Automotive

Citroen's new C3 inherits distinctive airbumps from bigger brother

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The new Citroen C3 can be customized to within an inch of its life
The Citroen C3's styling draws on hints from the C4 Cactus
A panoramic sunroof is available on the C3
The roof can be had in a different paint finish to the body
The two-tone paint finish extends to the roof, foglight surround and wing mirrors
Airbumps feature on the side of the C3
There are four different interior packages available on the C3
The horizontal dashboard is designed to make the cabin feel wider
Some of the cabin detailing is taken from the Cactus' cabin
Contrast stitching and different material finishes are available on the C3
The center console has plenty of room for bottles, phones and wallets
Citroen has lavished plenty of attention on the cabin detailing 
Citroen has given the car a big glovebox
The central touchscreen controls infotainment and climate control 
The seats have been designed to cut down on uncomfortable impacts from the suspension
Airbumps strike again 
Citroen is at its weird and wonderful best with the new C3
The roof and body can be finished in different colors
Some of the two-tone detailing on the C3's exterior 
The C3 badge has even come in for some attention
There's 300 liters of bootspace in the C3
Even the airbumps have come in for some styling attention
The C3's taillights have 3D detailing 
The two-tier headlamp treatment from the C4 Cactus have made it onto the C3
The C3 might look a bit tough, but it's not a crossover
The C3 faces off against the VW Polo and Peugeot 208
A look at some of the detailing on the C3's exterior 
The C3's dashboard is attractive, even in brown and black.
There are four different interior finishes 
We can only presume this was taken by a friendly bird
There are nine paint colors available 
The new Citroen C3 can be customized to within an inch of its life
Pinstripe detailing on the new C3
The C3's rugged rear end
Those wheels have come from the C4 Cactus
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Having introduced airbumps on its quirky C4 Cactus, Citroen is rolling them out on some of its more mainstream models. The new endlessly-customizable C3 draws heavily on its bigger brother's design, right down to the stretch of plastic panels designed to protect against errant doors and shopping trolleys.

From the outside, the C3 will be instantly familiar to anyone who's laid eyes on the C4 Cactus. Citroen's funky two-tiered headlamps make an appearance here, albeit in a slightly more compact form. There's also plastic cladding on the wheelarches, which blends into the front bumper for a pseudo-crossover look, even though the chances of anyone taking their C3 off-road are slim-to-none.

Forget about faux-crossover toughness, this is a car designed to handle the urban jungle. With that in mind there are those airbumps running along the side of the car, ready to deflect any errant shopping trolleys or car doors that would otherwise ruin the paintwork. This time, the thermoplastic polyurethane panels can be finished with red or white detailing, in keeping with the rest of the car's fully customizable character.

The C3's dashboard is attractive, even in brown and black.

It's not just the exterior that has taken its inspiration from the Cactus, the C3's interior has nicked some of its bigger brother's charming design details as well. With leather straps instead of traditional door pulls and the same pared-back center console, there's no doubting the family resemblance.

Under the hood, Citroen will be offering three gasoline and two diesel engines, all of which are paired with a manual gearbox as standard. There's also an EAT6 automatic gearbox available, but that's almost guaranteed to ruin the fun. The three-cylinder gasoline engines will put out 68, 82 and 110 hp (51, 61 and 82 kW), while the diesel engines will generate 75 and 110 hp (56 and 75 kW).

On the technology front, buyers can use Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to connect their phones to the seven-inch touchscreen. The C3 also sees the debut of a new ConnectedCAM system, which allows drivers to record images and video from their drives. If those drives finish in disaster it also switches on automatically, recording footage from 30 seconds before and 90 seconds after an accident, just like the system in Cadillac's CT6.

The C3's rugged rear end

When it comes to customization, C3 buyers can mix the nine paint colors on offer with a range of two-tone finishes. There are also four different interior packages available, each with different colored stitching and dashboard finishes.

So far there's no word on how much the car will cost, but pricing for the current model starts at around £11,280 (US$15,100) so expect to pay a similar amount for the new model. You can also expect to pay a healthy premium depending on which of the color packages you pick on the spec sheet.

Source: Citroen

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