Citroen e-C3 Aircross Review

Introduction and Model History

So, where does the Aircross fit into the rest of the affordable electric car class? Well, it’s a bit bigger than the dinky e-C3 hatchback, and is intended to offer a more practical, family-focussed electric SUV(ish) offering while still keeping things compact and affordable – hence a starting price of £22,990. That’s some £7,000 cheaper than a Ford Puma Gen-E, by the way, and even undercuts the MG4, and even undercuts the Vauxhall Frontera (which shares the same platform and running gear) by around £500 - even though the e-C3 Aircross is a similarly roomy to all those alternatives. 

I don’t think it looks as big as it is, in photos, but at 4.39m long, the Aircross is a similar size to the MG4, VW ID.3 and other family hatchbacks, which gives you a good idea of the value you’re getting here in terms of practicality. It’s nearly 38cm longer than the C3, and it's quite a bit taller, too. I think it's still well proportioned, and I can see a few Oli-inspired details in there; the front end is the most obvious homage, with the sharply vertical nose and HUGE new Citroen logo. 

The colourful little trim inserts around the car unclip, too, and you can choose different ones if you want to make your car look a little more distinctive – or if you just fancy a change! Those roof rails will be able to cope with up to 200kg, which is enough for a roof tent, large roof box or a family-sized bike rack. Another benefit, I think, is that you get the rather lovely, dusky Monte Carlo blue paint with contrast black roof as standard, which makes a very nice change from white or black as the standard colours.

The downside is that the Citroen is a touch shorter range than the MG and Ford. WLTP range is currently a rather middling 188 miles, although a bigger battery is on the way and will bolster the e-C3 Aircross’ range up to 250 miles. 

Range, Battery and Charging 

The Citroen e-C3 Aircross uses the same basic bits as the Citroen e-C3, Vauxhall Frontera and Fiat Grande Panda, and that means a new 111bhp electric motor powering the front wheels along with a 44kWh or 54kWh battery pack, giving between 188- and 250-miles of official range. It’s just a shame that we won’t be getting the bigger battery Aircross in the UK until late in 2025.

The smaller battery is a lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery, which is less energy dense than the lithium-ion NMC batteries used in many of today’s electric vehicles, but it’s also cheaper to make and uses fewer rare-earth metals. LFP batteries are very common in today’s EVs, and are used in the MG4, Tesla Model 3, and all of the BYD models – including the BYD Dolphin, which is another rival to the e-C3 Aircross. You can find out about the pros and cons of NMC vs LFP batteries, right here.​

It's a bit tricky to make an accurate estimate of the e-C3 Aircross’ real-world range, as we’ve not spent enough time with it. However, we’d estimate that you’ll see around 120- to 160 miles depending on conditions.

Both of the e-C3 Aircross’s batteries have 100kW DC fast charging capability, which means the battery can get from 20 to 80 percent capacity in 26 minutes on a suitable rapid charger. Standard AC recharging can be done at up to 11kW, or plug into a normal 7kW home wallbox and the battery will be full in 7- or 9 hours depending on which battery you’ve got. 

Practicality and Boot Space 

Obviously, the bigger derriére on the C3 Aircross means more space and practicality inside, and if you go for one of the petrol models then you can even have the C3 as a seven-seater, which is really impressive stuff. Unfortunately, the electric e-C3 Aircross won't have the option of seven seats as it’s so hard to package them around the battery that’s tucked away in the floor of the car.   

There’s a good amount of space in the second row of seats, though, and the seat backs recline in a 60/40 split. which will be a hit with the kids.

Even if you can’t have that third row of seats, you can have a massive boot – it’s 460 litres, which is around the same as a Kia Niro EV, and is 75-litres more than in a Volkswagen ID.3. There’s no ‘frunk’ but there is a variable-height boot floor, which is good for giving oyu somewhere to store your cables out of sight. How good is that boot space?! Especially at this price… Nice one, Citroen.

Interior, Design/Styling and Technology 

Up front is what I call a dashboard, and what Citroen is calling the ‘C-Zen lounge’. It’s designed so the driver and front passenger have a clean and uncluttered view forwards, with a 'Head-Up Display' that, to be honest, I initially thought was a normal readout. It's not beamed onto the windscreen, as with most head-up displays, but instead it's a projector that beams the speed and a few other useful bits of info on glossy black section between the top of the dash panel and the bottom of the windscreen. It's cheaper than a normal digital screen, but it works really well; so much better than not having a readout behind the wheel at all (something I really hated on the Volvo EX30). 

Every version of the e-C3 Aircross gets a 10.25-inch, colour infotainment touchscreen, angled slightly towards the driver. As you’d expect, it's got wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so you can use all your phone's map and media apps on the car's screen. There’s also ChatGPT built in, just in case you need to know the name of Henry VIII’s third wife while on a journey. Or, realistically, what this means is that the voice command system in the e-C3 will learn your accent and manner of speaking, and improve over time. 

The ’Advanced Comfort’ seats are really great, too – very cushy, yet with decent side support. There’s height-adjustable seat- and steering wheel movement, too, so most drivers will be able to find a natural-feeling position. 

There are no Euro NCAP crash test results for the Citroen e-C3 Aircross, yet, nor for the e-C3, Vauxhall Frontera or Fiat Grande Panda that all use the same ‘Smart Car’ platform. There are a decent amount of standard safety features, at least, including lane-keep assist, low-speed emergency braking that can sense pedestrians and cyclists as well as cars, traction control, speed limit recognition, six airbags, and two sets of Isofix points in the rear seats.

Motors, Performance and Handling  

Now, we need to talk about that motor, because 111bhp doesn’t sound like a lot. And, in practice, well… It doesn’t feel like a lot, either. At 12.9 seconds to 62mph this really does feel quite slow, although I still think it’s absolutely fine up to about 50mph; it’s after that when you start to notice that it’s quite sluggish. You’re not going to want to overtake anything in the 44kWh e-C3 Aircross, that’s for sure, but you feel confident enough in everyday stuff. The bigger battery car will get a bit more power and will probably manage 0-62mph in a scorching 11 seconds (or something like that), so we’ll have to wait and see what that’s like to drive. 

While the light steering and lethargic performance is rather uninspiring in the e-C3 Aircross, it is at least comfortable. Citroen’s clever Advanced Comfort suspension gets hydraulic bump stops (like little cushions on the top of the suspension struts) for an impressively comfy ride. Yeah, okay, so I do think there’s a fair amount of body lean, but the way this thing wafts over speed bumps and soaks up potholes makes up for it. 

I would like more adjustable brake regen’ though. It’s very mild and easy to get used to, but there’s no one-pedal mode, nor the convenient, paddle-controlled levels of regen’ that you get on the Hyundai Inster – a similarly-priced yet longer-range rival for the e-C3 Aircross, if you can live with the smaller interior. 

Running Costs and Pricing 

The Citroen e-C3 Aircross costs from £22,990 for the entry-level Plus trim, which still gets the 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment, nice textiles around the interior, 17-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights and daytime running lights, privacy glass for the rear windows, heated and electrically-folding side mirrors, air-conditioning, cruise control, rear parking sensors and a reversing camera. Blimey, you can’t knock that for value, can you? Mind you, lots of people will step up the e-C3 Aircross Max trim for £24,990 as it adds automatic wipers, wireless phone charging pad, heated seats and a leather-trimmed steering wheel. Currently, Citroen’s monthly finance deals are pretty good, with a variety of offers including very low deposit deals that bring the e-C3 Aircross in at around £360 per month, or with a healthy £5000 deposit or part-ex you can get monthly costs down to around £250 quite easily.  

Verdict

The Citroen e-C3 Aircross is fantastic value for money given the space and equipment on offer, but that range does hamper it quite a bit next to most rivals. It’ll be interesting to see how the bigger battery model stacks up on costs when that arrives, as I suspect it’ll be the more popular option. Even so, I reckon this smaller battery model is a fantastic school-run/daily commuter, provided you’re happy to live with that real-world range the rest of the time. If not? Well, it’s an ideal choice for two-car households that have another longer-range vehicle for the weekend and holiday trips. 

Like the Citroen e-C3 Aircross? Try these...

Vauxhall Frontera Review

Dacia Spring Review

​

MG ZS EV Review