Citroën C3 Aircross SUV (2017 - 2024) Origins PureTech 110 S&S 5d Owner Review

The gearbox is notchy and the clutch is heavy, but otherwise it's a great design, with maximum space for minimum footprint, a super driving position, and (apparently) low running costs from the frugal and punchy 1.2 PureTech engine.

Until the wet timing belt swells and shreds, as they all do, in every Stellantis car that uses it, whether it's Citroen, Peugeot or Opel/Vauxhall. Then you're into 4 figures to replace the belt and clean the rubber out of the engine, if it's not already damaged by oil starvation, or wrecked by the belt snapping.

Then you've got a few years until it does it again. And again. And again.

Owners who have got lucky (so far) will smugly claim that it's down to regular servicing. But mine was already trashed at 5 years and 34,000 miles, with annual oil and filter changes with the (ever changing!) grade and specification of oil. One year it's 5W30, the next it's 0W20, then it's back to 5W30 again as Stellantis fiddles while the belts burn.

In principle, Stellantis / Citroen claim that there's now a lifetime warranty on the belt if you have a full service history detailing the oil and filter used. In practice, they will reject the claims on any pretence, as I found to my cost.

Don't risk it, no matter how good a deal it looks like. And don't trust that the belt has been changed, because it's a full day job, and no dealer is going to eat those costs while flipping a car. Just stay away from the car, the brand, and the group..