Used Citroen C3 Hatchback 2010 - 2016 review

The Citroen C3 is the French manufacturer's answer to the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa et al. The first generation was originally launched in 2002, but it’s the model that was sold between 2009 and 2016 that is the focus of this review.

Available only as a five-door, it came with an unusual ‘Zenith’ extended windscreen on higher trim levels. This ran up above the driver’s head to create a very airy interior, although in reality you’ll often need to pull the adjustable roof lining forwards to prevent glare.

Petrol and diesel engines were offered, with some one of the former shared with the more expensive Mini. However, unlike that car the C3 placed an emphasis on ride comfort over sporty handling. As such, it copes with the demands of urban motoring well, with a soft ride that soaks up bumps and potholes.

The downside of that soft suspension is that on the open road the C3 lacks anything like the precision of a Ford Fiesta. It also isn’t as good as a Volkswagen Polo for long journeys, with a lot of wind and tyre noise and seats that aren’t as supportive as they look. The manual gearchange is also rather notchy, while if you want an automatic the choice comes down to a sluggish four-speed with petrol cars, or a jerky robotised manual with later diesels.

Leg room for rear passengers is tighter than you’ll find in a Polo, but that’s mainly because Citroen has traded it in order to have one of the larger boots you’ll find in this class. Storage up front is also lacklustre, with half of the glovebox taken up by the fuse box.

A budget of £2,500 will be enough to give you the option of upgrading from a low-mileage first-generation Citroen C3 to one of the cheapest second-generation model. Cars with six-figure mileages are invariably diesel, whereas opting for one of the basic 1.1-litre petrol engines instead will get you into a fresher, if slower, C3.

Moving closer to £4,000 opens up more choice in terms of engines, and there are plenty of low-mileage cars to choose from, while post-2013 facelift C3s (indicated by the chrome bars running across the grille) start at about £5,000.

However, it’s arguably at the upper end of the scale where the biggest deals are to be done, with the arrival of an all-new C3 in 2017 making nearly new second-generation cars look very tempting. A sum of about £7,000 will buy a C3 that’s less than a year old and with just a few hundred miles on the clock.

Diesel Citroen C3s in particular offer outstanding fuel economy of up to 83mpg in official tests, and can top 60mpg in normal driving without too much effort. This corresponds with low CO2 emissions, the same of which can be applied to the 1.1-litre petrol engine, meaning that most models of C3 cost no more than £30 per year to tax. The exceptions are the 118bhp 1.6-litre petrol and the 1.4-litre petrol engine, both of which come in at more than £100 per year.

Citroen’s servicing rates are competitive (although we’d advise sticking to a 12-month service schedule, rather than the recommended 20,000 miles), and because there’s no high performance variant to consider, all C3s fall into low insurance groups.

Pre-facelift Citroen C3s started in VT trim, rising through VTR+ and Exclusive. You need VTR+ to get alloy wheels, air-conditioning and the Zenith windscreen, while Exclusive added part-Alcantara upholstery and larger alloys. A 99g/km of CO2 1.6-litre diesel was badged as Airstream+, with the spec based on VTR+ but with added rear parking sensors and Bluetooth phone connectivity.

The 2013 facelift maintained the VT entry-level model, but replaced higher specs with Edition and Platinum. At the same time Citroen introduced its 1.0- and 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engines.

Top pick at the cheaper end of the spectrum is a 1.4-litre petrol with 94bhp, or for a more recent car look for an 82bhp 1.2 petrol, which combines low running costs with a characterful engine note. And, being produced at the end of the car’s production run means that any gremlins should have been ironed out.

Our favourite Citroen C3: 1.2 Puretech 82 Edition

If you’re after a French car of this size then there’s also the Peugeot 207 and 208 to consider, as well as the Renault Clio, both of which feel more solid than the C3.

Or looking further afield there’s the superb Ford Fiesta, which might have a slightly smaller boot but is a delight to drive, or for a solid reliability record, the Toyota Yaris. None, though, will be priced as attractively as an equivalent C3.

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