New Citroen C3: driven - Introduction

There's plenty of top-notch competition in this market right now, but Citroen hasn't shrunk from the task – turning its C3 from a perennial also-ran into a front-runner.

The all-new C3 has the ingredients so important to success in this ultra-competitive market: it looks cute, it's built well and when it goes on sale early in the new year, it'll be priced keenly.

Safety own goal
Safety, though, is another key factor, and here Citroën has scored something of an own goal. While its rivals all trumpet five-star Euro NCAP safety records, the C3 has just four stars.

Look closely, and you'll see that its crash protection is on a par with others, but Citroën decided against fitting electronic stability control as standard across the range.

That's (rightly) a big red cross as far as Euro NCAP is concerned, so off came a star from the overall score.

Engines and trim
The C3 line-up comprises a simple three-tier trim system – from VT to VTR+ to Exclusive – and a not-so-simple choice from four petrol and three diesel engines.

Most people will opt for one of the two 1.4-litre petrol engines in VTR+ trim, but sadly our initial launch drive was restricted to two of the engines least likely to tickle your financial fancy: the top-of-the-range 1.6 petrol and the 1.6 90bhp diesel.