Citroen C3 Aircross Review

The new C3 Aircross is a much bigger leap forward than the badge alone suggests. The old car was likeable and usefully compact, but by the end it felt dated both visually and inside. This replacement is more upright, more assertive and much more practical, and those changes give it a far stronger sense of purpose from the outset.

That sense of purpose matters because this is not just another compact SUV. The new car sits on Stellantis’ Smart Car platform and is closely related to the Vauxhall Frontera, but Citroen has used that hardware to give the C3 Aircross a slightly different identity. It still majors on value and family usefulness, but now does so with bolder styling and the option of seven seats, which is the feature that really changes the conversation.

That seven-seat layout is what makes the C3 Aircross stand out. Suddenly, it is not only competing with cars such as the Skoda Kamiq, Volkswagen T-Cross and Nissan Juke, but also with more specialist value-led family transport such as the Dacia Jogger. There are not many compact SUVs that can claim that kind of breadth.

The catch is that Citroen has not conjured seven-seat practicality out of thin air. The third row works best as an occasional-use feature, and the compromises in luggage space are obvious when all seats are in use. The new C3 Aircross is clever, but it is not magic. Buyers need to be honest with themselves about whether they want a compact five-seater with useful flexibility or a proper seven-seater used day in, day out.

For this review, the focus stays firmly on the petrol and hybrid line-up rather than the e-C3 Aircross, which makes more sense as a separate proposition. That leaves the 1.2-litre Turbo 100 manual as the entry point and the Hybrid 136 automatic as the step-up option. The petrol is the affordable route in. The hybrid is the better all-round fit for the car’s family-friendly brief.

The pick of the bunch is the Citroen C3 Aircross Collection Hybrid 136.

The Turbo 100 petrol keeps the price temptingly low, but the Hybrid 136 is the more rounded powertrain because it gives you the convenience of the automatic gearbox, a little more flexibility in day-to-day driving and the stronger official fuel economy figure. It suits the car’s easygoing family brief better, even if the gearbox is not the sharpest thing of its kind.

Collection is also the trim to target. It already includes the 10.25-inch touchscreen, rear camera, rear parking sensors, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Advanced Comfort seats, LED headlights and 17-inch alloy wheels. That means it feels properly equipped rather than budget-spec.

Max adds appealing extras such as heated seats, a heated steering wheel, a heated windscreen, front parking sensors, wireless charging and blind-spot detection. It is the more desirable version, but Collection still makes the strongest value case.

The C3 Aircross line-up starts at £21,995 OTR for the Collection and rises to £25,495 OTR for the Max Hybrid 136, before options such as the seven-seat layout.

That still leaves the C3 Aircross looking keenly priced for what it offers. It undercuts a lot of obvious SUV alternatives, and the fact you can still have seven seats in something this affordable remains a large part of the appeal.

The only caution is that once you move up to Max trim and add the seven-seat option, the value gap to some larger alternatives starts to narrow. Even so, the Citroen still looks like a lot of family car for the money.

The most obvious rival is the Vauxhall Frontera, because it shares so much with the Citroen underneath and also offers seven seats in petrol and hybrid forms. The Dacia Jogger is another key comparison if maximum seating for minimum money matters most, even if it is much more estate-like in shape.

Ignore the seven-seat angle and the usual compact-SUV suspects come into play, including the Skoda Kamiq, Volkswagen T-Cross and Nissan Juke. Renault’s Captur and Hyundai Bayon also cover similar ground.

What the Citroen has over most of them is value and flexibility. What some of them have over the Citroen is greater refinement and a slightly more polished overall feel.

Practicality is a major part of the C3 Aircross’s appeal, particularly in five-seat form. In that layout, the boot holds up to 460 litres, which is a very useful figure for a car of this size and one of the stronger results in this part of the market. Fold the second row and capacity rises to 1,600 litres.

The trade-off comes when you choose the seven-seat version. With all seats in place, luggage space falls to a tiny 40 litres. Fold the rearmost seats away and you get 330 litres, which is more workable, but it still underlines the fact that the third row is a flexibility feature rather than a miracle of packaging.

Second-row space is decent, and in five-seat form the rear bench sits further back than in the seven-seater, so it feels noticeably roomier. The third row is more usable than you might expect for children and shorter adults, but it is still a compromise. In simple terms, the five-seater is the better all-round family car, while the seven-seater is the cleverer choice if you genuinely need occasional extra seats.

The Citroen C3 Aircross measures 4,395mm long, 2,020mm wide & 1,660mm high.

That is a useful size because it is big enough to create proper family-car space without becoming awkward in town. It also explains why the C3 Aircross feels like a more substantial step up from the regular C3 than the old model did.

All versions get a 10.25-inch touchscreen angled slightly towards the driver. Only Max gets built-in navigation, but that is not a major problem because wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard and most buyers will simply use those.

There are also two USB-C ports up front and another pair in the second row. Seven-seat versions add a further USB-C socket in the third row, which is a useful touch for family use. Max adds wireless phone charging too.

The layout is smart enough, but there are not many physical controls, and some climate functions are tucked into the screen. That is not ideal, even if Citroen has at least kept shortcuts for things like the demisters.

The cabin is a bit of a mixed bag. The overall design is fresh and appealing, and touches such as the fabric-covered lower dashboard help it feel more interesting than a lot of budget-minded rivals.

Look more closely, though, and there are plenty of harder, cheaper plastics, especially around the doors. The good news is that it all feels assembled well enough. So while it does not feel plush, it also does not feel shoddy.

That means the C3 Aircross ends up feeling honest rather than premium, which is about right for the price.

The petrol line-up starts with the Turbo 100, a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine with 100PS and a six-speed manual gearbox. Above that sits the Hybrid 136, which uses the same basic engine with mild-hybrid assistance and a six-speed dual-clutch automatic.

The Turbo 100 is likely to be the default private-buyer choice because it keeps the price down. Official combined fuel economy is about 47.1mpg and 0-62mph takes 10.6 seconds. The Hybrid 136 improves official economy to around 53.3mpg, and claimed 0-62mph is 10.1 seconds.

The Hybrid 136 works well enough, even if the gearbox can be slightly lethargic and the three-cylinder engine still passes some vibration into the cabin.

The C3 Aircross handles neatly enough. There is not a lot of body roll, the steering is quite quick and it feels tidier through bends than you might expect from something so practicality-led.

The flip side is that it is not as soft-riding as some Citroens. It is not uncomfortable, and the Advanced Comfort suspension does take the edge off bumps and rough surfaces, but it never quite turns into the wafty, floaty thing some buyers may be hoping for.

Refinement is also where the low price shows through most clearly. There is a fair amount of wind and road noise at motorway speeds, and the three-cylinder engines are not the smoothest. That means the C3 Aircross is competent and easy enough to drive, but not especially polished.

Euro NCAP has not yet published a rating for the new C3 Aircross. Standard safety equipment is strong enough, though, with lane-keeping assist, driver attention monitoring, speed-limit sign recognition, blind-spot detection, six airbags and a head-up display all available in the range.

That means the C3 Aircross looks well equipped on active safety, even if there is not yet a fresh crash-test headline to quote.

The Hybrid 136 is the one that makes most sense for lower fuel bills, particularly if most of your driving is urban or suburban, with an official rating of up to 53.3mpg. The Turbo 100 is less sophisticated, but it also starts from a much lower price. It's also not quite as efficient, with an official combined fuel economy figure of 47.1mpg.

Citroen’s standard warranty covers three years, with unlimited mileage in the first two years and a 60,000-mile cap in the third. The brand also offers its We Care programme, which can extend essential cover up to eight years if the car is serviced within the authorised network in line with the maintenance plan.

That is a useful ownership story at this price point, even if the extended cover is not quite the same thing as a simple long manufacturer warranty from day one.

Insurance groups run from 15 for the petrol models to 24 for the Max Hybrid.

That gives the C3 Aircross a broad spread, with the petrol looking especially manageable and the hybrid still reasonable enough for the class.

The C3 Aircross pays the standard annual VED rate, currently £200.

The more useful detail is that the petrol and hybrid range sits comfortably below the Expensive Car Supplement threshold for non-EV cars, so there is no extra annual charge to worry about.