Citroen C3 Aircross review

So many SUVs try to be sporty and edgy. Why? You’re not going to be taking your family SUV on a trackday after you’ve done the school run. Most journeys you do will probably be day-to-day trips, perhaps to nursery, the supermarket, to work or to the doctor’s.

Given the state of the roads in the UK, and how stressful life is generally, why not opt for a car that’s comfy and laidback? We’re not medical professionals but we reckon the Citroen C3 Aircross could help to lower your blood pressure.

It starts with the comfy seats, and then you’ll be pleased with the simple yet cool interior. The driving experience also fits with the fuss-free nature of the car. Overall, the C3 Aircross is just a car you don’t have to think about – in the best way.

Go for a petrol C3 Aircross and you’ll need to decide between a 100hp car with a manual gearbox, or a 145hp hybrid with an automatic gearbox. If you can stretch to the more expensive hybrid engine, we would absolutely recommend doing so – it’s more powerful, more economical, and easier to drive.

The other option is the fully electric Citroen e-C3 Aircross, which we’ve reviewed separately. Amazingly, the Standard Range version is cheaper than a petrol C3 Aircross, and it offers the lowest running costs of all provided you can charge at home.

If you buy a C3 Aircross registered since June 2025, you’ll also benefit from Citroen’s extended We Care warranty. On top of the standard three-year period of cover, you’ll enjoy a year’s extra warranty every time you have the car serviced at a Citroen dealer until the car is eight years old.

The Citroen C3 Aircross’ interior is the antidote to the screen-heavy approach of a few rivals, such as the Jaecoo 5, Ford Puma and MG S5. There is a touchscreen, but it’s been stripped of all non-essential features to leave you with just the basics: radio, phone, smartphone mirroring and, if fitted, sat nav. Not having pages and pages of settings menus means the processor doesn’t have to work too hard, so the screen responds quickly to your poking.

Rather than having a driver’s display right behind the steering wheel, it’s a thin strip at the base of the windscreen. We’re amazed more cars don’t do this, because it’s perfectly placed to show you important info without you needing to take your eyes off the road. It also allows the space in front of the driver to feel uncluttered, adding to the airiness of the cabin.

Most of the materials are durable rather than plush, but the interior is lifted by the fabric trim across the dash and doors. The door panels also have small fabric tags with things like ‘have fun’ and ‘be cool’ written on them – which might bring back memories of your parents dropping you off at a house party as a teenager.

These nice little touches, and the quality of how everything’s put together, make the C3 Aircross feel more premium inside than the related Vauxhall Frontera. It’s clearly built to a price – having an ignition barrel is rare these days, and a lot of the plastics are scratchy – but feels cheerful rather than barren.

The soothing, squidgy seats have a decent amount of adjustment, which is matched by the steering wheel moving up/down and in/out. It’s a little strange that all four electric windows go down with one touch, but only the front ones go back up with one touch.

At the time of writing, there are just two trim levels: Collection and Max. Standard equipment includes cruise control, auto LED headlights with high-beam assist, alloy wheels, rear parking sensors, a reversing camera, heated front seats, wireless phone charging and air conditioning.

If you feel the need to upgrade to Max trim, you’ll also get an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, front parking sensors, a heated steering wheel, a heated windscreen and built-in sat nav.

The Citroen C3 Aircross is so spacious inside that you can even buy a seven-seat version. Thanks to the middle seats folding forwards and out of the way, access to the third row is surprisingly easy… but space in both the second and third row is pretty limited. You wouldn’t want to use the third row often, and the middle row is positioned further forward than in the five seater, which reduces legroom here as well.

Better to order the C3 Aircross as a five-seater, as most buyers will. Then, you get the best of both worlds: four and a half spacious seats, plus a large 460-litre boot. Incidentally, the boot space is the reason to go for the C3 Aircross over the shorter C3 (which has a 310-litre boot), and the C3 Aircross isn’t much more expensive.

Headroom and legroom are both good, and the wide doors make it easy to get in and out. There are useful storage spaces and USB sockets, but the Isofix points are hidden behind fiddly zippers, making installing child seats a bit of a faff.

The electric e-C3 Aircross is largely as practical as the petrol ones, except for the fact that the floor is higher to account for the battery pack. As a result, sitting in the back of the e-C3 Aircross is a bit less comfortable than the petrol one, because your knees are higher and less well supported.

There’s some clever upfront storage, so it’s a bit of a shame that the glovebox is half-sized.

We’ll focus on the petrol engines here – we’ve covered the e-C3 Aircross in more detail in our separate review.

Go petrol and you’re guaranteed a 1.2-litre engine. The cheaper option has 100hp and a manual gearbox, and promises mpg in the forties. This engine is a bit underpowered for the C3 Aircross; the 0-62mph time takes a leisurely 12.5 seconds, so you’ll need some patience.

The better option is the 145hp hybrid model, which includes an electric motor housed within the gearbox, and a small battery. With much more power, this engine has no difficulty getting up to speed – the 9.1-second 0-62mph time is significantly quicker, which makes day-to-day driving easier.

This chain-driven hybrid engine (moving away from older wet-belt designs) also promises up to 57mpg, while the six-speed automatic gearbox takes the strain out of city driving. Having an automatic gearbox works perfectly with the car’s stressfree nature.

Comfort is the priority in the C3 Aircross, and we’re here for it. Along with the foamy, sofa-like seats, there are hydraulic bumpstops in the suspension to improve ride quality. This is particularly noticeable over speed bumps and potholes, and it feels like it floats straight over the road surface.

Like some softly sprung cars, the Aircross is occasionally a bit jittery over sustained small imperfections. But considering how good it is over big bumps, and at speed, you’re unlikely to be upset by it.

Don’t expect any sort of handling goodness. The super-light steering gives you a vague approximation of the direction of travel, and the soft suspension turns to body lean if you try to drive at anything more than a relaxed pace.

Around town, the light steering makes the car very manoeuvrable. The turning circle is tight, too. Sometimes, the hybrid engine’s automatic gearbox can feel a bit late to the party when you want to get out of a junction quickly.

On the motorway, there’s a bit too much road noise to be truly relaxing. Just remember how little you’ve paid versus one of the C3’s rivals, and you’ll be happy just to turn the radio up a notch.

As we’ve seen in other recent Citroen and Vauxhall models, the lane-keep and speed monitoring assistance is very easy to turn off.