Perky, stylish French flair, downsized … for a price.

WHAT IS IT?

A French-designed five-door light hatch, offered in one specification only, and aimed at buyers prepared to pay a premium for generous equipment, ample design flair and customisable aesthetics.

WHY ARE WE DRIVING IT?

The new Citroen C3 went on sale in Australia at the beginning of the year, but a change of local importer meant a delayed media launch, so this was our first chance for an extensive drive on Aussie roads.

Mazda 2 GT, VW Polo Launch Edition, Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo, Suzuki Swift GLX Turbo

THE WHEELS VERDICT

Key demerits are the lack of AEB and the engine vibes at low revs. If you can get past this, it’s difficult not to fall for the perky, stylish charm of the Citroen C3. Hard-nosed pragmatists may notice they can buy a class-above Holden Astra R for this sort of money, but that’s not the type of buyer Citroen clearly has in its sights.

THE WHEELS REVIEW

IN AN automotive world increasingly full of over-choice and over-complication, there’s something refreshingly straightforward about the arrival of Citroen’s C3 light hatch into Australia. It’s offered in just one (lush) spec level, with one sensible powertrain. Oh, and one pretty rich price tag, but more on that in a moment.

What the C3 also brings is a generous splash of design-driven pizazz and customisable style to what is a mostly sensible, pragmatic segment. Think of it as a stiletto to the eye of a Yaris. The surfacing is curvaceous, the proportions pert, and there’s ample potential to spec one that’s unlike anyone else’s via nine body colours ($290 or $590), three roof colours, the no-cost option of black 17-inch alloys, and three choices of interior trim combinations ($150 or $400).

More attention grabbing is an interior that stands apart from the competition for design flair and clever flashes of upmarket-feeling materials to distract you from the fact that the bigger, more costly bits, like the dash and door trims, are really not that costly at all. A slender satin-silver frame wraps a compact dash face, matched to a fabric accent. Retro-looking door-strap handles are intended to evoke thoughts of designer luggage. The seats lack side support, but are generously sized, properly comfortable, and come trimmed to look like something more upmarket. A 7.0-inch touchscreen sits in the centre of the dash and, along with the now-obligatory Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with MirrorLink, handles pretty much everything, including ventilation, which won’t please everyone.

Steering that is feather light at parking speeds does gain a little more weight on the move, if not feel. But there’s delicacy and immediacy to the wheel’s motions, so no major complaint. Likewise the ride and body control, which, thanks to fairly relaxed damping, strikes an acceptable blend of easy-riding compliance with contained roll when you lean on the C3’s front end. It’s a much sweeter riding car than the related C3 Aircross small SUV, although sharp dips taken at speed do reveal a lack a rebound control.

So overall, C3 is near-impossible to dislike – or ignore. Sure, the price is clearly aimed at customers amenable to paying a premium for fashion: a retail of $23,490, with an initial driveaway deal of $26,990. If the Japanese or German alternatives in this segment leave you uninspired, perhaps the price of French chic won’t be insurmountable.

SPECS

Model: Citroen C3 Shine Engine: 1190cc 3cyl, dohc, 12v turbo Max power: 81kW @ 5500rpm Max torque: 205Nm @ 1500rpm Transmission: 6-speed automatic Weight: 1090kg 0-100km/h: 9.8sec (claimed) Economy: 4.9L/100km Price: $22,990 On sale: Q1, 2018