Citroen C3 Exclusive 2013 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $25,990
Options fitted (not included in above price): Metallic paint $800
Crash rating: Five-star (ANCAP)
Fuel: 95 RON ULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 7.0
CO2 emissions (g/km): 160
Also consider: Audi A1 Attraction (from $26,500); Fiat 500 by Gucci (from $23,200); Volkswagen Beetle (from $29,990)

Citroen's C3 has been recently upgraded and down-priced, in a move aimed at lifting sales for an underperforming model that should be a major drawcard for the Citroen range.

The C3 started out as a retro-styled tribute to the company's iconic 2CV, but while the original has remained memorable, the modern version is largely forgotten. According to VFACTS, previous distributor ATECO sold as few as 85 units last year – and just 30 units have been sold this year so far. That has prompted new distributor Sime Darby to add a new entry-level model at a drive-away price just below $20,000.

This particular car on test, however, was the high-grade C3 Exclusive – a new variant priced at $25,990 (plus on-road costs) with standard automatic transmission. The flagship gains a nicer interior with added features like satellite navigation, climate control, a reversing camera, rear parking sensors, auto wipers/headlights and 17-inch alloy wheels. It also features the C3's 'Zenith' windscreen – a curved one-piece unit that curves back over the roof. Front-seat occupants can peer up at the stars by simply sliding back the leading half of the headlining. It's great. But buyers may object to paying for a new windscreen to roadworthy a car that has collected a few stone chips.

The C3, as an urban run-about, is a charmer. Its styling is resolutely retro, but inoffensive nonetheless. Plush velour-like upholstery with a pattern (named 'Dinamica' by Citroen) and a piano gloss black interior decor ('Andorre') combine for a stylish, modern look. The instrument binnacle is easy to read, but with tweaser-like needles to add a bit of visual flair and the white and light-grey calibrations on a black background are restful for the eyes. I found the folding centre armrest obstructs handbrake actuation, but it can be flipped up out of the way.

The seats feature flat cushioning with little bolstering around the sides, but the cushions are comfortable for longer journeys. Entering or leaving the car is made easier with a raised H-point that's not quite SUV level, but fine for those of shorter stature. Rear-seat accommodation is marginal for adults of average size, with both head and legroom being adequate for kids only.

By the standards of many light segment hatches – and particularly one as short as the Citroen – the C3's boot space is easily accessible, reasonably large and handy for loading plenty of gear. So retro styling aside, the C3 proved handy and practical.

Whether around town or out on the open road, the ride comfort was on a par with many other light segment hatches. The C3 generally soaked up bumps pretty well – and certainly better than either the DS3 or DS5 from the same stable – but there was a slight harshness over sharper bumps that you won't encounter in a Holden Barina, for instance. Then again, the Citroen's cornering ability is more assured than the Holden's. In fact, the C3 was a pretty good steer overall.

It displayed a slight reluctance to turn in initially, but once cornering force placed more weight on the outside wheels the C3 adopted a near-neutral stance. There was little body roll in evidence and roadholding was up there with the better examples of light hatch. The light but direct steering was communicative also.

If the C3 struggled a bit in point-to-point motoring, it was in tighter corners, and with the occasional uphill climb thrown in. The engine provided reasonable torque from fairly low revs, but the 88kW powerplant definitely felt stronger working higher in the rev range – which you're not likely to see with the four-speed automatic reaching for a higher gear as the car exits a hairpin.

While the C3 has the chassis to handle more power, it's worth remembering the tiny Citroen is not aimed at the sort of enthusiastic drivers who would subject the Citroen to that kind of flogging. That's more the preserve of the DS3 DSport.

In the suburbs the combination of small-displacement engine and automatic box provided lively acceleration in the C3. From launch it was nippy, but with each upshift the performance fell away to offset the car's lack of intermediate gears and wider spacing between the ratios. At freeway speeds the engine revs were hovering just under 3000rpm.

That almost certainly influenced the 9.6L/100km fuel consumption posted by the trip computer over the course of the week. It also had some impact on the car's NVH at open-road speeds. Overall, however, the C3 was fairly quiet for its market position and specification.

The otherwise engaging C3 could be even better with five or six speeds offered in the auto transmission. The tendency to hunt between gears was in marked contrast with the dual-clutch transmission sampled a week earlier in Renault's Clio Dynamique. While the C3's four-speeder proved more adept than expected – holding lower gears on descents, for example – it was occasionally clunky, which detracted from the smoothness that is the reason buyers usually prefer self-shifting transmissions with torque converters.

The engine deserves better. It revs up with a nice snarl and is impressively refined right through to redline. There's a fairly flat torque curve across the rev range, with no NVH issues even from low revs. It does emit a ticking noise until it warms up, but that's a minor concern.

Citroen engineers have worked hard to make the C3 driveable, but the automatic sadly limits the car's competence to coping with lower-speed environs. Ask yourself this too: Would you pay $26,000 for a C3 with a four-speed auto?

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