Citroën ë-C3 test drive: 'How Citroën has made one of my favourite cars more attractive - and greener'

Europe’s car makers are chasing the electrified tails of America's wounded Tesla and South Korea’s ebullient Kia and Hyundai, plus cheaper and often cleverer electric cars from China, notably BYD.

Competition and customer resistance have pushed prices down. Citroën now has five electric hatchbacks selling for less than £30,000.

The price leader is the new ë-C3 tested here, rated at 199 miles range and costing from just under £22,000. A cheaper 124-miler is on the way, as is a van.

There will be Aircross versions plus revised versions of the larger C4 fastback and C4X hatchback. All get the new face of Citroën.

The oversized chrome double chevron grille has been replaced by a slimmer grin, carrying the double chevrons in a small oval frame.

It is a throwback to the logo used in 1919 when Citroën began making cars. The chevrons were a reminder of the industrial gears it perfected.

The C3 petrol model prices start at £17,990 for the 99bhp, 151 lb ft three cylinder 1.2 petrol turbo six speed manual in the well-specified Plus trim. Briefly: 0-62mph in 10.6 seconds and up to 52mpg with 128g/km of CO2.

The face job may sound a minor change but while it makes a C3 or C4 less easily spotted as a Citroën, they look better for it — maybe a bit like a Volkswagen.

The ë-C3 is already the best-selling EV in France. The C4 is number two in class in Europe after the VW Golf. Both C3 and C4 are sold with petrol power.

The C3 gets the major body update, its fourth since its debut as a hatchback in 2013. Sales stand at 5.6 million and it takes 30 per cent of Citroën output.

The new C3 is built in Slovakia but carries the French colours in its cheeks. It is a hatchback but looks like a small SUV, the role of the Aircross.

It has front under-bumper skid plates, a short high bonnet and roof rails. It is taller on bigger wheels for better visibility, giving more interior space for people and their bags while staying at four metres in length for easier parking. As such, it makes one of my favourite small cars more attractive.

There is much to like because it inherits the C4 suspension which has superior shock absorption by replacing sold bump stops in the dampers with hydraulic units. They call it a magic carpet ride.

No one knows how that feels but you get the idea. It also has the multi-layer, mixed density foam seats from the C4 - now also improved for the C4, which is built in Spain.

Citroën’s car and van range is either new this year or updated.

Its UK boss, Greg Taylor, says it’s a “massive year” for the brand with words like popular, accessible, comfortable, daring (viz the AMI), sustainable (chrome can’t be recycled) and simple.

For example, not overloaded with technology or long range 500 kg batteries. There is also a new eight-year warranty.

I must confess I am a sucker for Citroëns, even when as an owner last century I had to cope with over-complicated bits out of sight which were beyond DIY skills even with special tools on my Traction Avant.

They are much simpler now, partly because their interesting mechanical ideas have been restrained by bosses at Peugeot and overlords in the Stellantis mega group.

I like the ë-C3, and no doubt the petrol C3 when I can drive one. The day at the diner was mostly about the ë-C3. Epithets like “game changer on our hands” (Rob Clark, product chief) were in the conversation.

The ë-C3 gets first use of a new small car platform at Stellantis which the petrol-engined models use and saves money which helps them and the buyer. They say it is the first affordable European electric car.

The ë-C3 Plus with 199 mile range and zero CO2 is £21,990 or in Max trim £23,690. Power is 114bhp and 98 lb ft and the 0-62 time is 10.4 seconds. The motor battery is warranted to retain 70 per cent capacity after eight years or 100,000 miles. The petrol C4 costs from £22,295 and from £26,295 as the electric ë-C4.

We were despatched into the landscape in the ë-C3 Max, painted metallic cherry though a white over baby blue colour scheme appealed more.

It was as expected, riding nicely, quietly swift, nicely detailed with fabric in places where you often see black plastic. Things come to hand easily — the trigger gear selector, the electric parking brake, an old fashioned ignition key.

The instruments are clearly seen in a narrow band above the small steering wheel. In the back there are double phone/wallet pouches above a map/book pocket. When the seats are folded flat you are left with a step in the load floor because it doesn’t have a two-tier floor as standard.

The ride comfort is indeed good but the ë-C4 we tried was even better. It should do well but faces many good rivals including a few bed fellows in the Stellantis group.

Citroën ë-C3

Price: £24,050 with elixir paint

Battery: 100 kWh capacity

Power: 114 bhp

Torque: 98 lb/ft

Transmission: one speed

Top speed: 82 mph

0-62mph: 10.4 seconds

Economy: On test, four miles per kWh

Claimed range: 199 miles.

Weight: 1151kg.

CO2: zero

Length: 158 inches/4m

More: citroen.co.uk