The new Citroen C3 is on sale now, and it’s majoring on quirky looks, comfort and in-car technology. That’s good news for company car drivers who need something cheap to run that’ll still stand out in the crowded company car park.
Here’s what you’ll be interested in as a business user:
Efficient engine line-up
The lowest figures for running costs come from the BlueHDi diesels in the new C3. There’s a choice of 75hp and 100hp outputs, but all emit less than 100g/km, meaning private users will pay no road tax and company car drivers can benefit from low 18/19 percent BIK rates.
Citroen claims the most powerful diesel will return upwards of 75mpg, while the 75hp will – apparently – achieve 80mpg. It’s unlikely it’ll actually return this in the real world but it’s a good target to aim for.
The petrols won’t be subject to the three percent diesel surcharge for business users, and the most any of these emit in terms of CO2 emissions is 109g/km. This means BIK rates of 17 and 18 percent and lower purchase prices and leasing costs than the diesels.
In-car tech and comfort
The C3 is the first car in the world to come with a built-in dash cam that will enable drivers to capture footage at the touch of a button, be it for personal or insurance purposes in the event of an accident. It could prove a very useful piece of kit if you spend a lot of time on the road.
A touchscreen infotainment system – named Citroen Connect – comes with MirrorLink and Apple CarPlay to keep you entertained on the move, too.
The new C3 also features what Citroen calls its Advanced Comfort programme, which is basically the brand’s approach to making life driving the C3 as pleasant as possible. That means high levels of comfort, pleasant materials and impressive refinement, in theory.
Safety kit
Despite its compact size, the C3 comes with plenty of safety equipment you might expect to find on a big German saloon. These include lane departure warning, blindspot monitoring, speed limit recognition, hill start assist and a reversing camera.
If you cover thousands upon thousands of miles a year, extra safety kit like this could make a big difference and make things just a little easier. Some of these will likely be found on the options list though, which will bump up the price.
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