The stylish third-generation Citroën C3 urban hatchback is similar in many ways to the larger C4 Cactus . What is a city car combined with a diesel engine and a five-speed gearbox?
Exterior
The front part of the car gives the impression of a large car thanks to the smaller and lower grille. The hood is optically separated from the bumper by chrome strips on a black background. The strips follow the arrows in the Citroën emblem, and lead around the LED daytime running lights. Headlamps with separate reflectors for low beam and main beam are embedded in the bumper. The fog lights are in the lowest, black part of the bumper and their frame can be the same color as the roof and rear-view mirrors.
When viewed from the side, the AirBump cushions catch the eye at first glance. Unlike the Cactus, not every C3 has it. In the lowest Live equipment, there is only a molding on the door. AirBump is available for an extra charge of CZK 5,500 in the mid-range Feel trim, and is already included in the top trim Shine. Both higher trims have plastic fender trims, the tested C3 has large 17″ CROSS BLACK wheels with 205/50 tires.
The back of the car has a fairly high-placed black plastic bumper, and the loading edge of the trunk is slightly higher (by approximately 10 cm compared to the 3rd generation Fabia). A distinctive feature are the protruding rear headlights, which I would have a reservation about: the "backlight" in the right headlight is not very powerful, in combination with the tinted rear glass, the rear view at night is below average.
Interior
The interior is also similar to the Cactus in many ways, only the design is a little more moderate and adheres more to established practices. You can choose between the following interiors: Metropolitan Grey, Urban Red and Hype Colorado. This particular C3 has Metropolitan Grey. The panoramic roof illuminates the car beautifully and costs a reasonable 11,000 CZK. For example, the door handles are made in the style of the ears on the trunk. The plastic door panels are complemented by an armrest that is upholstered in a light fabric, but the darker version will be more practical and will not get dirty as easily.
The dashboard has a silver frame in the Matropolitan Gray version, the air conditioning vents have a rectangular shape referring to the AirBump, and there is nice-looking fabric upholstery in the area in front of the passenger. There is a large 7″ touch screen under the middle vents of the air conditioner, under which there are only a few of the most necessary buttons. The system is localized into Czech, only voice control is not available. Navigation from TomTom has excellent map data and works as it should. Infotainment responds briskly, but I'm not a fan of having everything controlled by touch. Things like driving assistants or air conditioning can also be set using the display. In this, I liked the separate buttons on the Peugeot better, which were easy to operate blindly.
The leather steering wheel is adjustable in height and length. The seats are very comfortable, but I would appreciate an armrest for longer drives. The seats are soft and well-shaped from the back, thanks to which even the passengers in the back have enough legroom, it's worse with the space above the head, where there is not much space and the panoramic roof takes a few centimeters away from it due to the place for folding the sun visor.
ConnectedCam is a camera and a black box at the same time. It records HD video and stores it in its own memory with a capacity of 16 GB. Press the button to take a photo, press it longer to record. The advantage is that the video is also recorded before the button is pressed. It is good to connect the camera to the phone via WiFi, on the one hand, information such as date, time, speed and GPS coordinates will be added to the video, and the captured footage can also be shared directly. A neat feature is automatic video recording in the event of an accident, where it saves half a minute before and a minute after the accident.
Engine and ride
Three-cylinder 1.2 petrol engines producing 68 or 82 hp are available. Diesel enthusiasts can choose between 75 and 99 horsepower BlueHDi four-cylinders. All engines are combined with a 5° manual transmission. A petrol 1.2 variant with 110 horsepower and a 6° automatic transmission, which we had the opportunity to test in the Peugeot 208, should come this year. The tested car is powered by a more powerful diesel, which behaves refined from low revs. Consumption was at a decent level of around 4.5 liters. The engine is equipped with a start-stop system, which, after being switched off using the touch screen, is switched on the next time it is started. Here, I would appreciate at least a separate and fairly accessible button, or even better, the option to completely disable the start-stop system. The chassis is tuned to soft. The front suspension is McPherson, the rear axle is a crank with a torsion bar. Even on the big 17″ wheels, the chassis is comfortable and softer than the tested 208. In corners, there is more lean when driving faster. The C3 is suitable for quiet and comfortable driving. For greater safety, there is blind spot monitoring in the mirrors, lane departure assistant and traffic sign reading.
Conclusion
It is a comfortable car that has its own original style. With an economical diesel engine, it is more suitable for longer journeys, for shorter journeys around town I would prefer one of the petrol engines, which does not mind more frequent starting. In the case of a shorter trip, the higher consumption is balanced by a cheaper service.
Advantages:
+ nice and highly customizable appearance
+ convenience
+ refined and economical engine
Disadvantages:
– dimly lit reversing light
– fabric door panels get dirty easily
– the roof rails and central armrest are missing
Price from: CZK 244,900 (introductory price)
Price of the tested car: CZK 468,200
