The new Citroen C3 has already impressed with its bold new look and more SUV-like proportions, but its move into the compact crossover market has impinged on the C3 Aircross’s territory. Hence the growth in that car, which has now become a proper compact SUV.
Armed with a smart image and a choice of petrol, electric and hybrid powertrains, as well as a competitive pricing strategy, the C3 Aircross has the makings of something good. But will our first drive of this, the all-electric e-C3 Aircross show the car in its best light, or will it fare better with a petrol engine under its short bonnet?
What does the new Citroen e-C3 Aircross look like?
The old C3 Aircross looked as though it was trying a bit too hard to be cute and funky, but the new model is a much more handsome proposition. That’s partly because it’s bigger, which has allowed it to lose some of the cute image, and partly because it’s based on the rather smart new C3, with its chunky style and retro-inspired Citroen logo.
If we’re being over-critical, the headlights look a bit odd with their fragmented daytime running light style, which makes it look as though bits aren’t working, but otherwise it’s a really attractive piece of design, especially in a good colour. The red and green options are particularly smart, especially with a contrasting roof hue.
A look inside the Citroen e-C3 Aircross
As the C3 Aircross’s external dimensions have increased, it’s no surprise to see the space inside has grown enormously. So much so, in fact, that petrol- and hybrid-powered versions are offered with a seven-seat option that sees two folding seats slotted into the boot floor. The e-C3 Aircross is only offered in five-seat form, but it still comes with plenty of space inside. Four adults will be perfectly comfortable, with adequate rear leg- and headroom, and the 460-litre boot is decent enough.
Style hasn’t been forgotten, either, with a smart and fairly clean-looking dashboard dominated by a fabric covering and a well-sized touchscreen infotainment system. Citroen seems to have adopted Peugeot’s tiny steering wheel, too, and in place of a digital instrument cluster or a head-up display there’s a kind of combination of the two.
The design is quite Citroen-like in its funkiness and minimalism, but we’re pleased to see proper climate control switchgear and buttons for safety functions. Admittedly, the location and quality of those buttons is sometimes questionable, but that’s par for the course in a left-field French car, and neither issue is disastrous.
Cabin quality generally falls under the label of “acceptable,” rather than “astonishing,” but it’s robust enough, and you can forgive a few cheap plastics here and there in a competitively priced car. And we like the fabric covering on the dash, which cynics might describe as a relatively cheap way of livening up an otherwise bland and possibly unappealing swathe of plastic. But it’s effective, and it makes the place a bit more welcoming.
What is not welcoming, however, is Citroen’s insistence on fitting little red labels that say things like “be cool” or “be happy” on the doors. They’re awful, whatever a French focus group might say, and they’d be exceedingly difficult to explain away on a first date. Telling the object of your affections you need positive affirmations every time you get behind the wheel isn’t exactly going to send the right message, is it?
The Citroen e-C3 Aircross’s on-board technology
With a focus on value, you might expect tech to be in short supply in the C3 Aircross, but that isn’t really the case. All cars get the big central touchscreen and a digital instrument display, while goodies such as a reversing camera and climate control are standard across the range as well.
But while the C3 Aircross and e-C3 Aircross don’t exactly lack technology, they don’t have the best examples of that technology on board. The central touchscreen looks nice enough, albeit a little simplistic, but it’s a bit clunky to use and there’s a sense of over-simplification, with functions proving hard to find and hidden away in the menus.
And while Citroen may claim the digital instrument display is some kind of substitute for a windscreen-projected head-up display, it really isn’t. It’s barely more than a glorified trip computer, and though it’s easy enough to see speed and range readouts, which are the most important things, it isn’t necessarily configurable or intuitive to use.
All of which is a pity, because the C3 Aircross’s reversing camera isn’t bad, and the decision to keep proper switchgear for the climate control is a good one. If only some of the other functions were accessed via buttons, too.
How safe is the Citroen e-C3 Aircross?
The new-shape C3 Aircross has not yet been assessed by Euro NCAP with any powertrain, let alone an electric one. However, its predecessor managed a five-star rating when it was evaluated in 2015, and Citroen’s safety record is generally pretty good. To help, the new C3 Aircross comes with all manner of safety equipment, including lane departure warning, driver attention alert and an autonomous emergency braking system. High-specification cars get blind-spot monitoring, too.
How many child seats can you fit in a Citroen e-C3 Aircross?
As you’d expect at a minimum from a family SUV, Citroen has put two ISOFIX child seat mounting points in the e-C3 Aircross, with one on each of the outermost rear seats. There’s no front ISOFIX mounting point, though, which might put off those with more young children to transport and a preference for ISOFIX points over using just the seatbelts.
How much does the Citroen e-C3 Aircross cost in Ireland?
Irish prices have not yet been revealed for the C3 Aircross or its e-badged sibling, but we’re expecting it to be more expensive than the new C3, obviously. It's hoped that the entry-level e-C3 Aircross will come in at under €30,000.
How far will the Citroen e-C3 Aircross go on one charge?
For the time being, the e-C3 Aircross is only available with one battery-and-motor combination, but a bigger battery and more powerful motor are on the way in the coming months. At launch, though, electric C3 Aircross models get a 113hp electric motor powered by a 44kWh battery, as tested here.
If those numbers sound a bit small, that might be because they are. While 113hp might have been enough in the old C3 Aircross, the new e-C3 Aircross is bigger, and with a battery on board, it’s also heavier. Even so, the battery isn’t that massive by modern electric car standards. In a world where batteries of 100kWh or more are hardly uncommon, 44kWh seems a bit titchy.
But smaller batteries are cheaper and lighter than bigger ones, and that’s the trade-off Citroen is making. And with petrol and hybrid powertrains also featuring in the C3 Aircross range, the e-C3 Aircross is - for the time being, at least - destined to remain a predominantly urban family bus.
In fact, rather than having a regenerative braking mode that ramps up the effect to top up the battery, the e-C3 Aircross starts in its strongest regenerative braking setting and has a ‘cruise mode’ that reduces the resistance for longer drives.
That probably helps the car to achieve its official range of around 300km on a charge, but that’ll be more like 250km in the real world, and while that’s fine for most journeys, those who pile on the kilometres will prefer to hang on for the larger, 54kWh battery Citroen has promised in the next year or so. Either way, charging won’t be too laborious a process, with charge speeds of up to 100kW allowing the battery to be topped up from 20 to 80 per cent in 26 minutes.
Driving the Citroen e-C3 Aircross
With Citroen pushing the comfort aspect of its cars of late, it’s no surprise to see the e-C3 Aircross eschewing sportiness altogether. Despite the small steering wheel, there’s absolutely no sporting intent on show whatsoever, and the e-C3 Aircross prefers to lollop around town on its “Advanced Comfort Suspension with Progressive Hydraulic Cushions.”
That doesn’t really mean much, except the suspension is tuned for comfort, and it achieves that goal reasonably well. The e-C3 Aircross soaks up the bumps pretty adeptly, and though it’s nowhere near as silky smooth as the Citroen marketing bods will tell you, it is at least adequate. And it’s more comfortable than plenty of electric alternatives.
The trade-off for all this is that it doesn’t handle all that brilliantly, with a kind of softness to the steering and body response. Grip is more than sufficient, but you never get the impression the car wants to be hurled into a corner with reckless abandon. Instead, it just wants to move on to the next straight line and continue on its merry way. There’s nothing exciting about it, although we found the hybrid feels fractionally nimbler.
That said, all versions of the C3 Aircross and e-C3 Aircross are manoeuvrable enough and visibility is fairly good, which makes urban driving a doddle. The electric motor isn’t quite as quiet as you might hope, which is a shame, but it’s no noisier than a small petrol engine and once you’re up to speed it’s no worse than the wind or road noise.
On the motorway, the e-C3 Aircross is at its most comfortable, and though that noise still persists, it doesn’t get a lot worse. And if you settle into those big, comfortable seats and turn on the radio, you won’t have any problems.
The reasons you’d buy a Citroen e-C3 Aircross
Generally speaking, the C3 Aircross is a roomy, affordable and stylish option, and for families in urban areas, this 44kWh e-C3 Aircross will be brilliant. But the C3 Aircross isn’t a small car anymore, and those who want to travel further afield would probably rather take the hybrid or the forthcoming 54kWh version.
Ask us anything about the Citroen e-C3 Aircross
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