Review

Offering plenty of charm, great value and high levels of comfort and practicality, the C3 Aircross and electric e-C3 Aircross deserve to win many customers in the fleet sector.

Overview

Citroen is on a major product offensive in 2025, with all models either being replaced or refreshed by the end of the year. The C3 Aircross range forms a key part of this.

The new model is 23cm longer than its predecessor and although it is as large as some C-SUVs, the manufacturer has positioned it in the B-SUV segment, meaning it offers masses of practicality - including a seven-seat version - comfort and style.

Since the original C3 Aircross was launched in 2017, it has sold more than 525,000 models worldwide, making it one of Citroen’s most popular vehicles.

The brand also has high hopes for its successor, which uses the same Smart Platform as its Stellantis Group compact SUV siblings such as the Vauxhall Frontera and Fiat Grande Punto, but throws in Citroen’s styling and technology, as well as its focus on comfort, including the use of its Citroen Comfort Suspension for the first time in the B-SUV sector.

C3 Aircross and e-C3 Aircross will be available with a choice of three powertrains from launch: a 100PS petrol, which offers combined fuel economy of 47.1mpg and CO2 emissions of 136g/km; a 136PS hybrid with economy of 53.3mpg and CO2 of 121g/km and an 113PS eC3 Aircross, with a WLTP combined range of 188 miles and 0g/km.

A longer range e-C3 Aircross, which will offer up to 250 miles from a 54kW battery, will follow later this year.

The pricing is also incredibly competitive. P11D prices start from £19,915 for the Turbo 100 petrol model, £23,475 for the Hybrid 136 range and £22,935 for the electric variants.

Comfort and practicality

In recent years, Citroen has focused on successfully making comfort a major feature of its product offering, and the C3 Aircross range typifies this.

It features all of the latest Citroen comfort technologies - Citroen Advanced Suspension and the C-Zen Lounge concept with Citroen Advanced Comfort seats – and to good effect.

The seats are excellent and offer plenty of comfort and support, thanks to their use of high-density foam in the seat centre and thick, textured foam on the surface.

This is backed up by a surprising amount of space in the cabin. There is plenty of leg and headroom for all occupants, although shoulder room is affected slightly by the car’s relative narrowness.

Boot space is 460 litres with the rear seats up, increasing to 1,600 when they are folded. The petrol and hybrid models are available with seven seats (a £765 option), with these rearmost seats best suited to children.

The cabin also adopts the same driver display and infotainment technology as the C3 supermini.

This sees the elimination of a traditional driver display, with the necessary information, such as speed and remaining fuel/battery charge, projected on to a black strip at the base of the windscreen.

To see it, drivers looking over a small, square-ish steering wheel. On paper, it is similar to Peugeot’s iCockpit concept; in practice, it works much better.

It also raises the general ambience of the cabin. Although there are plenty of hard plastics to be found, the touchpoints have a generally quality feel to them - and again – are above those you would perhaps expect to find in a car with such a value price tag. It also feels well put together.

Safety and technology

Two trim levels are available: Plus and Max. Standard equipment on Plus includes 17-inch alloy wheels, remote central locking, LED headlights, reversing camera, and automatic windscreen wipers, a 10.25-inch touchscreen for the infotainment system, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, reversing camera and automatic air-conditioning.

Standard safety equipment includes video-based active safety brake, active lane departure warning system, speed limit recognition and recommendation and driver attention alert.

For a £2,000 premium, extra equipment included on Max trim includes heated front seats and steering wheel, blind spot detection, front and lateral parking sensors, Citroen Connect Nav, wireless smartphone charging, heated windscreen, LED rear lights and upgraded interior trim.

Driveability and efficiency

We drove the fully-electric and hybrid models on the media launch and Citroen’s focus on comfort shines through.

The ride is comparable to that of much more expensive cars, easily smoothing out bumps and road surface imperfections, while refinement is impressive at lower speeds as well, with wind and road noise well suppressed.

As may be expected, the more powerful hybrid provides punchier performance, while the eC3 a more refined experience through a lack of engine noise.

Steering on both models was light and lacks feedback, but these are not the type of car you would choose if you were after a dynamic driving experience. However, they do provide a perfectly pleasant drive.

The e-C3 Aircross can charge at up to 100kW from a DC rapid charger, enabling the battery to go from 20% to 80% capacity in 26 minutes. An onboard 7kW charger allows it to go from empty to full in just over six hours from an appropriate AC charger.

Company car tax and running costs

The C3 Aircross range starts with the petrol Plus trim model which sits in the 32% tax band for 2024/25 and will cost a 20% taxpayer £106 a month in BIK.

The same driver choosing the hybrid (29% tax band) will face a monthly bill of £113, while the e-C3 Aircross user will attract a payment of £8.