Citroen C3 1.4VTi Review & Road Test (2010)

The new Citroen C3 Review & Road Test

France and small cars have always gone hand in hand. From the days of the 2CV and Ami up to the latest C3 the French have always been good at offering appealing small cars. And French small cars do sell well even outside France, unlike big French cars which seem only to find a ready market in their home country.

The Citroen C3 is such a car. Despite being a less than stunning car the last iteration of the C3 managed to sell more than 2 million during its life – a far from shoddy performance. So the new Citroen C3 – which we’ve been out playing with this week – has plenty to live up to, at least on the sales front.

The C3 we have in for review is the top of the tree Exclusive trim with the 1.4 litre VTi petrol lump. Which means it comes with a lot of toys including the ‘Visio’ roof, Climate, electric windows all round and a set of 16″ alloys. And it’s a good looking car too, in a slightly rounded kind of way.

Not only does the C3 offer decent looks it also seems to offer decent build quality. The paint job is a good one and the panel gaps are convincingly consistent. But what is most striking is the huge panoramic roof which stretches way back – as far back as the back passengers feet.

That huge panoramic roof not surprisingly makes the car a very light and airy place to be. And the interior is quite grown up in the C3 with plenty of toys to play with. It looks good too, although there is evidence of some cost cutting on some of the plastics. The sun visors in particular are a bit like recycled fairy liquid bottles – nasty and shiny and not very practical.

Which doesn’t matter on a dull day – which is most days in the UK – but matters terribly on a sunny day. Because the sun certainly blares down with the huge panoramic roof when it does decide to come out to play, and you do need to shut the roof blind or – even with the very good climate control working its socks off – you will boil.

But – minor gripes about the sun blinds apart – it’s a good start for the C3. Decent looking, nice cabin, lots of toys. Can you ask more? Yes, how does it go?

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By Cars UK