Citroen C3 1.4i VTR+ review

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Citroën C3 1.4i 75 VTR+ Road Test

Test date 01 December 2009 Price as tested £13,390

For Distinctive looks, absorbent low-speed ride, airy cabin, quality feel of materials

Against Dull handling, intrusive wind and tyre noise, unsupportive seats

Barely a few weeks seem to pass without a new small Citroën arriving, demanding to be tested. But this model, the new C3, is the most significant of the lot. It is the company’s biggest-selling small car and its bread-and-butter supermini.

In short, it’s the most significant small car Citroën has launched since the previous-generation car in 2002. Recently we’ve been charmed by the Berlingo Multispace and C3 Picasso, but it’s the regular C3 hatchback that has to do the volume.

On sale in the UK from next month, the new C3 comes in five-door form only, with the more stylish three-door DS3 to follow next year. The previous car’s three-door variant, dubbed C2, had a very disparate appearance and, in the form of the mechanically identical DS3 (which will aim to steal sales from Mini and the Fiat 500), it is trying the same thing again.

Because of the similarities under the skin, the verdict on the C3 not only tells us what it is like but also gives a good indication of how the DS3 might fare upon its arrival.