There are several keys that make the Citroën C3 Aircross a car different from the rest of urban SUVs, its many rivals. A solvent car, really a small SUV given its advanced traction system, and a plus of versatility that allows it to show off its personality. Because not only does it have a highly modular interior, which allows it to appear bigger than it is when it comes to introducing cargo, but includes a series of practices solutions that improve your user experience and it blurs the physical limits, outperforming much larger cars, without compromising that it can fit in a conventional garage space. All at a price that starts below 20,000 euros.
Engines
Two different engines make up the Citroën C3 Aircross range, each with two available powers: two variants of 110 and 120 CV of the HDI 1.5 and two others, 110 and 130 hp from the three-cylinder Puretech 1.2 petrol. The smallest of them is the one that we have extensively tested in substance and in form. Starting at the end, the average consumption of more than 2,000 km stood at 6.2 l / 100 km alternating highway, city and peripheral routes at speeds close to legal. It’s a nice engine, low-vibration despite its three-cylinder character — noticeable when stretched out into the red zone — and a more than reasonable thrust that allows it, with some help from the gearbox, to run enough. Or in other words, adapt to what the driver wants: circulate without noise at relaxed rhythms in the highest possible gear, or feel how 110 hp can be Enough for driving with full load and going up long slopes.
This smooth operation of the engine has its continuity in each of the contact elements between the driver and the SUV: the steering, the pedals, the gear selector …everything is nice, easy, predictable: a qualifier that can also be transferred to the suspension, chassis tuning and configuration of the driving assistance systems.
Why the Citroën C3 Aircross 2022 is a comfortable SUV
The French touch applied to a car it is not a cliché when it comes to life aboard the C3 Aircross. Its suspension is comfortable, very comfortable —a characteristic underlined by the Advanced Comfort seats with an additional 15 mm of special foam, a bit short of bench seat, yes—, which added to a higher ground clearance than usual in its rivals, has advised a conservative tuning in the traction and stability control systems that although it limits its maximum dynamism, it makes it more accessible to the public.
According to versions, the grip control system includes five driving modes that regulate the response depending on the terrain on which it is circulated and is complemented by the electronic control of descent speed, facilitating the driver’s work.
The interior space of the Citroën C3 Aircross 2022
The use of the interior space is an exercise of skill and courage on the part of Citroën. No cost has been spared, with modularity solutions in the style of the almost extinct minivans, but in what it wants to offer: in this case an impressive versatility. The passenger backrest can be folded forward to trimming a loading area of 2.4 m when the boot floor is in its upper position.
The rear seat also has its functionality, since divided asymmetrically as it is, both portions allow moving forward or backward along 15 cm, thus favoring the improvement of cargo space without disabling those seats. Thus, the trunk can pass from 410 to 520 l capacity: impressive for a car just 4.16 m long. But it also has roof bars that facilitate the installation of a box or bicycle rack if it is necessary to increase the transport capacity to meet the needs of a family on vacation.
The electronic assistants and the connectivity of the Citroën C3 Aircross 2022
Reversing camera, signal recognition system, keeping the car in the lane, the driver’s attention drop alert or the Head Up Display are still rare elements in urban SUVs, although not of this great little Citroën, It is also capable of warning if you are driving too close to a preceding vehicle. Again with a conservative approach and early initial warning
It is not surprising, but it is a reason to review the connectivity that it provides, with wireless connection of Android Auto and Google CarPlay and induction charging for high-end phones, which adds that rubric of everyday technology without which it is currently difficult to think without in a car.
