New Citroen C3 review: a quietly improved supermini

Reading through the spec sheet for the new Citroen C3 is about as rewarding as watching a bunch of flowers slowly wilt on the grave of a much-loved family pet. I know that because I’ve just done it, so you don’t have to.

Citroen C3 specs and engine line-up

At heart, the new C3 is a small Citroen hatchback offered with a spread of four-cylinder engines. At the entry point there’s a food-mixer 61bhp 1.1 petrol, then two 1.4s in either 75 or 95hp forms, and at the top of the petrol range a livelier 120bhp 1.6VTi nicked from the Mini. On the diesel side you can have either a 1.4 or a 1.6, with outputs of 70, 90 or 110bhp.

Prices and trim levels

Money-wise, it starts at £10,800 for the base petrol 1.1 VT and runs up to £16,200 for the top spec ‘Exclusive' trim with the 110bhp 1.6HDi. There you go: facts delivered. You can now go off and do something more thrilling, like slam your fingers in a door.

But wait. There may be no single technological Big Idea and the chassis might not be set up for a dab of oppo as you clip the apex at your local track day, yet the new C3 is genuinely rather likeable once you spend time with it. Honestly.

Exterior styling: C3 Picasso cues, DS3 hints and GT flourishes

Your first takeaway is that, visually at least, Citroen has come very close to nailing it. The new C3 has more artistry than its predecessor, wearing more C3 Picasso-style draping and far less of that gloomy, slightly flabby look. It won’t make you do a double-take, but it is neat and full of character. Next to it, the Polo seems dull, and the Fiesta comes across as a bit Focus-lite. As you’d expect, it suits a bright colour and 17in wheels. Swap the powder blues and vivid greens for black or grey paint on smaller rims and the C3 fades from understated into near-invisible.

Still, Citroen has judged the fine line between interestingly quirky and merely odd pretty well. The nose is neatly resolved, and those side strakes either side of the front bumper even give a small nod to the DS3 and GT. The headlights feature the familiar little jingle-jangle running light LEDs, while the rear clusters are tidy boomerangs that sit nicely with the body’s curves. The overall effect is cohesive and well finished. It also makes the old one look properly old - and, if we’re being unkind, cheap.

There are pleasing touches too, not least the way the C3 appears to be going bald. That’s down to the panoramic windscreen, which stretches far back into a deep section of the roof, giving the car a kind of receding-hairline look. It’s available on every model bar the very lowest spec, and it creates a strangely dead-front view. In profile it’s a little peculiar as well: the A-pillar arcs down and meets the forward part of the car just aft of the bonnet, so it can look slightly broken. Even so, taken as a whole it’s agreeable. Rounded. Unthreatening. Some might even call it gently quirky.

Interior design, quality and space

Inside, the design isn’t quite as playful as the exterior, but the C3 does at least feel as if it was assembled by people who were paying attention - and sober. It’s worth remembering that at the launch of the previous C3, the glovebox dropped into the footwell when I opened it, and as I looped around a pair of roundabouts the central instrument binnacle popped off the top of the dash and made a doomed bid for freedom.

These days, though, Citroen can build a decent car, and here you get a T-shaped dashboard, a straightforward centre console and plenty of considered detailing. The tacky digital gimmickry has been binned; in its place are analogue instruments that look noticeably classier. Better still, the whole cabin ties together properly: from the matte dash top to the graphite plastic of the dash itself and on to the door cards, nothing feels like it was bolted on as an afterthought. The palette is restrained, lifted here and there by small flashes of chrome.

The seats are comfy, broad and simple to adjust, and that windscreen is a genuine treat. Natural light really does brighten a cabin, particularly on a grey day, and the C3 is awash with it. The one detail that slightly punctures the “convertible” illusion is the rear-view mirror, which looks oddly isolated in such a huge sheet of glass. Space is a welcome sensation in a supermini. The rear seats aren’t exactly vast, even though rear legroom is meant to be 30mm greater than before, but the panoramic screen helps the back feel less hemmed in than in most superminis.

Driving the Citroen C3: refinement over thrills

On the road, the theme continues. It’s quietly competent, clearly improved and generally well judged. We drove the high-selling 1.6HDi with 90bhp and a five-speed manual, and there’s little to criticise. It pulls strongly in the mid-range, with 158lb ft of torque arriving early; it’s impressively hushed and easy to use. It isn’t the sort of engine that loves to rev, but you don’t feel short-changed even though it’s not fast at 11seconds to 62mph and a top speed of 111mph.

Both the gearbox and clutch are light, relaxed and effortless, if a touch loose - though that’s unlikely to trouble the sort of driver who deliberately ends up in a diesel C3. The steering places the car accurately enough, and the ride quality is good too. The roads around Rome where we tested the cars are far from smooth, yet the C3 stayed settled and quiet even over the worst sections, where the road edge looked as if it had been bitten off, chewed up, then glued back on.

You won’t be shocked to learn that knife-edge handling isn’t really part of the deal; if you start pushing on, the main response is progressive understeer. But in almost every normal scenario it does the job. Fun? Not especially. Still, it steers competently, brakes effectively and takes bumps in its stride. It’s fine. And that means, overall, you end up with a smart little Citroen that looks good, does most things well, and doesn’t need excuses or explanations. It’s a good car - massively better than the old C3 and pretty much exactly what Citroen needs.

Even so, that can sound like faint praise, can’t it? I doubt Citroen’s marketing department would enjoy running with the line “Citroen: not as shit as it used to be.” Yet the C3 has to appeal to the cautious buyers for whom the forthcoming DS3 might be a touch too avant garde. The Ford Fiesta is unquestionably the better car to drive, and the VW Polo absolutely nails that leaden-faced, austere vibe, but there’s a small patch of territory the C3 occupies where neither quite lands. Despite lacking a big USP, the C3 seems to have carved out a tidy niche. It isn’t a driver’s car, but if you want something that covers the bases and brings a bit of character, the C3 leaves you with a quietly satisfied smile.