Autocar - First for car news and reviews

TegTypeR June 29, 2009 10:13 AM

Just looking at the pictures in the main news report, this car certainly has a lot of "showroom" appeal.  In some ways the standard C3 appears to be so good that is could render the DS3 redundant unless that car pulls out something quite special.

W124 June 29, 2009 10:22 AM

It looks excellent - I think Teg's point about the DS3 is a good one though.  

I wonder if anyone will ever make an attractive steel wheel again. I'm getting really sick of over wheeled/tyred cars. It's a bit of a cheap trick design wise.

jonfortwo June 29, 2009 10:34 AM

I know i am in the minority but this just looks bland and derivative to me.

Quote "So it’s not the new 2CV. But we don’t want one of those." - who doesn`t? speak for yourself.

Lee23404 June 29, 2009 4:41 PM

This looks great. The first time in ages that I've liked the look of a newly launched small car. The Fiesta is over-styled (look at all the lines on the rear 3/4) and the Polo is just dull. This has real character.

I have to disagree slightly will Chas about the current C3. I had one recently while my C5 was being serviced and while it was noisey, uncomfortable and was made of materials cheaper than I thought existed I found it quite charming. The rounder roofline echoed the 2CV and the gearknob was a thing of joy to hold. As something to get from A-B or maybe a second car it was fine and while it is flawed it had character missing from most of the current crop of small cars.

VDG.CZ June 29, 2009 8:32 PM

I think of supermini which has no great design. Swift? Fiesta? 500? What do we expect of supermini. Comsuption, Price, GoodLook. That´s all. This car nothing special    

Lee23404 June 29, 2009 8:36 PM

VDG.CZ - WTF? Again please.

catnip June 29, 2009 11:22 PM

I think this is a much nicer looking car than the DS3, which I find disappointing. Its almost as if theyve tried too hard with the DS3 to make it look different, and just ended up with something contrived and over complicated, with its MINI style roof, etc. This, on the other hand, is much simpler, and all the better for it, and looks to me far more classy than all the DS3 images I've seen.

Cheltenhamshire June 30, 2009 8:30 AM

As the driver of my wife's current model C3, well .... honest review, handles like a 2CV, rides better than our Honda Civic (and the Alfa 147, Merc C-Class and other cars before it) ... built from egg boxes, cheap to run (20,000 services, cheap tax, 45mpg overal from a 1.4 petrol) and roomy as you sit upright.  

So the new one, well if it is built properly .... has firmer dampers and a stiffer body (so can keep the soft springs) ..... will be a success.  What the UK needs and wants is a good riding, roomy but small and cheap to run car.  Not a hard riding *** chariot that is 'sporty' .... I fail to see the point of a 'sporty' car in the UK.  If you want a sports car then go for it, but a 'sporty' van, 4x4, family car??  Pointless on the UK's rubbish dirt tracks that pass for roads.

jsr123 July 11, 2009 4:25 PM

Over-blown launch hype appears to surround all new cars with nods to evocative past masters in their design, or nomenclature. The expectation that a new model must be equally as ground-breaking as it's successor, is unrealistic. In particular, the passage of time will always dilute the impact of new model innovations. At launch for instance, the current C3's 92 bhp HDI diesel engine lead the class for refinement & emissions but it was quickly left behind by the super-mini front runners.  That's how fast technology and consumer demand progresses in a mere six years!  

Dynamically speaking, the need to meet rigorous passenger and pedestrian crash test regulations & stringent Euro-wide emissions figures, were to blame for the C3's loss of verve over it's Saxo predecessor. In all guises, that car really was the last word in alacrity; darting from corner to corner with a terrier like enthusiasm, while gliding over some of our most badly paved roads with aplomb. In essence, I think this was the last French model to display that soft 'loping' quality which characterised the rides of nearly all Gaelic output, since the sixities :)

From these early shots, the forthcoming C3 looks cute and well-resolved and if Besson's early promises are anything to go by, it'll ride as a French car should too. Naturally, high quality cabins featuring soft, tactile, surfaces are a must for both the C3 and it's more stylish, avant-garde, DS3 brother. If he can achieve this and equip both models with a well-packaged interior, create class-leading primary and secondary rides and ensure that the PSA/BMW power-trains are ideally calibrated for this application, then this duo could attain well-deserved class honours :)