Citroen C3
Published · Researched 2026-09-21
Citroën C3 — Review
As of September 2026
The cheapest honest EV in Europe, wearing a petrol range that still has the belt. Buy the ë-C3, know its limits, and you'll love it.
The C3 story splits in 2024. The old C3 III (2016–2024) is a known quantity — cheap, cheerful, belt-era PureTech engines. The new C3 is a taller, boxier comfort-first car with three personalities: a 1.2 PureTech 100 that still uses the wet timing belt (yes, really), a 48V hybrid 110 with a chain, and the ë-C3 — 113 PS, 44 kWh LFP battery, 320 km WLTP, 100 kW fast charging, from €23,900 in France, and advertised as low as ~€12,990 with maximum incentives. There's even a cheaper "Autonomie Urbaine" version that openly targets ~150 km of real range. Not sold in the US or China.
What's genuinely good: the ë-C3 is the real affordable-EV deal. Autocar's long-termer called it "largely easy and trouble-free," excellent in town, with ADAS among the least annoying in the business and a ride that handles potholes with aplomb. The cabin is spacious and cheery, the LFP battery is the durable chemistry, Italian owners report 250–280 km of real range, and home charging makes running costs negligible. The petrol C3 from €14,990 is absurdly cheap for a new car with proper ADAS, and the hybrid 110 splits the difference nicely. A 2024 PureTech 110 with 6,700 km listed at €16,990 shows how gentle depreciation is — or how cheap they start. Autocar's 2026 review landed at 7/10 — "plenty of usability, space and cheer for the money" — losing to the Renault 5 on polish but winning on price, which is the whole C3 thesis in one sentence.
What's actually wrong: the new petrol C3 kept the wet belt. Same engine family as the Corsa and 208, same porous-belt failure mode, same advice — verify the 2024 oil-nozzle recall and belt service, or buy the hybrid. The ë-C3's weakness is efficiency honesty: Autocar saw 197 miles of range in town but 127 miles on faster roads, even in warm weather — a 35% swing that the missing trip computer makes worse (you just watch the range number melt). They never saw more than 86 kW from the "100 kW" charger. The launch was delayed by software bugs, and while those seem largely fixed, one owner comment thread describes infotainment crashes and dead regen above 95% charge — isolated, but noted. The ride is firmer than Citroën's old magic-carpet reputation, and the cabin is honest hard plastic. It's a city car; the motorway is tolerated, not enjoyed.
The social pulse is pragmatic rather than passionate: Italian owner roundups praising the running costs, UK long-term tests documenting the range swing with unusual candor, reader comments that love the LFP battery and grumble about thirst and software. Nobody's romantic about the C3 — they bought a price, and mostly they're happy with the car they got. The "Autonomie Urbaine" trim got a nod of respect for saying the quiet part out loud.
The value call: a 2025 ë-C3 is the sweet spot — post-launch software fixes, LFP durability, full incentive eligibility, and real-world range that covers a week of urban life. The hybrid 110 is the no-drama pick if you can't charge at home. Skip launch-era 2024 ë-C3s (verify software updates) and any belt-era PureTech without documented service — 2016–2020 C3 IIIs are the cheapest seats in the house but also the riskiest. Cross-shop the Dacia Spring (cheaper, cruder, Chinese-built) and the Renault 5 (nicer, thirstier for your wallet). For used money, a late C3 III at the right price with a fresh belt is honest transport.
The people's EV, with one engine to avoid.