As the lightest car in this year’s tests, with the lowest towing limit, the Citroën C3 isn’t suitable for towing a full-size caravan. But for trailer-tent owners it certainly has something to offer.
At a steady 60mph, we found the Citroën entirely stable. Even 10mph beyond the legal limit, our drivers only noticed very slight movements.
The 30-60mph time of 14.5 seconds is respectable, but in reality we found it took a heavy right foot to maintain motorway speeds into a headwind, even with a trailer weighing just 600kg.
Modest engine power didn’t prove a problem in the hill-start test, though. The conventional handbrake held the car still with no need to yank it on with force, and the C3 pulled to the top of the slope cleanly.
As a car to live with every day, the C3 isn’t as much fun as a Ford Fiesta or a Renault Clio. It rides softly, but we’d prefer better control and less lean in corners.
The boot is quite small – this is a supermini after all – but a Honda Jazz or Skoda Fabia have more room for bags. There’s a compact spare under the boot floor and no warning in the handbook against towing with it fitted.
Running costs should be low if the official combined fuel economy figure of 76.3mpg is anything to go by. However, a list price of £17,505 is quite high for such a small car, although What Car?‘s research suggest healthy discounts are available.