History
What if you could have the style and adventurous feel of a small SUV. Combined with the interior space and flexibility of a small MPV People Carrier? Back in 2021, it was a combination of virtues that many brands had promised. But which this car strove to deliver - the Citroën C3 Aircross, the first generation version of which was revitalised and redesigned early in 2021 to create the model we're going to look at here.
The French like practical, rational cars. Which is why brands from this nation were first to popularise the MPV, a most logical type of motor vehicle. They were early hatchback innovators, too, appreciating their extra practicality and functionality. And amongst the last to embrace the contradictory charms of the modern affordable family SUV. Why, French folk asked quite reasonably, would you want to take a supermini or family hatchback and, in pursuit of some mythical lifestyle orientation, make it heavier, clunkier, less efficient and less practical? Yet, usually, no more spacious or versatile? What though, if those downsides could be minimised and the SUV in question could offer all the interior versatility you used to only find in small supermini-based People Carriers? Well, that was always the thinking behind the C3 Aircross, first launched in 2017, then four years on refreshed with a new face, new tech and an easier-to-understand model range, creating the little crossover we look at here.
This, we were reminded at launch, was a car 'full of innovation'. Before you get too excited, perhaps expecting an old-school Citroën that follows the DS, GS and CX models of the Sixties and Seventies with ground-breaking drive systems and quirky suspension set-ups, we should set the record straight by making it clear that the 'technical innovations' being offered here were rather less revolutionary, really just distinctions of the modern-era Citroën kind, most of them cosmetic. Things like a bewilderingly large number of paint combinations, customisable exterior colour inserts, a class-leadingly large sunroof and, more usefully, 'modular' rear seats that recline and slide. All this is the sort of thing the modern SUV crowd wants and Citroën felt compelled to play to it - understandably so as it was a formula that had clearly worked with the original version of this car, over 340,000 C3 Aircross models having been sold prior to this updated version's introduction.
If you're familiar with the company's 2021-era model range, you can probably tell at a glance where the C3 Aircross fitted in. It was a smaller brother to the company's C5 Aircross model, but where that family hatchback-based contender targeted the likes of the Kia Sportage, Peugeot 3008 and Nissan Qashqai in the C-segment part of the SUV market, this smaller design had its sights set on supermini-based rivals like Nissan's Juke and Renault's Captur. You might, as we initially did, make the mistake of assuming this contender to be little more than a dressed-up C3 supermini in a pair of hiking boots, but actually, there's a lot more to it than that. Not least the fact that this Aircross variant sits on a wheelbase that's 60mm longer than a standard C3, which makes it significantly more spacious inside. In short, it's a small SUV with big ideas. Especially in this revitalised form, in which guise the car gained smarter looks, plump 'Advanced Comfort' seats, upgraded interior technology and more advanced driving aids. It sold until mid-2024, when it was replaced by a second generation model.
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