Review and test Citroen C3 Aircross PureTech 110 Shine

“And now you look even angrier. No, even angrier. You can do that! Believe in yourself! You don’t have to just take it all, do you? You can be there too, right? Well then! You better show that! Look, that’s it – very good!’ It’s pretty much what they instilled in the C3 Aircross at Citroën.

All nice and nice, such a cuddly appearance with all kinds of cute rounded squares as a central theme. But if you are then bullied off the schoolyard by all the other mini-SUVs, something is not right. And so the C3 Aircross urgently needed assertiveness training, starting with a major facelift.

What changed about the Citroën C3 Aircross?

The friendly large headlights disappeared and gave way to more aggressive-looking rectangular ones. He also got a solid black mustache under the continuous double chevronlogo, which was brought more in line with more recent relatives. In addition, it got a large grille with vertical bars, which remind us most of the lower half of the grab on an excavator.

Sure, it looks a lot less sweet. Purely in a personal capacity, we only wonder whether it was really necessary. We always thought it was sympathetic and distinctive, that friendly. Most SUVs, even the smallest ones, do their very best to be as rugged and tough as possible, and the C3 Aircross shrugged off that a bit. We also seemed to have a lot to say for that, but oh well.

Still rounded corner shapes

Because you don’t have to immediately talk such a beast into a complete identity crisis, he was allowed to use its rounded corner shapes (Fiat once called them when the Panda was introduced). ‘squirrels’, as a contraction of squares and circles. Perhaps it is even the official name of that shape, we know a lot…) at the back.

The Citroën C3 Aircross can be adjusted to taste

Furthermore, the body color choice has now been increased to seven (there are three new ones, including the Khaki Gray shown in the photos) and there are now four color packs that allow you to give your Aircross some contrasting surfaces – think of the mirrors and the frame of the the rear side windows. The roof is available in white or black and of the four new alloy wheel designs, two are also completely black. Calculating, Citroën arrives at no less than 70 possible combinations, which makes it more difficult to find exactly your C3 Aircross in the driveway of the neighbors.

You will also find many squircles in the interior, although things have certainly changed there. For example, the always somewhat shapeless (at least, that’s how they felt) chairs have been given an extra layer of foam on the seat that should provide more support. It works, but it hasn’t worked miracles right away. You could still use more support on the sides of the chair, and whether the French really all have those short legs – we don’t know, but the eternal problem of the too short seats remains.

The multimedia screen has also been updated

It got sharper and grew to 9 inches, but gave up the handy keys on the sides, with which you could quickly switch between main functions. That in itself is a shame, because now you will always have to use the Home button again to switch from say navi to radio, and every extra action you have to do when you should actually be looking on the road is one too many.

Fortunately, the screen has received more functionalities. For example, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are now on board and some new connectivity things have been added. There are also more driving aids and safety systems, such as traffic sign recognition and a reversing camera.

Also a head-up display

We always think ‘head-up display’ is a bit of a big word for that folded glass in front of the windscreen, but well, you can still opt for that and there is now more information to see. Comical at best is the button with all kinds of ‘terrain settings’; it adjusts the traction control to snow and mud, but we would rather leave that muddy forest path for what it is.

Storage space is always handy in what will primarily be a family car. This is additionally provided for thanks to a large container in the back of the center tunnel, which is accessible to both front and rear passengers. Oh, and you can now charge your phone wirelessly too. Always handy, although (as always in cars, it seems – at home we don’t suffer from that at all) excruciatingly slow.

The engines of the Citroën C3 Aircross

Engine-wise, there was hardly anything else on the C3 Aircross. And so there are two three-cylinder petrol engines of 110 and 130 hp, and for the die hard believers even two diesels of 110 and 120 hp are available. The stronger versions have an automatic transmission, the lighter ones do it with a six-speed manual transmission. We drove the most popular, the 110-hp version, and there was nothing wrong with that.

It’s still a nice thing

Despite its new, sturdier appearance, the Citroën C3 Aircross remains an exceptionally friendly, comfortable car to be on the road with. He will never rush you or tempt you into ferocious situations, because that is simply not in his genes at all. Suspension and damping are pleasantly tuned, maybe even a little too much, because things tilt quite a bit when you take a bend with something that smells of enthusiasm in the distance. In principle, this should be possible with modern chassis techniques.

But it doesn’t matter too much, because the whole character of the Aircross speaks that that hectic stuff is not good for anything. Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride (but in French – and good luck with it) is his motto. The steering is light and doesn’t tell you anything else, the motor simmers nicely and always offers you enough power to keep up with the rest, but doesn’t interfere with anything.

And that’s all fine, because the baker will soon have a baguette for you, and there is always room on the terrace and on the beach. And a car that gives you that feeling, that’s also nice in these times when rest is starting to look more and more like a dirty word.