Citroën C3 review

Introduction

Not sure whether to get a small car or an SUV? The Citroën C3 could free you from your dilemma by letting you (sort of) have both.

You see, Citroën classes the C3 as a small car, but while the previous C3 actually looked like a small car, this fourth-generation model is taller, boxier and available with roof rails, skid plates and two-tone body styling. In other words, some SUV style.

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1.2 Turbo MAX Hatchback 5dr Petrol Manual Euro 6 (s/s) (100 ps)

Expected annual mileage	6000
Term months	48
Deposit months	12
Monthly payment	£212.62
Initial payment	£2,551.44

Step-by-step

Leasing works a bit like a long-term rental. You drive it, but you don’t own it.

• Choose your car, pick your terms and apply for lease credit online
• Pay monthly rental payments for your chosen term length
• Drive it, enjoy it, then give it back at the end

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• Full manufacturer’s warranty
• Road tax and roadside assistance included
• No admin fees
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£2,551 initial payment, 48 month contract, 6000 miles p/a. Subject to status and conditions.

• Lower total monthly cost than PCP/HP
• No balloon payments
• Road tax included

Better still, the C3's pumped-up looks haven't pumped up the price. Citroën has managed to keep pricing at small car levels by using its new Smart Car platform, which allows for 30% fewer components and consequently lower production costs. The same underpinnings are used for the fully electric Citroën ë-C3.

In a market where prices have continued to creep up in recent years, that's good news, but the C3 will still have its work cut out to compete against the best small cars and its closest rivals including the Renault Clio, Skoda Fabia and Suzuki Swift.

What’s new?

- April 2025: Hybrid joins range, with Puretech 110 engine. Plus and Max trims

- September 2024: Orders open for C3 Mk4

- May 2024: Prices announced for C3, offered only in Puretech 100 Plus form

Overview

The Citroën C3 isn’t the best small car to drive but it partly makes up for that by offering great value for money and sensible running costs alongside reasonable practicality. Because value is key here, we think it’s best to stick to the entry-level Turbo 100 version in the cheapest trim, Plus – although even the posher Max trim won’t break the bank.

Pros

• Cheaper to buy than many of its rivals
• Decent fuel economy, especially from the mild hybrid
• Good all-round practicality for the class

Cons

• Not especially comfortable or fun to drive
• No Euro NCAP safety rating yet
• Boot would benefit from a false floor

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Performance & drive

What it's like to drive, and how quiet it is

The Citroën C3 range kicks off with a 99bhp 1.2-litre engine called the Turbo 100. It’s our recommended choice because it’s punchy around town with enough grunt to keep up with faster-moving traffic on motorways (0-60mph took 11.2sec in our tests). It comes with a six-speed manual gearbox with a smooth and precise shift.

If you want an automatic gearbox, you'll need the 108bhp Hybrid 110, which is a mild-hybrid with a small electric motor to assist the petrol engine. It’s a little pokier, with 0-62mph in 9.8sec, and can run on electric power alone for short distances. It switches between petrol and electric power reasonably smoothly but the auto gearbox can be jerky at low speeds.

While the latest C3 doesn’t feel quite as soft as previous versions, it’s more comfortable than most small cars, especially around town. You see, it soaks up bumps and potholes with little issue, shielding you from the thuds that you’d feel from rivals including the Renault Clio.

As speeds increase, though, the C3’s softness starts to work against it, making it feel less controlled over undulations than firmer rivals and ultimately causing you to be bobbed around in your seat more. By contrast, the Clio and Skoda Fabia are far more comfortable motorway cruisers.

Both of those rivals are also more refined. In the C3 you’re aware of the engine buzzing the gear lever and pedals at low revs, road noise on motorways, and pronounced thwacks from the suspension over poor surfaces.

The C3 is an easy car to drive, with light steering in town and more than enough grip on faster country roads. But is it fun to drive? No, not really. When you really push the C3 in bends there’s a fair amount of body lean and the steering doesn’t build weight predictably as the speed builds. For something with more precision and dynamic sparkle, try a Clio or Seat Ibiza.

“Although the C3 Hybrid 110 will run on electric power for a little bit, I found that unless I was very gentle with the accelerator the petrol engine would cut in.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer

Interior

The interior layout, fit and finish

The Citroën C3's interior is not what you'd call luxurious, and most of the materials inside are hard and unforgiving – although that's not unusual at this price point. The Suzuki Swift has similarly hard plastics throughout, but at least the C3 mixes things up with simple additions like the fabric trim across the dashboard. It helps lift the ambience a little.

The C3's digital driver's display is really easy to see over the steering wheel, and actions you'll do often, such as adjusting the temperature settings, are simple when you're driving because there are plenty of proper buttons, rather than touchscreen controls.

The 10.3in touchscreen on the dashboard is a respectable size for cars at this end of the price range (most Renault Clios get a 7in screen and the Kia Picanto 8in). The only negatives are that the touchscreen’s definition isn’t super-sharp and the software sometimes takes a moment to load.

As far as equipment goes, the C3's infotainment system has all you could reasonably need, including wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and a six-speaker stereo. The top Max trim adds sat-nav and wireless phone-charging.

Hybrid 110 versions come with a front centre armrest, while all C3's have a softly cushioned driver’s seat that’s generally very comfortable. If you have any back issues, though, the lack of adjustable lumbar support might cause you a problem.

You sit higher up than in most small cars – including the Hyundai i10 and the Picanto – and even some small SUVs (the Skoda Kamiq for example).

That height helps with visibility, and it’s easy to see out of the C3 to the front and sides, but the wide rear pillars slightly hamper your view out of the back. That's not really a problem though: every C3 has rear parking sensors, and top-spec Max trim adds a rear-view camera.

“It's pretty easy to see out of the C3, and I found its boxy shape meant I could see the end of the bonnet while parking.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer

Passenger & boot space

How it copes with people and clutter

The Citroën C3 holds its own on interior space against most other small cars. In the front there's plenty of head and leg room, and even though the interior is narrow you won’t be knocking elbows with your passenger.

Thanks to the C3’s boxy shape, rear space is decent for a small car, too. Indeed, a pair of six-footers should have just enough head and leg room, and more than they’ll find in the back of the Clio.

It’ll be tight if you try and fit three adults in the rear, but at least the extra width compared to other small cars make things slightly better. If that’s something that you do often, you might want to take a look at the Honda Jazz instead, which is more generous in every way.

Storage is adequate in the C3. The front door bins are a decent size, the cubby below the touchscreen is generous, and rear-seat passengers are treated to nifty little phone pockets.

There’s nothing nifty when it comes to seating flexibility though. Like most small cars, the C3 has a basic 60/40 split-folding rear seat. It’s only the Jazz (with its flip-up rear-seat bases) that offers more flexibility. Some small SUVs – including the Renault Captur and Volkswagen T-Cross – come with sliding rear seats.

Most small SUVs have bigger boots too. The C3’s boot is fairly average by small-car standards at 310 litres, but managed to swallow five carry-on sized suitcases in our tests. That’s the same as the Renault Clio and Suzuki Swift.

While it’s a decent size, the C3’s boot has no height-adjustable boot floor, which is available with some of the competition. Plus, the high load lip makes it less accessible.

“Yes, there are roomier cars in this class but I find that the C3 feels airier in the back than most of them because of its big windows.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer

Buying & owning

Everyday costs, plus how reliable and safe it is

The starting price for the Citroën C3 is one of its key selling points, and makes it one of the cheaper small cars you can buy. Sure, a Kia Picanto undercuts it but that’s a lot less spacious. And while a Skoda Fabia is roomier inside and more polished to drive, it’s much pricier.

The C3 should be relatively cheap to run too. In our efficiency testing, the Turbo 100 managed to average 47.1mpg, less than the Clio’s 50mpg on the same day, but still very respectable.

The Hybrid 110 promises to be even more efficient, officially averaging more than 55mpg. We didn’t manage to quite hit that in the real world, but still saw just over 50mpg. If you want significantly better fuel economy you'll need to look at a full hybrid such as a Renault Clio E-Tech or Toyota Yaris Cross. They can push 60mpg if you drive carefully.

There’s also the Citroën ë-C3 electric car, which is a good choice if you mostly do town or city driving and can save money by using a home EV charger or if you get it as a company car.

Back to the petrol C3. It's available in a choice of two trims but the entry-level Plus is the one we’d go for. You see, it keeps the price low but still comes with plenty of kit, including 17in alloy wheels, electrically folding and heated wing mirrors, roof bars, automatic wipers, LED headlights, air-conditioning and rear-parking sensors.

Max trim adds even more equipment and is worth considering if you fancy additions such as LED rear lights, rear privacy glass, automatic climate control, wireless phone-charging, a rear-view camera and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror.

We can't tell you how safe the C3 will be yet because it hasn't been tested by Euro NCAP but it comes with lane-keep assist, speed-limit recognition, a driver attention alert system and automatic emergency braking (AEB).

Similarly, reliability is unknown because the latest C3 is too new to have featured in our 2025 What Car? Reliability Survey. That said, Citroën as a brand ranked 10th out of 30 manufacturers, which is a confidence-inspiring result.

The standard warranty is impressive too, with Citroen offering you a total of eight-years/100,000-miles, providing you keep up with the service schedule. That’s way better than the three-years that you get with the Renault Clio and longer than Hyundai and Kia, which offer five and seven years respectively. Only Toyota’s ten-year service activated warranty is longer.

“I think Plus trim has all the kit most people would expect but I can understand why you’d be tempted by the additional goodies you get with Max trim.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer

Buy it if...

-You want a small car that’s good value for money

-You spend a lot of your time driving around town

-You often have four people in the car

Don’t buy it if…

-You want a small car that’s fun to drive

-You want a car that’s really comfortable on the motorway

-A fancy interior is important to you

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