Citroen C3 Aircross Review

If you want a quirky and interesting car that’s not going to break the bank to buy or run, the Citroen C3 Aircross is a good choice. It’s more practical than the equivalent hatchback, and its cabin feels very spacious (especially if you avoid the panoramic sunroof).

Its quirky interior colour combinations will appeal to a wide audience and, although it’s not entirely successful in its execution, we like its comfort-focused approach to driving. There are better cars for long distance drivers, though, and anyone who wants a car that’s sporty to drive should look elsewhere.

We’d recommend the top-spec Flair model, otherwise you’re missing out on desirable features like the bold interior trims and versatile sliding rear bench. There have been a few special editions which have showroom appeal but don’t really add a great deal over the entry-level Feel trim level.

We’d recommend the Puretech 130 petrol engine - not because it’s the most powerful, but because it comes with an automatic gearbox which suits the C3 Aircross well. The Puretech 110 is fine if you’re averse to an auto ‘box. Avoid the diesel unless you absolutely must have the most efficient engine available. Also be careful not to land yourself with one of the very slow 82PS petrols which were only offered for a short time - they’re extremely slow.

The Skoda Kamiq takes a similar approach, prioritising practicality and comfort - but it didn’t go on sale until a while after the C3 Aircross, so might cost more money on the used market. You could also consider a Renault Captur (the new model launched in 2020 is much better) or a Peugeot 2008 (again, we rate the 2020 model highly). Other rivals range from the Vauxhall Crossland X to the Kia Stonic and Nissan Juke. Also consider the new Ford Puma, although the EcoSport is to be avoided.

The interior designers have had a field day in the C3 Aircross. Top-spec Flair models get a bold and interesting cabin with various personalisation options, and they’re guaranteed to catch your eye in a showroom next to something like a SEAT Arona.

While it generally feels well finished, some of the plastics seem rather cheap and nasty, particularly around the door panels, glove box and lower half of the dashboard. There are no soft-touch materials here, just rock-hard plastics. 

Even the door handles feel a bit naff - like they could be ripped off if you’re a bit eager to get out of the car. The various switches and buttons (like those for the electric windows or used for adjusting the volume of the radio) are fine but don’t feel as tactile as those in a Volkswagen T-Cross, for example.

On the plus side, the C3 Aircross’s cabin feels well up to the job of deflecting day-to-day wear and tear. Those harsh plastics will still be looking exactly the same well after the car’s serviceable life, and the seat materials ought to wear, too - as well as the leather-covered steering wheel and gear knob. The C3 Aircross is still too new to tell for sure, though.

All Citroen C3 Aircross models come with a seven-inch touchscreen media system which will be familiar to anyone who’s driven any recent car from Peugeot-Citroen.

It’s a weak point, unfortunately. Not only is it slow to respond, a shortage of physical buttons (apart from the volume control) means you’ll end up jabbing at the screen on the move - leaving fingerprints while you navigate the many unnecessary menus to perform simple tasks.

Even adjusting the climate control requires a concerted effort to negotiate the infotainment system. To do so, you’ll have to leave whatever it is you previously had displayed, just to change the temperature. Woe betide any passenger who decides they’re cold while the driver’s relying on the nav system at a tricky intersection.

Talking of navigation, that’s only available on the Flair. This is no great loss, though, as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard across the range. Plug your phone in and third-party apps like Google Maps will do a better job of providing directions, anyway.

Unlike a lot of cars in this class, the C3 Aircross is significantly more spacious than the hatchback on which it’s based. That’s good news if you’re wanting to carry passengers and luggage or just want an airy cabin.

There’s plenty of legroom in the front, although the high seating position does hinder headroom for the tallest of drivers - especially if you buy a C3 Aircross with the optional panoramic sunroof fitted.

There’s also a load of useful storage areas, including door bins big enough to carry 1.5-litre bottles and generously large cup holders. As is often the case in right-hand-drive versions of French cars, the glove box is annoyingly small, due to the positioning of the fuse box.

In the back, you can just about squeeze three cooperative adults side by side. There isn’t a lump in the floor for a transmission tunnel like some rivals, so the middle-seat passenger will have somewhere to rest their feet - although they will be rubbing shoulders, particularly if they’re of chunky build.

As exciting as it sounds, the boot is one of the best features of the C3 Aircross. As standard, it can accommodate 410 litres of luggage - more than the Skoda Kamiq and Hyundai Kona, although not quite as much as the Nissan Juke and Ford Puma. It has got a trick up its sleeve, though.

The rear bench on the Flair trim level can recline as well as slide backwards and forwards, providing up to 520 litres of luggage space with it as far forward as possible. If you need more room, it can drop to provide up to 1289 litres.

With the rear bench in place, the boot is still very versatile thanks to its false floor and useful shape. There’s little in the way of a lip, making loading easier. Underneath the floor, there’s  a spacesaver spare wheel which is included as standard on all C3 Aircross models.

The 1.2-litre Puretech 110 petrol is by far the most popular engine in the C3 Aircross. It’s quite a punchy little three-cylinder unit, although its 10.1 second 0-62mph time means it’s not going to win any drag races against competitors any time soon. It comes with a six-speed manual gearbox which is fine, aside from the heavy clutch and stodgy gear change. OK, it’s not so fine.

The same engine was originally available with just 82PS and it was glacially slow, taking an incredible 16.3 seconds to reach 62mph. Unless you’re a new driver and desperate for affordable insurance, avoid the C3 Aircross with this engine. Citroen dropped it from the range in 2019 but there are quite a few on the used market.

If you want an auto gearbox, the more powerful Puretech 130 engine comes as standard with a six-speed automatic transmission. Look for one of these if it’s within budget - the auto transmission is better than the manual, with rapid enough responses, and the extra potency of the 130PS engine helps with motorway driving.

Should you want a diesel, Citroen offers the C3 Aircross with a BlueHDI 100 engine and manual gearbox. This is a rare option so it may take some hunting around dealers to find one - and you’ll pay a premium for it too, which will offset any savings you’ll make in fuel economy. That’s unless you cover mega mega miles, in which case you probably want to look at something bigger than the C3 Aircross.

Some would say the engines in the Citroen C3 Aircross have a lot of character, but that’s just a euphemism for being noisy and unrefined. The petrol engines in particular make quite a distinctive three-cylinder din, and Citroen appears to have been quite stingy in sound insulation. This isn’t helped by the Puretech 100 needing quite a lot of revs to get it moving (which itself isn’t helped by a biting point of the stodgy clutch being hard to find).

The diesel is also noisy but in a less characterful way. It’s just a rumbly old diesel engine. At least it doesn’t need as many revs to get it moving and it’s drowned out by wind noise when you reach motorway speeds.

On the plus side, there’s not a great deal of vibration noticeable through the pedals or gear stick. Road noise is quite acceptable, too - the chunky tyres absorbing all but the harshest of surfaces.

If there’s one thing the C3 Aircross isn’t short of, it’s safety assistance features. Highlights range from the active safety brake, which’ll automatically apply the brakes if it detects an impending collision, to the hill start assist - which’ll hold the brake pedal on gradients of more than three per cent.

Many of these are features we’d only expect to see on bigger and more expensive vehicles and, unfortunately, most of them aren’t standard. Look for cars with the safety pack (a £600 option when new) or drive assistant pack (£450) if you want all the latest safety and drive-assist tech.

Still, with or without these features, the C3 Aircross is fundamentally a very safe car. When Euro NCAP crash tested it in 2017, it awarded it a maximum five out of five stars. It was awarded 85 per cent for the adult occupancy test, with NCAP praising the protection of both drivers and passengers in a variety of collisions.

It scored 82 per cent for child occupants, helped by the Isofix points on the outer rear seats (although they’re missing on the front passenger seat). It was awarded a 64 per cent rating for pedestrian impact protection and 60 per cent for its safety assist features (mainly criticising the lack of an autonomous emergency braking system as standard).

Strangely, Citroen doesn’t offer the C3 Aircross with its ConnectedCam. This is a built-in dash camera which made its debut on the C3 and can be quite a useful tool.

None of the C3 Aircross models are particularly lairy, so all should be pretty affordable to insure. The cheapest, oddly, is the Flair trim level with the Puretech 110 petrol engine, which falls into insurance group 13. The Puretech 130 has the highest rating, which is worth bearing in mind if you’re considering an auto - especially if you’re a new driver.

There’s nothing massively surprising about these insurance ratings. Buying a C3 Aircross shouldn’t alarm your insurance company but it’s always worth shopping around for quotes.

All Citroen C3 Aircross models have been registered since the latest vehicle tax rules were introduced in April 2017 - meaning they’ll be subject to a flat rate of £150 a year in VED. There’s no way around this unless you look for an electric alternative like the Hyundai Kona Electric.

The entry-level Feel model is fairly basic, with highlights including 16-inch alloy wheels, manual air con, automatic headlights, rear electric windows, cruise control and electric rear windows among its arsenal.

The special edition C-Series adds black alloy wheels (still 16-inch), automatic air conditioning, rear parking sensors and automatic lights/wipers, Graphite grey interior with white stitching and the Regal Red colour pack.

The top-spec Flair, which is the one to go for, includes the useful sliding rear bench, a reversing camera, navigation, a body-coloured roof, 17-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, a pull-out boot floor and keyless entry/start.