Thanks to efficient engines the C3 is cheap to run, in particular the diesels which all qualify for cheap road tax. Insurance groups are low while Citroen servicing rates and parts are reasonably priced. Unfortunately the dealers don’t have the best reputation for customer care and often fare poorly in owners satisfaction surveys.

Every engine in the C3 range has low emissions and all the HDi units emit less than 120g/km of CO2, making them cheap to tax. However, special mention goes to the Airdream+ model, Citroen’s equivalent to the likes of Bluemotion and Econetic. Using the 1.6 HDi engine with 90bhp it emits just 99g/km of CO2 and so qualifies for free road tax.

It’s fair to say that Citroen doesn’t have the greatest of reputations when it comes to reliability with electrical problems a particular issue. The previous C3 suffered a series of recalls for issues such as suspension springs that could fail, problems with braking and a potential parking brake failure. The firm says that it is working to eliminate these kinds of problems, but it has claimed this in the past.

Only time – and miles – will tell whether the C3 is better built than before.