This Citroen C3 Aircross Review is a sponsored post, in association with Citroen.
I’ve always had a soft spot for the Citroen C3.
My very first car was a Citroen C3 Desire and I loved it with a passion. It had a curvy roof that reminded me of a dolphin. It also made for a really spacious interior, with lots of head room and a really large windscreen.
So when Citroen asked me to take their new Citroen C3 Aircross for a spin, I was intrigued to know whether the new-fangled Aircross could live up to my old car.
First Impressions of the C3 Aircross
I’m not going to deny that I am a sucker for a cute car.
The Citroen C3 Aircross is undeniably quirky and fun, with curves and colours inside and out. We definitely liked the chunky shape, and the two-tone colour design.
The colours and curves are also evident inside the car. The model we tested had an orange contrast trim on the dashboard and upholstery. There are loads of colour combinations available, depending on your taste. Good news if you’re looking for keyless entry – the car supports this.
Sitting in the car I notice the Citroen C3 Aircross has quite a high driving position for a smaller car. I found the seat really comfortable and the seat and steering wheel adjustment made it perfectly drivable for someone as short as me (I’m just barely five foot three).
Happily, the C3 Aircross has the same sort of spacious cabin I remember from my old C3. The high cabin ceiling and large windscreen makes the whole thing feel very airy and not at all cramped.
As a family car, it’s always reassuring to have a car with a 5 star NCAP rating for safety, and I appreciated little touches like the built-in sun screen visors on the back seat windows. These are great when you want a little shade for children.
I also loved the idea that both the rear AND front passenger seats can fold flat, allowing you to carry all those awkward Ikea boxes on your next trip to buy a wardrobe.
What is the Citroen C3 Aircross Like to Drive?
We tested the 1.2L petrol version, which had a six-speed manual gearbox. There is a rear view camera, optional heated seats and plenty of gadgets in the top-spec version.
Over the weekend, we put the Aircross through its paces.
At home, our road is still a building site, and the C3 Aircross took the bumpy road in its stride, giving quite a comfortable drive.
We then took the car up to my parents’ house and down to the beach, which is a 12-mile drive over mostly B roads.
At steady speeds the Aircross was really fun to drive, and very quiet even at 60mph. We found the rear seats had decent leg room, and Flea didn’t bounce around too much on the country roads.
We took the motorway home, and the C3 Aircross was … okay. It’s definitely less powerful than my regular Honda CR-V, and I think you’d notice it more with a fully loaded car. But that’s just part and parcel of a smaller car, and the flip side is that the fuel economy is impressive. We managed around 45mpg over the weekend we had the car.
On Monday morning we took the Aircross C3 on the school run, which thrilled my 13-year-old, who welcomes any excuse not to walk to the bus stop. In hectic morning traffic the Aircross manoeuvres well, and I appreciated the visibility of the large windscreen.
My one niggle is that with the seat raised, I found the gear stick to be unusually low. It’s also a slightly odd shape (I’m not sure if that’s a pro or con, but it’s shaped like one of those space ship controls that you’d push forward for full throttle in a space emergency).
Anyway, to be fair, the gear stick position is one of those things that I *might* get used to over time. But with only a couple of days to review the car, I did find that I needed to stretch a little to change gears. I’d definitely check the car thoroughly if you were prone to shoulder issues or had (like me) slightly shorter than average arms.
C3 Aircross Optional Extras
The C3 Aircross model that we reviewed included a number of fun extras, including plenty designed to boost the storage available.
The boot featured an optional split/slide feature that increases the boot space from just over 400 to more than 500 litres. To maximise the space, you can fold the passenger seat and rear seats completely flat, and they’re split so you can fold down one side or both. You can also adjust the slope of the rear seats to give more height. It’s really impressive.
Even without moving seats, there was more than enough space in the C3 Aircross for the frankly enormous goal keeping kit that we need to lug around every weekend.
The touchscreen control uses AirPlay or Bluetooth from your phone for navigation and music, with volume controls on the steering wheel. Set up was dead simple, and we found the touchscreen clear and responsive.
There aren’t buttons to do things like adjust the volume, so the touchscreen will be how you control loads of the car’s functions. The rear-view camera on the C3 Aircross was especially great, and much better than others I’ve tried on similar class vehicles before.
Personally, I could use a little more storage in the front of the car, but that’s from someone who likes to have their keys, phone and a very large coffee close to hand.
The C3 Aircross has a bunch of sensors and alarms, most of them optional.
During our drive, we had so many beeps and alarms that it was hard to identify them all. There are parking sensors, lane departure sensors and a random beeping sensor that we think was EITHER an alarm to say I was driving inefficiently OR to say I was passing a speed camera. If you know what it is, then please let me know!
Citroen C3 Aircross Review: Overview
I think the new Citroen C3 Aircross maintains much of the fun and space that I loved about my very first C3.
It’s affordable (depending on how many extra options you add), with prices starting around £14,000. The model that we reviewed, however, was over £20,000 OTR and included a lot of optional extra features.
A massive bonus is the Aircross’ impressive fuel economy. I think the driving style plus running costs make the Citroen C3 Aircross a really good drive for urban and suburban driving. And look at it? It’s freakin’ adorable.
I was provided with a loan vehicle for the purposes of this review, and was compensated for my time.
