Louth Motors: Citroen C3 Aircross - your stylish and affordable 7-seater
The 7-seater is back with a twist
7-seaters were all the rage for a while and you were no one unless you had an MPV / people carrier. My, how we've changed. I am using anecdotal evidence now but I don't know anyone who owns one or is in the market for one.
My age and that of my peers is a major reason but where I live no one has one. It seems the SUV/Crossover shape is what we want and typically just 5 seats.
Our birth rate is dropping and so is the number of kids couples aspire to have. Also, and this was a factor when we had a 7-seater, do you really want to be driving other people's kids around and be unfortunate to be in an accident?
They were, and are, super practical but the market for them has shrunk and there are not a lot of manufacturers making them. Citroen are and the C3 Aircross is their offering.
They have bullseyed the design by giving it the SUV treatment and that’s the look prospective buyers will want. And as looks go it's very pleasing.
Citroen’s range of cars on offer are all easy on the eye and my home has purchased two recently, the C4 and the spacious/underrated C4X.
The C3 Aircross in the flesh impresses by the sheer size of it. It is huge and has a real presence about it. It’s more angular than the old model and that always seems to be the shift when a new car is launched with a swing from curvy to square or vice-versa.
It has a huge Citroen logo on the bonnet based on Citroens pride in the car both from a looks perspective and as a package. It has grown by 380mm over the C3 to accommodate the two third-row seats to make it the 7-seater.
It is still only 4,395mm in overall length and a credit to Citroen to fit the 7 seats in. Straight up, those two seats are for two small adults/early teenagers and my frame would not like a long journey back there.
When the seats are being used there’s no boot space worth talking about, but when not you get a practical 330 litres - the 5-seater version capacity is 460litres.
And remember how often will you be using the 7 seats making the C3 Aircross an ideal family car.
The C3, and by extension the C3 Aircross, were designed from the outset to be very competitive and Citroen has met that brief.
The C3 Aircross starts at €27,790 for the 5-seater version rising to €28,990 for the entry petrol 7-seater. That's with a 100hp engine. There's a 145 hp hybrid version as well as an all important all-electric version.
Only two trims are available Plus and Max and you pay about €2,600 more for the Max trim that additionally gives you front and rear parking sensors with a reversing camera, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, heated windscreen, heated driver and passenger seats, Blind Spot Detection, 10.25” central touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlayTM & Android Auto®, AM/FM Tuner, wireless smartphone charger, front Fog light, Bi-tone roof and a heated steering wheel.
For the extra money I’d try and get the Max trim for sure.
To be able to be so competitive Citroen has had to make some sacrifices. There's no paddle shifts on the auto hybrid model, no drive modes, no ability to turn off stop/start and no onboard digital user manual - you need to scan a code to download.
All models require you to insert a key to start it which is a bit of a pain for those used to it on the last C3 Aircross model. The tech is predominantly touch but thankfully there are buttons for the AC and heaters.
The steering wheel has the usual array of controls but if I owned a C3 Aircross I’d master the use of the voice control to avoid searching menus.
The materials are good and some nice accent/strip decals decorate the interior trying to be cool and funky which it carries off well enough but some of those hard plastic will scratch pretty soon. Shiny black never ages well and whilst it looks fine day one, it quickly loses its lustre from daily use.
The ride in the C3 Aircross is set up to be comfortable and softer due to the advanced comfort suspension and over some of our roads you’ll really appreciate that. Citroen does know how to make a comfortable car.
Some noise does get into the cabin though. The wind noise on the motorway is louder than expected as is the road and tyre noise. It’s not deafening but it is a sacrifice Citroen made to keep the price as low as possible.
The urban jungle is its playground where those issues don't really manifest there. It did roll a bit in the bends when exuberantly driven and the light steering is more suited to the city as opposed to the twisty rural roads. But overall the comfortable ride is desirable and for the price it feels better than some rivals. That main rival is the Dacia Jogger which is a 7-seater estate based car.
It undercuts the C3 Aircross on price and has a firmer ride if you prefer that but despite the C3 Aircross economies to meet a price it feels a more refined product and would be my choice of the two. The hybrid engine has adequate performance with 145hp on board and my only real gripe is the noticing of downward gear changes when coming to a stop which was not as smooth as expected or others.
Citroen is leading the way to the challenge of price that only the Chinese manufacturers seem to have mastered and produced a European car for European tastes.
If you're one of those drivers that needs a 7-seater - and the two smaller third-row seats at the back meet your passenger dimensions - then a C3 Aircross makes perfect sense, has the right looks & shape, is very comfortable and won’t damage your wallet too much.