New Citroen C3 2020 review

Verdict

Make sure you get the newest of the new Citroen C3s to benefit from the latest, most efficient engines. But buy it wisely and you could get a great supermini at a bargain price. We like its focus on comfort, its quirky styling, and there’s decent space on offer, too. The Citroen is not the last word in quality inside nor the most fun car to drive, but it’s still a supermini worth considering.

Things move fast in the supermini world. So much so that the new Citroen C3 we’ve just driven has already been updated, just over a month after the new model arrived in UK showrooms!

The new C3 – the one we’re driving here – brought us a revised front end with LED headlights now standard, plus new interior trim and colour options. The new, new C3 now adds more efficient petrol engines into the mix. That means our brand-new 70-plate test car’s 1.2-litre three-cylinder unit has now been replaced by a version with a fresh battery and alternator, cutting C02 emissions by 6g/km to 124g/km and bringing a handy two per cent reduction in Benefit-in-Kind tax.

The car’s cute, slightly bulbous look is unlike any rival’s, while Citroen dealers and leasing firms are always keen to do a deal; on a private lease a top-spec Flair Plus model will currently cost you £160 per month over four years, with just £660 down. Deals like that will make any car look attractive, but the C3 is an attractive proposition anyway. 

Its funky exterior style features the latest interpretation of Airbumps along the bottom of the doors, plus up to 97 different colour combinations. While hard plastics proliferate, it’s a smart design inside, added to by the latest Techwood finish that’s a £400 option on our Flair model, but standard on Flair Plus.

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The option pack includes rather sumptuous Advanced Comfort Seats (again, standard on Flair Plus) to remind you that although Citroen’s latest tag line is ‘Inspired By You’,

it hasn’t forgotten the previous one that focused on comfort. The same goes for the suspension;  the ride’s not exactly plush, but it’s not as firm as in many rivals and goes over most lumps and bumps pretty well. The pay-off is that this isn’t a car to enjoy in bends as much as a Ford Fiesta; it’s sensible rather than scintillating. 

The engine makes a bit of noise when you accelerate, and it’s sluggish, but it’s pretty hushed for the most part.

More important for supermini buyers is practicality. The driver will find themselves a little further away from their front-seat passenger than in many rival cars, with headroom to match. Space in the back is okay, the door bins are big, and the boot has a decent 300-litre capacity.

There’s a good amount of tech on board, too, plus plenty of safety kit and a seven-inch touchscreen with standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It’s not the most intuitive system, though, and you even have to use its on-screen menus to adjust the climate-control temperature.