When Citroen left South Africa in 2016, it left quite a sad note in the heart of many South Africans, me being one of them.
I remember in grade 8 there was a matric student who drove a C2 and the compact slick design of the vehicle excited my senses and I definitely promised myself that someday, I would drive a Citroen.
However, the exit was very short-lived because Citroen is a car brand that has won SA’s hearts.
Two years later, the Citroen brand relaunched in SA, and it brought with it three new models, C3, C3 Aircross and the flagship C5 Aircross.
Citroen South Africa, a member of the Peugeot Citroën South Africa group which includes Peugeot, under the leadership of charismatic MD, Xavier Gobile, has an array of plans to tackle the likes of Volkswagen, Renault and other brands that had a share of the spoils while Citroen was out of the country.
Now that we are done with the history lesson, we can focus on the C3 in Feel guise that I recently had the pleasure of driving.
First impressions? Yes, the car definitely is a breath of fresh design for its segment, that two-tone look with the red roof makes the vehicle an eye-catcher, the body colours are offered in 3 assortments, Polar White, Sand and Platinum Grey. We also see the return of the air-filled bumps with the scratch-proof surface first witnessed from the C4 Cactus but this time for some reason they really look neat.
Stepping into the inside, you witness the very simplistic designs, the monolithic dashboard with hints of red inside really provide a city slick feel to the vehicle.
The seats are very comfortable and offer optimum support, however, they don’t look as fine as they feel.
There is an easy-to-use 7-inch touchscreen that carried its functions well. The system incorporates Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Bluetooth.
The C3 comes equipped with a 1.2-litre naturally-aspirated three-cylinder engine with 66 kW of power and 118 Nm of torque mated with a five-speed manual transmission.
The manual gearbox feels a bit sluggish off the line, however, it really comes to the party once you get into its sweet spot. It requires the driver to build up revs before undertaking passing prowess – the range-topping C3 Shine with its turbocharged powerplant should address the issue.
Dislikes
- The fabric interior looks a bit dated
- Sluggish acceleration
Likes
- Beautiful, Stylish and breath of fresh air for its segment
- Boot space is quite good
- All-round everyday car that you can learn to love
What I think
The C3 is an overall great car, it really represents the millennials and gen Z’s need to stand out in the crowd and have our own identity(me being a millennial myself), it looks right at home in places you would find them. tarting at R239 000 it’s a great way to move from your starter pack to more space and fun. I definitely approve.
This article first appeared on https://whipdt.wordpress.com/