New Citroen C3 crossover confirmed for Oz

Citroen Australia has called for registrations of interest for the French brand’s all-new C3 via its public website, confirming the radical new small crossover will soon be available here.

First revealed in June 2016 and now available across Europe, Citroen’s latest C3 is a radical departure from its previous hatchback forbears, growing in size and bringing an SUV-style exterior design complete with bodyside ‘Airbumps’ from the larger C4 Cactus.

The new C3 appeared almost certain to be imported before Citroen’s Australian distributor Sime Darby was replaced by Inchcape on June 1, and now it seems the C3 will lead the historic French brand’s local revival under new management.

It’s not yet clear whether Citroen Australia will offer the C3 Aircross, which features more overt off-road exterior detailing, but official certification documents show the standard C3 will be available here in just one mechanical specification.

It will be powered by the Peugeot-Citroen group’s 81kW PureTech 1.2-litre turbo-petrol three-cylinder engine matched as standard to a six-speed automatic transmission.

The sub-four-metre five-door will ride on 15-inch wheels as standard, with options ranging up to 17-inch.

The current C3 – Citroen’s best seller globally and last priced from $19,990 here — was discontinued Down Under last year.

Based on the PSA Group’s A platform, its replacement will be repositioned as Citroen’s answer to the Mazda CX-3.

It is longer and wider but some 40mm lower than the model it replaces at 3990mm, 1750mm and 1470mm respectively. It rides on a 2540mm wheelbase, packs a 300-litre boot, the largest glovebox in its class, large front door ‘cubbies’ and 1379mm of shoulder room – 20mm more than before. Citroen lists a tight 10.7-metre turning circle.

Apart from air-filled bodyside rub strips from the C4 Cactus, the cheeky new exterior features a “floating” roofline, black windscreen pillars, black wheel-arch extensions, two-tier front lighting signature, round headlights, LED daytime running lights, short overhangs, 3D tail-lights, a new double-chevron emblem and a new C3 badge with the figure ‘3’ appearing in black with a chrome surround.

Designed under Citroen’s Advanced Comfort concept are wider, more comfortable seats and a spacious interior topped by a panoramic sunroof. There are also a number of first-in-class interior features, such as the “world-first” Citroën ConnectedCam, an onboard HD camera mounted behind the rear-view mirror that lets drivers share their road-trip photos and videos directly to the cloud.

The GPS-connected, two-megapixel, wide angle (120-degrees) full-HD camera has 16GB of internal memory, allowing drivers to take photos for keeping or immediate sharing on social media or, by keeping the button pressed, shoot up to 20 seconds of film for sharing once the car is stationary.

Other new technologies include a 7.0-inch touch-screen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring, 3D-connected navigation with speech recognition, reversing camera with parking aids, lane departure alert, blind spot monitoring, hill-start assist and push-button start.

It remains to be seen how much customisation will be available in Australia. In Europe, the C3 is available with 36 two-tone exterior colour combinations, alongside various colours for the wing mirrors, fog lights, rear window surround and Airbumps.

Nine body colours (Banquise White, Perla Nera Black, Shark Grey, Aluminium Grey, Ruby Red, Almond Green, Cobalt Blue, Power Orange and Sand) can be combined with three roof colours (Opal White, Onyx Black, Aden Red).

As Citroen transitions between local distributors Down Under, its local sales numbered just 23 last month, including 11 Berlingo vans, seven C4 Cactus models and one DS 5, and are down almost 48 per cent so far this year.

Currently in Australia, the historic French brand offers only the Berlingo, C4 Cactus and Grand C4 Picasso people-mover – a far cry from Europe, where more than a dozen models are available (excluding the DS 3, DS 4 and DS 5).

At the moment the Berlingo L1 is available from $22,990 drive-away and the C4 Cactus from $25,990 drive-away.

It’s not clear which new-generation Citroen models will follow the C3 Down Under, but potential candidates already on sale in France include new Berlingo and Dispatch vans, and the facelifted DS 3 and DS 3 Performance hot hatch.