpm at 100 km/h. This tall gearing is designed to have the engine running sweetly at 130 km/h on a French auto route.
The fact that the engine is pulling such low revs can produce great fuel economy. On one flat, easy highway run, the test car used less that 5.0 litres/100 km of premium unleaded - a result beaten only by petrol/electric hybrids like Honda's Insight. The C3's highway average was only 5.0 litres/100 km.
Around town, you have to work the gearbox and stick to the lower gears, so consumption rises to 8.2 litres/100 km, which is average.
Performance
The C3's 57 kW, eight valve, 1.4 litre four-cylinder engine is also used (with minor changes) in Peugeot's base model 206. Peugeot and Citroen come under the same corporate umbrella in France.
The 1.4 is well down on power compared with most Japanese and Korean engines.
It needs a few revs and some clutch slip to get away cleanly from the lights. Around the city second and third gears produce the best result, keeping the engine humming along smoothly in the fairly punchy upper midrange. The top end turns up the volume rather than performance.
Pick a higher gear at the wrong moment and you'll start going backwards, especially on hills and/or with a full load on board.
Tall gearing also produces a lack of enthusiasm for climbs or overtaking manoeuvres unless you get busy with the gear lever. This is no problem, because the gearbox is fluid and precise in action, while the clutch is light.
Ride
Like Renault's Clio, the current Best Small Car titleholder in Australia's Best Cars, the C3's ride/handling compromise and quality suspension tuning constitute the A grade end of the class. Ride comfort is slightly firmer than the bigger Citroens but consistent and compliant in all conditions.
Handling and steering
The C3 has a big-car feel in the way it sits securely at highway speeds on the bitumen, untroubled by bumps and with strong grip from the Michelin tyres. Body roll is minimal for a short, tall car.
The road speed dependent electric power steering is accurate and well weighted, though the wheel trembles a little on rough surfaces.
Braking
The brakes are responsive to light pedal pressures, progressive and powerful when you need to stop in a hurry, with effective ABS intervention and good stability.
Smoothness and quietness
The French know how to build refinement into a small car. The C3's engine is smooth and well muted, the suspension/tyres are quiet on all surfaces, and overall civility is near the top of the small car class.
Summary
If you regularly carry three adult passengers, there are better choices than the C3, which has great space up front but precious little in the back. However the C3 has its virtues, and in some respects - refinement, dynamics/ride and highway fuel economy - is good enough to argue for class leadership. In true French fashion, it also has more style on the street than all of its rivals put together. Très cute.
The writer of this report does not necessarily represent the views of the NRMA and this report is provided for you as an alternative to our own NRMA Road Test reports.
The writer of this report does not necessarily represent the views of the NRMA and this report is provided for you as an alternative to our own NRMA car reviews.
