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Cactus inspires bold new Citroen C3

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Citroen has unveiled its all-new C3 supermini, describing the car as ‘a fresh, bold and colourful B-segment, five-door supermini that delivers new levels of advanced comfort and personality to the sector’.

Replacing the original car that launched in 2002 and has sold 3.6 million examples since, the new C3 boasts a significant styling makeover clearly inspired by the C4 Cactus, including the distinctive ‘air bump’ body panels and the bold front end with a two-tier headlamp design.

The car is built on the PSA group’s ‘Platform A’ architecture that also underpins the C4 and the DS 3 of sister brand DS Automobiles. The C3 measures up at 3.99 metres in length, 1.75 metres wide and 1.47 metres high, with a wheelbase of 2.54 metres and a 300-litre boot.

A five-strong engine range will be offered – a trio of three-cylinder petrol units with power outputs of 67, 81 or 109bhp, and two BlueHDi diesels of 74 or 99bhp. PSA’s EAT6 fully automatic gearbox will be available as an option.

Citroen is heavily promoting the C3’s customization options, claiming that no previous model has offered such an extensive and coherent range of personalisation options and two-tone exterior colour schemes.

Nine body colours are available alongside three roof colours, which can be repeated on the fog lights, door mirrors, rear quarter panels and on the Airbump panels.

Inside there is a choice of four different designs, while the layout is designed to give an impression of spaciousness, the signature feature being the horizontal dashboard again inspired by the Cactus.

New technologies include ConnectedCAM Citroën, a camera with a wide 120-degree view mounted just behind the rear-view mirror. Boasting GPS and a 16GB internal memory, the camera records what the driver sees, and the driver can click a button to safely take photos while on the move, or capture videos of up to 20 seconds in length, for sharing on social media when the car is stationary.

In a collision, meanwhile, the video system will switch on automatically, providing up to 1.5 minutes of footage that can be used as evidence following an accident.

Other driving and safety aids available will include Mirror screen smartphone compatibility with the car’s seven-inch touchscreen, a reversing camera, hill-start assist, lane departure warning, blind-spot monitoring and a driver attention alert that suggests the driver takes a break after two hours of uninterrupted driving at speeds over 45mph.

According to Citroen CEO, Linda Jackson the New C3 has the qualities to give the brand new impetus, which is especially important as the previous model accounted for almost one in five sales in Europe. “A comfortable car with real personality, it is set to appeal to new customers looking for a modern car with character,” she says.

More details of the new C3 range and its UK specification will be released closer to the car’s on-sale date early in 2017.

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Andrew Charman
Andrew Charman
Andrew is a road test editor for The Car Expert. He is a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and has been testing and writing about new cars for more than 20 years. Today he is well known to senior personnel at the major car manufacturers and attends many new model launches each year.