Citroen C3 Aircross review

The range kicks off with a 'purist' 99bhp pure petrol manual, and it's actually about as much fun as a small, sensible SUV gets. It's not quick, but its rorty three-cylinder engine note and lack of complexity give it a decent sensation of speed, while the stick-shift is neat and accurate enough. Even if the gear knob is a very odd shape indeed.

It's just a shame there's no rev counter within its trick, faux-head-up display. But you won't be taking it on trackdays nor kissing the redline often on road. Just be wary that a car which feels sprightly enough with one motoring journalist on board might start to struggle with the whole family inside...

What about the hybrid?

Interestingly, the hybrid C3 Aircross is actually the most expensive of the bunch. No matter what spec you go for you’ll pay a decent chunk more for the hybrid versus the EV (before any government helpers) - but it’s an excellent little powertrain to justify the cost.

Despite only being a 48V setup it’ll run in all-electric mode for a surprising amount of time. The teeny electric motor whines away but does a good job of making the Aircross feel reasonably nippy off the line. Citroen actually reckons almost 50 per cent of your urban driving will be done without waking the petrol engine.

When the little turbo three-cylinder does kick in, the handover is smooth and the engine feels keen. It’s not the most pleasant sounding three-cylinder, but it’s also not as rough as a small four-pot. The six-speed auto gearbox is a little sluggish at times, but you are offered a ‘Low’ mode if you want it to hang onto gears for longer.

We wouldn’t bother. With only 134bhp on tap you won’t be getting anywhere very quickly, and most of the engine’s effort will be converted into noise. It’s a Citroen, it’s not supposed to be sporty.

On that note, the steering is also feather-light without any feel, although the brakes are well set up in the hybrid with consistent pedal feel through the travel.

What’s the e-C3 Aircross like?

First impressions are that it really isn’t very fast. Yes, it still zips off the line like every EV if you plant your right foot down, but the 92lb ft of torque and 0-62mph time of 12.9 seconds should make it fairly obvious that this isn’t going to accelerate like a Porsche Taycan Turbo S.

But, despite the larger footprint than the standard e-C3, the e-C3 Aircross is still intended to be an urban runabout. It’s a supermini with a bit more space, so 111bhp is probably plenty. Top speed is just 89mph and there’s a fair bit of wind noise at motorway speeds, but you’ll likely buy one of these for pottering about town and for that it feels well-judged. Again, the steering is exceptionally light and so is the brake pedal in the EV.

Oh, and where the hybrid gets its ‘low’ mode, the e-C3 Aircross gets a ‘comfort’ mode that decreases the amount of regen and seems to give you even less power to play with. There’s no sport mode and no paddles behind the steering wheel – this is as basic as they come.

How’s the range?

Citroen claims a WLTP range of 188 miles, which is two miles more than Vauxhall reckons you’ll get out of the almost-identical Frontera Electric. In reality both will manage less than that but you do get useful 100kW DC rapid charging, meaning a 20 to 80 per cent top up should take just 26 minutes. There's the larger 54kWh battery if you're unduly concerned.

Is the Aircross comfortable?

Ah, now here’s where Citroen wants to set itself apart from the other Stellantis brands. Standard fit on all trim levels of the C3 Aircross is the ‘Citroen Advanced Comfort Suspension with Progressive Hydraulic Cushions’.

In plainer English, its suspension gets fancy new hydraulic stops which absorb (and then dissipate) the energy created by bumpy roads or nasty potholes. It’s unique to Citroen and won’t be shared with other brands in the megacorp. It allows the C3 Aircross to be less stiffly sprung because the shocks can cope with bigger impacts, meaning the overall ride quality is really quite impressive. 

This is a comfy and supple thing, even on crummy British back roads, and your family may thank you for choosing this over the generally much stiffer-suspended competition. Just be warned that softer reactions mean a bit more body roll through corners and with over 100kg of extra weight on board (compared to the hybrid), the 1,504kg e-C3 in particular likes to wallow about a bit.