This is the new Citroen C3, which the French carmaker touts as the new B-segment benchmark. It replaces the cute and round original that was quite a radical design when it was unveiled back in 2002. Citroen has sold two million examples since then, and the range saw new members over the years, such as the oddball C3 Pluriel and more recently, the funky C3 Picasso MPV.
Launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, the C3 has one of the smaller footprints in the supermini class, despite growing marginally in length and width (it’s 5cm shorter than Corsa and 9cm shorter than 207 and Clio). The wheelbase is unchanged but Citroen claims good cabin space and class-leading 300 litres of boot volume.
It’s obvious that the new C3 is a reinvention of the old car rather than a rethink, as it retains the curved roofline and glasshouse its predecessor was known for. What’s new is the ‘Zenith windscreen’ which stretches so far back, it cuts off near the car’s B-pillar. If you’ve ever been in the C4 Picasso MPV, you’ll understand the appeal of this large glass area – the view out its truly panaromic, perfect for sightseeing and it gives the cabin an airy feel. Should you get tired of the light, there’s a sunblind and tinting for the topmost part of the windscreen. The cabin is funky yet classy, not always the case with imaginative French designs.
Four petrol engines are on the list – 61bhp 1.1, 75bhp 1.4, 95bhp 1.4 and a 120bhp 1.6 – the latter two belong to the BMW-PSA Prince family. The French make some of the best diesel engines, and the C3′s three HDi engines with Citroen’s Diesel Particulate Filter System ranging from 70bhp to 110bhp will be the main sellers in Europe. Every range must have a headlining green model these days, and the Airdream+ edition (90bhp 1.6HDi) emits just 99g/km of CO2 – the first Citroën to dip below 100g/km. To further promote economical driving, most versions feature a Gear Efficiency Indicator, which alerts the driver of the optimum moment to change gear.
More photos after the jump.
Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.
1st !!! Very cute car lar….
First!
wow, the black colour look stunning@
Does it suitable in our climate?
wow… my dream car…
looks much better than the car it replaces. nice engine choice too. the 95bhp 1.4 would be great here… if citroen can ckd it. will be a great replacement to the discontinued 206 here which had 75bhp. as a cbu, it could be hard to move sufficient numbers to be significant… unless of course citroen are looking at being niche. overall, i like the design. the shape may be from the earlier version but imho, citroen has been successful with the car's facelift… it is almost like a whole new car.
1st…..The accesories shop will charge more for the windscreen tinted,kekeke…Anyway,q a good looking car…
Yay, now my new hobby will be standing in the overhead bridge, looking for women in low cut shirts passing under the bridge in that car!!!!!!!!!!!!
Better still, I'll install CCTV's
erkk…. any sun visor ?. Used sun block…..
nice!!but rather feminie~
The Coupe version DS3 is much cooler!!
it make my 308 looks old~~ sigh…
can beat the hell out of Mini cooper~~
very pretty interior
Citroen was known for their radical design. I'm expecting it..
huhu… imagine its 12 in the noon driving this car and stuck on a massive traffic jam.. sure the front driver n passenger will be sun burn…
Will it be dangerous for the driver if the car turned TURTLE !!!!!
TURBOfans said,
The Coupe version DS3 is much cooler!!
it make my 308 looks old~~ sigh…
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It make my SAVVY looks like a SHIT
citroen had quite an futuristic design.unfortunately in msia the brand itself sounds wrong to ppl (especially the chinese).sum will get wat i mean
you'll be a roasted chicken lah in that car in malaysia hot weather. hahaha
just like magnifier :p
you’ll be a roasted chicken lah in that car in malaysia hot weather. hahaha
just like magnifier :p
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very true! haha.
good news for tint shops..
continental cars always stunning…….=)
Savvy replacement model..
Maybe I would only buy the toy car because it is very cute but it is too hot for us in Malaysia if we buy the real model.
wow just imgine to tint the front screen.. sun tann anyone
Citroen has been in Malaysia for so long now..
Paul/Danny,
Can you able to write more about this brand and the line-ups in Malaysia,
How these cars rated in term of handling, performance, safety, maintenance cost and part availability?
I am impress with C4 coupe but dare not get it as ppl always got not confidence on this brand.. FYI, Citroen did really well in Rally..right?
My friend used to drive the ZX and regret bought it.. sold it after can't stand with those repairs..
this is a fantastic car….people who have negative comments about it just go and shoot urself
whoa wicked windscreen..
definetly a car for those countries who lack sun light…
not sure about tropical countries, thought, all we want to do is stay out of the light..
that has to be one heck of a solar protector.. (not to mention the cost of cutting a tint that huge..)
50% area windscreen need tinted black
c3 the latest model from the legend of citroen ax which is known as proton tiara in malaysia..
It looks like a mid-age uncle with a bald forehead…..
It'll cost a pretty penny to replace that windscreen.
::off topic::
subaru is back into the rally business.. jumping in to the IRC boat after leaving WRC. woohoo..
The Reader said,
December 7, 2009 @ 10:28 pm
It looks like a mid-age uncle with a bald forehead….
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Pala dongga..
wat if the car flips over in an accident with all that glass shaters in ur body…not wise….and doesnt look safe either…bt looks great!
Bigger windscreen means un-safer? Read the newspaper today and saw 1 accident about metal piece falling down from bridge and hit the car… If hit this… sure the people in the car say byebye to the world… haha
Nabill, I've not heard Citroen can turn-turtle. Try Google and prove me wrong.
I owned a Citroen Picasso before but didn't last me long. Overall the car was great to drive, cheap to maintain i.e. service every 20,000km but not until the gearbox fail. Try Google it and you'll see most Citroen fails on their gearbox – and still is after all these years!
Seriously, if not because of their gearbox legacy issues, I'd again buy another Citroen.
By the way, Nabill, I driven my Citroen Picasso at 120km/h taking a sweeping corner without issue – didn't turn-turtle
It was fun too…
And top speed, 200km/h is effortless on long straight stretch…
it take ages to reach our shore…………sport rims remind me new city or civic…………cool car…….
redwings said,
December 7, 2009 @ 9:36 pm
My friend used to drive the ZX and regret bought it.. sold it after can’t stand with those repairs.
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Which ZX? Where did your friend sent for services and repairs?
Had C5 ever since it hit our shores. Never had problems with services and repairs…except nowadays. What do you expect from a car that had hit 500k on the mileage? Had problems with the tranny a few times. I had a halucination once when i thought it could lift up it's skirt and cross the water crossings. Heheh. My fault then. Apart from that, the car was good. Very nice to drive. I'd go for this car anytime for comfort than Merc or Beemer.
Paul, Gear Efficiency Indicator, is it for the manual version?
Drive one of these baby in Malaysia will instantly turn the driver into a nicely roasted Chicken. Yam…
Hmm it some how look like a cross breed between the C5 and C4. C4 front and compressed C5 Rear
wow fantastic. rear-end, front-end, rims, shape.
Ya Know the Ferrari 575 Superamerica has that funky folding glass roof, and …the glass itself is kinda special cuz it uses electricity or sumthin to change its opacity from dark/opaque to transparent (electrochromic…thnx wikipedia!)…. its been a long time ady, y d tech has not been implemented in other cars? izzit really dat expensive…, or we could use normal chromatic lenses like our specs hehe, when its bright it'll turn dark by itself,
(http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-2006/2006-Zagato-Ferrari-575-GTZ-Mr-Hayashi-1024×768.jpg) ….you blokes may want to check this out!
575 GTZ by Zagato , prolly his best work, cuz its a ferrari! (You bastard! never design any cheap production car!)
This Car looks Awesome, altho the DS3 is Awesomous Maximus n fantabulous
It Looks well built, altho my family had a bad experience with our 96 ZX (mind you,it was friggin fast 2.0!) last time, spare parts was friggin expensive, the car was problematic and we ran into a 'Callman' in Taiping , some idiot throw a ROCK to our windshield (I'm not JoKING!, crack it and suddenly our of nowhere a tow truck came…
If History repeats itself .. God knows how long I'd have to wait and how much money to cough out to fix the bloody windscreen….
Wow nice .. I like ..
Sure getting hot in malaysia and 1 more thing, amois and nyonyas beware of pranking eyes if you wear short or hotpants or mini skirts. Hahaha.
Wow… will burn your forehead in afternoon hehe..nice!
like a flowerhorn fish! Dahi luas! But nice design.
more money for your tinted.. hahahhaha
nice engine for optimal needs..
windscreen is too big… may not suitable for our weather…
ppl in europe may want more sun light to make them warm, but for us maybe the other way round…
if Mazda 3 got bigger smile face…
this one look like uncle with no front hair….
Nasib baik the name is C3, wonder will Najib allow C4 to be sold in Malaysia? lol
Aiyo..dont think will suit our tropical climate….very difficult to drive under hot glaring sunny day…how la ?…If tint, later kena card……
Looks like kepala uncle botak tengah
now u can see if something is fallin from above………..
this one tinting is going to cost a bomb….ha!
cute car…
nice rims…
one damn nice looking car
Looks like uncle botak tengah..
Fantastic for watching raindrops or even snow falling! Or just lean down and enjoy the view under a pedestrian bridge.
I'm sure they have an extra sliding roof cover under the glass in case the sun got too hot. They are not stupid!
I always love sunroofs, closer to the outdoors!
one thing for sure – the windscreen is the biggest component alone in the car.
brilliant!!
If wonder what happens when a big tree knock onto the roof.
i'm always a sucker for small agile cars and this one is brilliant!
if u guys are so worried about getting damage to this car, this means u are a bad driver
Monfere.Blogspot.Com said,
December 8, 2009 @ 10:59 am
If wonder what happens when a big tree knock onto the roof.
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don't be dumb…you think normal car roof can withstand a big tree falling on it?
kelantanese said,
December 8, 2009 @ 3:07 pm
Monfere.Blogspot.Com said,
December 8, 2009 @ 10:59 am
If wonder what happens when a big tree knock onto the roof.
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don’t be dumb…you think normal car roof can withstand a big tree falling on it?
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5 years ago, a thick trunk as thick as my body knock onto my father's 2002 Kia Sportage outside Hospital Kuala Lumpur. My father's Sportage was dented but he did not suffered any injury and his Sportage also saved some cars behind.
In China, a truck fell on its side and crushed a Chinese VW. Amazingly all the VW occupants survived even though the roof was almost flattened. French car may not survive but German car can.
5 years ago, a thick trunk as thick as my body knock onto my father’s 2002 Kia Sportage outside Hospital Kuala Lumpur. My father’s Sportage was dented but he did not suffered any injury and his Sportage also saved some cars behind.
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the cars frame is what gives the roof strength not the roof skin which is just thin as paper sheet metal. dont get confused between the two. many conti cars also coming with glass roof these days too, still safe because the glass is thick and tempered and the frame is still there surrounding.
and no offense 2 u but trunk as thick as a human body is not really such a big tree. in my work ive seen truly big trees fall and trust me no car roof going to withstand that.
MADBOY said,
December 8, 2009 @ 8:59 am
Nasib baik the name is C3, wonder will Najib allow C4 to be sold in Malaysia? lol
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C4 was here for sometimes already…
Easier to capture your face on traffic camera.. hahaha
But yes.. imagine if the glass got stoned.
wow!! such a nice car.. but surely above 100k.
sapa yang beli kereta ni kena parking bawah bumbung, takut kena tahi burung tak sedap mata memandang. pastu kalau pecah windscreen ni memang payah nak ganti…
x panas ke???
ni kalo anta tinted msti kene charge lebih ni…
pastu mlm2 kalo jalan kat kubur jgn la pandang atas…haha