Citroen C3 review - MPG, running costs & CO2 emissions

The Citroen C3 is all about cheap motoring, so it would be a shame if it was merely cheap to buy but cost a lot to run. Thankfully, that shouldn’t be the case, because this time around there’s a choice of frugal petrol, mild-hybrid engines and an electric e-C3 model.

While full fuel-efficiency figures for the petrol-powered models are yet to be confirmed, the 1.2-litre engine and its mild-hybrid counterpart have both been used in various Citroen models and by other brands under parent company Stellantis, such as Peugeot and Vauxhall, with very efficient figures.

For the first time, there’s an electric Citroen C3, which is badged the Citroen e-C3. This gets a decent 199-mile on-paper range, which is likely to translate to around 180 miles in the real world for most drivers. 

How efficient is the Citroen C3 in the real world?

When we drove the electric Citroen e-C3 at its launch, we sampled a mix of fast country B-roads, urban driving and occasionally pushed the car hard, too, but achieved a very respectable 174-mile range. This bodes well for most drivers, and it should be possible to get more miles out of it with a relaxed driving style. However, the lack of a heat pump to keep the battery at an optimum operating temperature – even as an option – will reduce the range by an additional 10% in colder temperatures.

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How much will the Citroen C3 cost in tax?

As an electric vehicle, the Citroen e-C3 is eligible for free annual VED (road tax) until the rules change in 2025, after which point it will be charged at the standard rate. The rest of the C3 range is charged at the standard rate. If you’re considering the C3 as a company car, the best model to go for will be the e-C3 because its zero emissions status puts it in the lowest BiK (Benefit-in-Kind) tax group.

What will the Citroen C3 cost to insure?

Insurance groups are yet to be confirmed for the Citroen C3, but while we wouldn’t expect it to cost a lot to insure, the old C3 did sit between groups 13 and 19 out of 50, which is high for a supermini. Electric cars also tend to be more expensive to insure, so with that in mind, we’d expect the e-C3 to sit in the highest grouping of the C3 range – for context, its larger e-C4 sibling sits between groups 22 and 24, and we’d expect the e-C3 to sit slightly below this, though nothing is yet confirmed.