Citroën C3 Aircross

You know the story: everyone wants SUVs, everyone makes SUVs, it's out of the question for Citroën not to take its share of the cake. So arrives at the end of 2017 the C3 Aircross, a B-segment SUV with my faith good man looks which, compared to the ostensibly dynamic tenors of the segment, was a little out of place. A little over three years and 330,000 copies later, the usual restyling is coming to an end: on the program, a few technical developments and (above all) a new muzzle, heralding a new state of mind. Direction the gorges of the Ardèche to discover it in detail.

I immediately liked the C3 Aircross. Finally, let's say it had my sympathy: faced with the R/ST/RS/N/S/[…]-Line overflowing unnecessarily with tricks supposed to make a small SUV as aggressive as a super sports car, the little Citroën displayed a line simple, with soft curves and bright colors. In short: he was straight in his boots, uninhibited about what he had to offer. And he had things to offer; the first of them being above all a super spacious and modular cabin with a sliding bench seat, a folding passenger seat, storage space everywhere and everything. The proposal was consistent with the spirit of Citroën at the time, but was never really understood by customers: 330,000 units is a good score, but still far behind the Peugeot 2008 or Renault Captur. The brand's designers have therefore set about correcting the situation for this second round, by seeking a more tense, more expressive style, in short, more in line with the expectations of customers in the category.

What is changing?

Guess what ? The style changes. More specifically, two important new features should be noted, the first being this completely redesigned front end. To stick to the brand's latest creations, this new C3 Aircross takes up this idea of ​​a grille with rushes separating at the ends (I absolutely can't describe this thing on paper, but it looks roughly like this: >–^ –<) (and then, at worst, you only have to look at the CXperience, the 19_19 or the new C4 and C5 X to understand what I want to tell you). In addition, the shield opens further and visually widens thanks to a vertical chevron grille pattern.

The second concerns the personalization offer. Outside, the "punctual" (the small touches of color on the front spoiler, the mirror shells and the frame of the third side window) can be dressed in black, white, orange or blue -it is interesting to note here that the last two colors are “anodized”, with a matte and satin finish. The roof can always be adorned with black or white, new rims are available, as well as three new colors: Khaki Grey, Voltaic Blue and Blanc Banquise. Inside, four atmospheres are offered: base, Urban Blue, Metropolitan Graphite and Hype Grey, the last three receiving the super comfortable Advanced Comfort seats that we are starting to see everywhere in the range. Ah, and the center screen gains an inch.

What does it change ?

On a daily basis, very little. I was able to drive this C3 Aircross with the two petrol units, the PureTech 110 in manual gearbox and the PureTech 130 associated with the EAT6 automatic gearbox. Going from 110 to 130 will cost you €2,400, €2,400 which could be much better used elsewhere (with occasional and interior ambiences, you can make some nice configs): the 110 hp is laaaargely sufficient and, although its gearbox control is a rather crazy blur, we have fun making it take turns. Conversely, the 130 hp EAT6 seemed to me (as always with this gearbox) to be lazy in shifting the maximum gears as soon as possible, leaving us with this strange feeling of sailing in constant under- diet. Level consumption, I noted 5.8 l / 100 hp with the 110 hp and 7.1 l / 100 km with the 130 hp.

Nothing surprising either in the passenger compartment, apart from the Advanced Comfort seats, which are still exquisitely soft. The modularity is there…provided you type in the high-end “Shine Pack” starting at €24,800; otherwise, you won't have a sliding bench seat or folding passenger seat, even by digging into the options. Too bad also that the glazed sunroof, always very pleasant, is also available in Shine Pack…against 850 € additional. Not cool, this policy!

What changes completely, on the other hand, is the perception of the car, and I'm afraid I don't find this restyling quite to my liking: I find that this new front end doesn't go well with the rest of the body. Apart from the front bumper, the “new” C3 Aircross takes up all the bodywork of phase 1 with its reassuring volumes and its very soft shapes, which the sharp side of this new beak completely breaks. The coherence of the general design is strongly impacted, and I take for example the hooves at the bottom of the shields: at the front, we have something very sharp, very angular; at the rear, however, we find something much softer, more rounded, with these three black plastic bubbles (tribute to the Airbumps incomprehensibly absent from the sides?). Not crazy.

The interior follows the same trend: before, you could have beige seats with orange touches everywhere (steering wheel, air vents, seats and so on) or caramel TEP combined with a very becoming houndstooth ; not anymore. In fact, the most original atmosphere is the one photographed in blue, the rest navigating between black and gray. This evolution of colors & materials follows that operated outside: finished, the oranges, the blues, the fiery reds, make way for more “mature”, deeper, more nuanced shades; a trend that I had already seen on the new Fiat 500, for example. The “color packs” follow the same pattern by being more discreet, more rewarding.

It's certain: the C3 Aircross has changed. Take your beloved cousin who comes back to see you after graduating from business school: yes, he really hasn't changed that much, but you feel that something has faded in him. This kind of innocence that he kept in him gave way to a more “mainstream” side, more in tune with his other comrades and, above all, with demand. Basically, he hasn't changed, and you totally recognize the guy you've shared so much with. What has evolved is both more visible and deeper: it is less voluble, less spontaneous, less exuberant. This restyled C3 Aircross is the same. Wanting to blend in, isn't that ultimately a way to make yourself less…interesting?