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Used test: Citroen C3 Aircross vs Ford Puma vs Hyundai Bayon costs
Can the C3 Aircross and Bayon take on and beat our small SUV favourite, the fun-to-drive Ford Puma, when all contenders are two-year-old used buys?...
Buying and owning
Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security
After two years on the used market, the Citroen C3 Aircross comes in at around £14,000, while the Ford Puma and Hyundai Bayon will set you back around £15,000 each. That's a healthy saving on the new price of all three cars. Our data predicts that the C3 Aircross, though cheaper to buy here, will go on to depreciate at a slightly higher rate than the other two.
During our testing, the Puma averaged the highest fuel economy figure, that being 44.7mpg. The Bayon averaged 42.1mpg, while the C3 Aircross averaged 39.1mpg.
For three services of the C3 Aircross, we were quoted £735 through Citroen. For two services of the Puma, Ford quoted us £330. Hyundai quoted us £547 for two services of the Bayon.
The C3 Aircross and Puma are both in insurance group 14, so they should set you back around £479 each, according to our three-year running cost data. The Bayon belongs to group 16, meaning you should pay around £522.
All three come with 17in alloys, cruise control, electric windows all round, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror and some form of air-con, with the C3 Aircross and Bayon getting more sophisticated climate control that can automatically maintain a temperature of your choice. Climate control is available on the Puma – it was a reasonable £300 optional extra when new – and that upgrade also gets you wireless phone charging.
Disappointingly, you don’t get keyless entry or start on this version of the Bayon, whereas both of these handy features came as standard on the C3. The Puma comes with keyless start, while keyless entry is available as part of a pack that also includes an electric tailgate. That said, the Bayon hits back with heated front seats and a heated steering wheel, whereas these would've added £300 to to the price of the Puma and aren’t available on the C3.
As for safety, all of our contenders come with automatic emergency braking that can detect pedestrians and cyclists as well as cars, along with driver fatigue monitors and lane departure warning (with lane-keeping assistance as well in the case of the Puma and Bayon). The Bayon still received only four stars out of five, though, when it was assessed by the safety experts at Euro NCAP. And while the C3 scored five stars, it was back in 2017 when the tests were considerably less strict. The Puma scored better marks in most areas under tougher tests in 2019.
In our latest What Car? Reliability Survey, the C3 Aircross ranked 18th out of 25 cars in the small SUV class, while the Puma placed 19th. The Bayon was too fresh on the market to make an appearance. As for brands, Hyundai managed an impressive fifth place finish out of 32 manufacturers featured. Citroen came 11th and Ford a disappointing 27th.
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