Citroën C3’s affordable price tag a sight for sore eyes

Citroën has always been a bit of a niche brand in South Africa. A “French flair meets state-of-the-art tech” kind of thing with a price tag to match. An upmarket product that offers the slightly left of centre buyer something different.

So, when I received an invitation to experience the all-new C3, I automatically assumed this would be the full-house European-spec C3. This is what Citroën has always done.

But at the launch, the obligatory new car market slides were shown. They pointed to an entry-level place in the market which is below R250 000 and features manual transmission cars only. I had clearly assumed wrong.

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Citroen C3 a budget beater

At first glance, this India-produced, compact SUV-like C3 not only offers that already-mentioned French flair. It carries some cool tech too. At a budget-friendly R229 900.

On stepping into the Citroën C3, you will notice some hard plastics and a minimalist approach to buttons and controls, but it is smartphone friendly.

An easy-to-use 10-inch touchscreen dominates the dashboard and serves as the core of the infotainment system. Bluetooth, mirror screen technology and wireless connectivity come as standard.

Right in front of the driver sits a seven-inch, colour thin film transistor cluster screen with up to six modes for displaying vehicle information. The Citroën C3 can also display trip details, fuel consumption and tyre pressure.

Settings and colour schemes can be configured to your preference using toggle controls on the tilt-adjustable steering wheel.

Lend me your ears

A quirky little feature which may mean something to somebody is the neat “ears” on the sides of the climate control bezel. Wires can be routed behind it and a similar route is concealed under the upper instrument panel above the pencil tray.

Talking of the pencil tray, this is just one of a few clever storage areas in the Citroën C3.

You also get a one-litre glove box and centre console area, two-litre door pockets and one-litre pockets on the rear doors. Plus cup holders front and rear and slots across the instrument panel for storing your smartphone.

Front driver and rear passenger space is adequate for a compact SUV. But I didn’t like the raised seat height many owners seem to want. I felt way too close to the roof when it was my turn to drive.

I was surprised at how good the drive was in the Citroën C3 in terms of suspension damping on this 180 mm higher-than-normal platform.

You only get a few air bags and anti-lock brakes for safety.

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Frugal sipper

And, as is to be expected when playing in this segment, high and performance are not words you would use to describe the urge on tap from the 61kW/115Nm, 1.2-litre naturally aspirated engine.

You do have to make liberal use of the five-speed manual gearbox to keep things on the boil on the open road.

But you are rewarded when you get to the pumps. Average fuel consumption of 5.6-litres per 100km is on the cards.

Citroën brought this all-new C3 to South Africa that will appeal to a far broader customer base than before. It’s not perfect, but it does bring a person one step closer to owning a car of their own.