Citroen C3 Review 2024

Citroen C3 At A Glance

3/5
Honest John Overall Rating
Citroen sets itself apart from rivals with the way its C3 supermini looks. The funky style is matched by the C3's focus on comfort, helped by its lushly padded seats. It's not the most exciting car in the class to drive, but it's cheap to run and maintain.

+Comfortable seats and ride quality. Much improved interior quality. Standard built-in dash cam on Flair models.

-Entry-level model misses out on some key equipment. Rear legroom tight with taller passengers up front. Manual gear change feels sloppy.

New prices start from £10,995
Insurance Groups are between 10–21
On average it achieves 74% of the official MPG figure

Inspired by the air-bump covered C4 Cactus, the Citroen C3 is cute and stylish – but it isn’t just a pretty face. It’s comfortable, easy-to-drive and comes with a great engine range. There are some unique features too, like the option of a built-in dash camera. Read on for our full review of the Citroen C3.

Despite its compact size, the Citroen C3 has a spacious cabin along with a decent boot. Rear legroom is a bit tight with tall passengers up front, but there’s plenty of headroom and access is good thanks to the five-door body. The 300-litre boot is plenty for shopping trips and luggage, but buggies might be a squeeze.

On the road the Citroen C3 is very comfortable, with good ride quality and quiet engines, whether you choose petrol or diesel. It’s not the sharpest-handling small hatchback, but if you’re more interested in taking it easy than tearing down country lanes that’s no bad thing.

There's a 1.2-litre PureTech petrol engine with two power outputs, plus a BlueHDi diesel with 100PS. The more powerful 110PS PureTech is offered with a manual or automatic gearbox. Emissions are low across the board and should make for affordable running costs. The most frugal diesel is officially capable of 80.7mpg, while the petrols all manage around 60mpg officially.  

Plenty of technology comes as standard, including lane departure warning, speed limit recognition, cruise control, a speed limiter, Bluetooth and DAB radio. Moving up to mid-level Feel trim adds alloy wheels and a big, clear touchscreen system with MirrorLink and Apple CarPlay connectivity.

The unique gimmick of the Citroen C3 is ConnectedCam, a built-in, GPS-enabled screen camera. It's standard in top Flair models and has a button under the rear view mirror for taking instant snaps of events on the road ahead, plus 128Gb storage for saving video clips. It will even automatically save clips if it detects an accident, though footage isn’t as quite as clear as many aftermarket dash cameras. It needs to be linked to a smartphone to which an App has to be downloaded, then stores photos in the phone's picture library.

You can customise a Citroen C3 with various contrasting roof colours, air bumps and door mirror caps – but on most trim levels the air bumps are optional. They’re standard on top models but if you’re not keen on the way they look they can be deleted at no cost.

If you’re more interested in style, customisation and comfort than sporty driving, then the Citroen C3 is a great choice of small hatchback. It’s surprisingly practical, with a spacious, airy cabin, plus it’s reasonably priced and should prove affordable to run.

Looking for another opinion? Why not read the heycar Citroen C3 review.

Ask Honest John

Can I use a local garage for servicing and keep my warranty?

"I plan to buy a new Citroen C3 from a Citroen dealer in Lancashire. I live in Isle of Man but there is no Citroen dealer here. Would the servicing by another garage be acceptable for Citroen warranty purposes? "
The supplying dealer will need to confirm the servicing requirements in order to maintain the warranty. We would hope that there is some facility for you to have the vehicle serviced locally.
Answered by David Ross

What small automatic would you suggest?

"Is there a small reliable car, new or secondhand, with a good ride, no more than 4000mm long, 0-60mph under 11 seconds and available with torque converter automatic?"
The latest Citroen C3 could be a good choice. It's a very comfortable little car available with an impressive six-speed torque-converter automatic gearbox.
Answered by Andrew Brady

What's the best first car for a tall driver?

"I've recently past my test and I'm currently looking at cars but I'm 6ft10 and need good legroom. What do you suggest?"
As a new driver you will want a car that has low insurance costs and is cheap to run, unfortunately this usually means a small car which may not be ideal for your frame. It would be best to get behind the wheel of any car you are looking at to ensure you can get comfortable, but we would suggest looking at the Volkswagen Polo, Skoda Fabia, Honda Jazz and Citroen C3, as they offer good headroom for their size.
Answered by David Ross

I'm looking at buying a five year old car but there's rust on the tailgate - should I steer clear?

"I'm buying a 2018 Citroën C3 1.2 Tech Flair and found some rust on tailgate door at the bottom. This has been sorted and I've been given a one year guarantee. Should I still buy this car? I have 60 days to make up my mind. General opinion from friends is once rust found, don't buy. Otherwise car is in fantastic condition with low mileage."
Rust on a car that is no more than five years old is not a good sign. Although the garage has made a repair and given you a guarantee, if you are not entirely happy then you should walk away. The Citroen C3 is not a rare car, so you should easily find another example without this issue.
Answered by David Ross
More Questions

What does a Citroen C3 cost?