Slowly but surely, the Citroen C3 has evolved over the years from a slightly feminine-looking supermini to a downright macho subcompact that turns at least the same amount of heads as it did the first time.
The 2017 Citroen C3 was first unveiled about a month before the 2016 Paris Motor Show, but this is the first time when it will be seen and touched by the public. Speaking of which, the tiny French hatchback is already available to order and will arrive in French Citroen showrooms just a few weeks after the show closes its gates.
Borrowing the trademarked “Airbumps” from the C4 Cactus and a bunch of other design details from some of its bigger brothers, the new C3 feels as fresh and “as Citroen” as ever.
Available in 9 body colors and 3 roof colors, the French supermini offers no less than 36 exterior color combinations no matter the trim level chosen. If you also want the cool-looking and practical Airbumps, you'll need to know that they are only standard on “Shine” and optional on the less expensive “Feel” trim level.
The model that our photographers caught from most angles in the photo gallery comes in Aluminum Gray, which kind of reminded us of the original Robocop's helmet, but maybe that's just us.
The interior can be specced in any of four design schemes, so you can easily customize the look and feel of the car to a pretty specific need.
Engine wise you shouldn't expect much since most of the powerplants are specially tuned for frugality, not performance. There is a gasoline, three-cylinder, PureTech that comes in 68, 82 and 110 horsepower levels, with the most powerful one being turbocharged. On the diesel front, a 1.6-liter BlueHDI comes in 75 and 100 horsepower flavors.
Last, but certainly not least, an optional feature may come in handy for some drivers. Called the Citroen ConnectedCam and optional on the Feel and Shine trim levels, it is essentially a dash camera that films everything happening in front of the car. The cool thing about it is that users can easily take photos and videos and share them online via a free app.
Especially useful in countries with terrible drivers, you should probably know that the camera's recording function is activated automatically in the event of a crash and can save 90-second sequences (30 sec before and a whole minute after the collision) of footage. We'd definitely get this feature before speccing other expensive but no-so-helpful options.
Alex handled his first real steering wheel at the age of five (on a field) and started practicing "Scandinavian Flicks" at 14 (on non-public gravel roads). Following his time at the University of Journalism, he landed his first real job at the local franchise of Top Gear magazine a few years before Mircea (Panait). Not long after, Alex entered the New Media realm with the autoevolution.com project. Full profile
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