Citroen C3 1.6 HDi 16v

Need For A New Car

Having given up my Audi A3 last January to try and save some money between jobs my wife and I proceeded to share a car for a little over a year. My recent appointment to a role in London and the fact we moved further than a 20 minute walk from Jen’s work meant we finally needed to invest in a second car. Having considered public transport as an option and dismissed it due to the cost and timings I then turned my attention to finding an economical vehicle. Our shared car had been a Peugeot 206, which in fuel alone was costing me in excess of £55 a week.

My requirements in a car were fairly simple, it had to be cheap to run, cost effective to buy and as long as it had a CD player and a Bluetooth system I was happy. Gone are the days when I can afford, or more realistically justify, spending the £21,000 plus for a second hand car and it was in reviewing the specifications I finally opted for the new, 2011 design, Citroën C3 1.6 HDMi Airdream VTR+. It met all of the requirements I needed to satisfy the car allowance scheme at work and given the figures of 65mpg I was being quoted it met my economical requirements as well.

C3 Shape

The C3 is Citroen’s addition to the Supermini market and with a redesign of the previous rather chunky look to the new, sleaker look for 2011 they have made massive strides to improve the design of their cars. The car is just under 4 meters in length and the shape curves up from the bumper to the windscreen before arching up and over the top by way of the slightly tinted Zenith Windscreen before flattening out to a more vertical rear to the car.

Whilst the rest of the car has a very sleek look to it, the real feature that stands out of the C3’s new design is the panoramic Zenith Windscreen. The windscreen expands across the roof and finishes directly above the drivers seat. This allows a lot more light into the front and rear of the vehicle. Due to the glare from the sun though the top of the windscreen is tinted to allow the light but not the glare into the rear of the vehicle. In order to control this, the car also has a slideable roof section that increases and decreases the size of the panoramic windscreen from fully open to how it would appear in the ordinary model.

This adjustable feature is a very nice addition to the cars design and with the extra light it offers to the interior of the car it works really well. On the downside you loose the handles you would ordinarily expect to find in the front and rear of the vehicle, however this is a very minor negative to the enormous plus the extra light provides.

What Does It Cost

We have purchased our Citroen C3 on a lease through Nationwide Vehicle Contracts and following a deposit of £968 we then have to pay a further £225 per month. This cost includes the car tax and 20,000 miles per year. I’ve taken the car on a 4 year lease and felt this was the most beneficial and cost effective option given the great distances I shall be covering over that period.

Had I decided to buy the car it would have cost me £15,756 including all of the options and given my intention to put almost 80,000 miles on the clock the return at the end of that period would have left me considerably out of pocket. With this option however we simply hand the keys back at the end of the 4 years and find a new car, meaning I will also still comply with the work company car scheme.

Running Costs

One of the key factors in my opting for the C3 was the economical aspect of the car and that was my principle reason for picking the diesel over the petrol version. As a result the 1.6 litre engine in my C3 does a very reasonable average of 68 miles per gallon on paper, which over the 4800 miles I’ve covered so far has worked out to be almost spot on. As a result Its still costing me £55 to fill the tank, but the difference being that its lasting me 2 weeks now instead of 1.

In addition to this the Airdream doesn’t cost a penny to tax as the cars CO2 emissions are only 99 and it makes it free to tax. This also means that entrance into central London is also free, as the congestion charge is also free on this car, adding another tick in the box from my requirements. In terms of the insurance the car falls around the middle of the spectrum in band E or a risk factor of 10, this means that insurance costs are reasonable as well. For a years insurance, paid upfront with Admiral I’m paying £387, which when you take into consideration that I’m 28 with 3 points and an accident in the last 5 years it works out as a reasonable price.

Of course the cost of servicing needs to be taken into consideration as well and with prices ranging from £99 to £130 for a standard service it doesn’t appear to be too bad. Especially when you take into consideration that a standard service on my Audi A3 had been £225 a time.

Comfort

Given the size of the car, 3.9m by 1.7m on the outside the internal aspect of the car is deceptively larger than you would expect. The front seats are fully adjustable and give plenty of room for both driver and passenger. With the additional windscreen and spacious seats in the front it all makes being in the front of the car feel comfortable. My one concern was just how comfortable the drivers seat would be on a long journey. Thankfully that was answered during our trip to Cumbria a couple of weeks ago and both the drivers and the passengers chair are just as comfortable over 300 miles as they are over 30.

The rear of the car is still quite spacious and gives plenty of space for both adults and children in the back. As the car is 5 door I think this does add a benefit for passengers in the back and gives them enough room to be comfortable. If I had one complaint about the car it would probably have been the size of the boot as I can’t fit my golf clubs in. This is rectified by putting them on the back seat of the car but it makes for one of the few disadvantages I’ve found with the car.

Extra’s

Having been spoilt for choice in my Audi for additional items I wasn’t sure how the Citroen would measure up but in fairness the C3 Airdream has even surpassed the gadgets my Audi had boasted. As standard the VTR+ Airdream comes with a built in stereo complete with Aux inputs for your iPod and a very clear built in handsfree system that is controlled through the stereo.

In fact the range and ability of the stereo system was one of my biggest shocks when it came to the car. Not only is the reception quality of the stereo far in excess of our Peugeot the range of features it boasts is impressive too. Once your phone is connected to the Bluetooth device you can access your entire phonebook through the display on the stereo. Similarly when you connect your iPod to the Aux socket you can control the entire music library from the control on the steering wheel via the stereo to limit the distractions.

One of the more unusual extras on the car is a built in air freshener, which is concealed within the dash board and through the use of refills keeps the car smelling fresh. Obviously this is an item Citroën have added to make a little extra on the refills but it’s a nice touch. Finally the optional extract that I hadn’t been expecting, but was in-fact a standard item on the car is reversing sensors. Despite the fact they do make me a little lazy when it comes to reversing it has made me far more aware of the size of the car than I had been of any previous vehicle I have owned.

The Drive

Despite all of the other aspects of the car it’s in the drive where the cost of a car is really won or lost. I’m pleased to say however that the Citroen handles really well at all times. It is perhaps best on long journey’s where a steady speed can be set on the cruise control but it is equally as adept at driving in Towns and Cities due to its compact shape and design.

The cars handling is as good as any on the market and to really give this a test on our recent trip to the Lakes we took it over some of the most testing and demanding roads in the area. We were pleased that the car took to these roads with shining colours and handled them incredibly well. It meant rather than worry about the handling of the car we could enjoy the views from the top of the likes of Hardknott pass without worrying about the drive to get back down into the valley’s bottom.

It would be fair to say that regardless of speed there is no loss of control over the steering wheel and provided you drive sensibly into corners it never feels like it losses traction regardless of the tight nature of the corner. I’ve found that the steering in particular is very responsive and does exactly as you would expect it to. It makes the car feel enjoyable to drive and for a comparatively smaller chunk of the cost of a brand new Audi the drive is just as good for what I need the car for.

The acceleration from a standing start is quite fluid and with various guides in relation to miles per gallon and miles to an empty tank I’ve found that the C3 has really reigned in my driving style. I now don’t try to speed off as fast as possible, favouring instead to conserve fuel and in the long run save myself some money.

I’d never really considered what I expected from a Citroen in terms of drive quality, however I was really impressed and continue to be as I experience more time behind the wheel of this car. The brakes respond quickly and really do a great job and far exceed the experience I’d had previously with similar sized cars. For safety the car comes complete with 4 types of airbags, drivers, passengers, lateral and curtain airbags making the car as safe as you could hope for it to be.

Conclusion

As I have the car for the next 3 and a half years it was always going to be a worry if it didn’t perform as well as it did on the test drive, however I’m please that its actually performing a lot better. The drive is enjoyable; it grips the road well and handles speed with relative ease. When you combine the quality of the cars performance with the initial cost and the ongoing running cost it makes the car exceptional value for money.

I’ve been very impressed with Citroen to date and having clocked up almost 5000 miles already there have been no little niggles or warranty issues and so far the car has been working exceptionally well. It is enjoyable to drive and is saving me large sums of money compared to our Peugeot for a car that’s actually a lot lighter and easier to drive. Would I recommend it? I think despite a couple of minor flaws, for the money its great value and I’d have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who wants to buy a decent hatchback that will save them money in the long run.