By Staff Reporter

Citroen is back in the country and is taking the fight to likes of VW Polo and Ford Fiesta with a launch of its C3 which will complete with these established and highly popular cars in the segment.

Exterior looks

The C3 is distinctly Citroen in appearance. Its design is expressive and holds nothing back. Upfront, you are greeted by a two-tier front light signature and a double chrome bar that underlines the Citroen chevrons, and runs right through to the LED daytime running lamps and round headlamps. Below that, there is a protective bumper in the body colour with foglamps that feature colour surrounds in the Shine model.

On the side, the floating roof and black windscreen pillar feature prominently. So do the large wheels (with 17” wheels on the Shine model). Airbump panels (air-filled bumps with a scratch-proof surface as seen on Cactus) located at the door bottoms are available on the Shine model.

At the rear, the C3 spots a modern look with muscular wings and very short overhangs. The lights appear in a 3D design and the figure 3 appears in black with a chrome surround.

The C3 is offered with a two-tone colour scheme that combines a red roof and a choice of three body colours (Polar White, Sand and Platinum Grey). The red roof colour is also found in the foglamp trims at the front, the Airbump surrounds at the side, the wing mirror shells and the rear C pillar graphic.

Interior

The dashboard design features a broad crosswise trim. At either side of the dashboard, a red-ring surrounds the air vents making the car appear trendy. A 7” touchscreen is located at the centre of the dashboard. This infotainment system comes with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and MirrorLink.

To allow for individualization, interior customization is catered for in upholstery material which is matched to the dashboard trim and various colour features.

In terms of practicality, the new C3’s boot volume approaches 300 litres and shoulder width grows by 2 cm to 1,379 mm (compared to the previous model).

Safety

The advanced driver assistance systems on offer include Hill-Start Assist, Lane Departure Alert and Driver Attention Alert as well as a Coffee Break Alert.

Engine

The new Citroen C3 is offered with two petrol engines. At the entry point of the range is a 1,2 naturally aspirated engine with 60 kW/118 Nm that is paired with a 5-speed manual transmission and offered with the Feel trim. A more powerful turbo-petrol engine with 81 kW/205 Nm is available in the Shine mode, and is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. The former engine has a claimed combined fuel consumption of 5,7l/100 km whereas the latter sips a combined 6,0l/100 km.

Price

Pricing of the new Citroen C3 is as follows:

Citroen C3 Feel R239,900

Citroen C3 Shine R289,900

Prices include a 5 year / 100,000 km warranty and service plan.