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The Citroen C3 has been totally reinvented, and this is it - Citroen鈥檚 new budget competitor taking aim at some of the cheapest cars on sale today. Despite this, it鈥檚 one of the best small cars you can buy.

It鈥檚 available in all-electric form as the brilliant e-C3, but this review focuses on the petrol and hybrid models, simply known as C3. Confusingly, the old C3 remains on sale for a while - it鈥檚 been renamed C3 Origin.

This all-new model is built on a cheap set of components originally designed for developing countries. But with clever design, and by loading it with generous standard equipment, Citroen鈥檚 managed to make the C3 feel rather more than the sum of its parts. It鈥檚 like creatively decorating using exclusively IKEA furniture - the components might be cheap, but with some smart touches you can have a really effective result.

If you鈥檙e looking at the C3, chances are you鈥檙e considering other low-priced alternatives such as the Dacia Sandero, the Kia Picanto or even the outgoing Citroen C3 Origin.

The new C3 has a boxy body and rides high - like a compact SUV. This means it has plenty of interior space - two adults can sit comfortably in the rear, and the 310-litre boot is a very respectable size, comparing favourably with some hatchbacks costing much more.

The dashboard is also largely a triumph. Citroen鈥檚 managed to mask its use of inexpensive, scratchy materials with a fabric strip running across the middle that not only looks cool but brightens up what would otherwise be a sea of black.

The 10.3-inch infotainment screen may not be the most high-definition, or run the very latest software, but it does just about everything you鈥檇 reasonably want - and it鈥檚 bang up-to-date with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity allowing you to circumvent Citroen鈥檚 own interface if you so choose.

Comfortable seats, great visibility and a very clear digital screen for driver information are all great additions too.

The C3 is powered by one of two engines. At the entry level, there鈥檚 a 1.2-litre petrol engine which gets a five-speed manual gearbox - good for an easy 50mpg fuel economy. Performance is relatively modest with just 100hp on tap, but it鈥檚 much quicker than most cars of this price.

Later on in the C3鈥檚 life Citroen will launch a hybrid model. This also has 100hp, but gets an automatic transmission and should return even more impressive economy.

If this sounds like the budget model for you, then check out our best deals on the Citroen C3 - or find a great deal on another Citroen model. You can also browse our used Citroens for sale, and remember that when the time comes you can even sell your car right here on 莲花直播 through our network of trusted dealers.

The electric e-C3 may be the car stealing the headlines with its starting price, but don鈥檛 let that detract from the regular C3鈥檚 value proposition. With a starting price of less than 拢18,000, it鈥檚 only a couple of thousand pounds more than you鈥檇 pay for most city cars - which tend to have barely two-thirds of the power, much less space, far less standard equipment and nowhere near as much charm.

The exception to this would be Dacia, which offers a well-equipped and good-to-drive Sandero for less than the C3, though it鈥檚 not exactly brimming with personality.

The C3鈥檚 kit list is also significantly more modern than any current Dacia. The infotainment screen feels up-to-date, and features niceties like wireless smartphone mirroring. All models come with a full raft of safety equipment, and if you step up to the Max trim the C3 comes with big-car features like a wireless charging pad, tinted windows, and heated seats, steering wheel and windscreen.

Light and easy to drive, though not very fast or very fun

In town

The C3 feels like it was made for the city. You sit up much higher than in most cheap cars, for a start, and visibility out of the upright windscreen and large windows is pretty good all-round with just a small blind spot over your shoulder.

The 99hp petrol engine feels peppy at town speeds, but the five-speed manual gearbox does feel a little bit loose and baggy - a Dacia Sandero has a more precise shift. It鈥檚 the only gearbox on offer, at least until the C3 Hybrid arrives with its six-speed automatic.

The C3鈥檚 steering is super-light and makes short work of nipping into tight spaces or parking. It鈥檚 easy to judge the car鈥檚 extremities, too, as it鈥檚 pretty much a box. You even get rear parking sensors as standard, or a reversing camera on the higher trim level.

The best part, though, is the C3鈥檚 suspension, which has some clever hydraulic components built into it. It鈥檚 so forgiving that it easily soaks up any lumps, potholes or other road imperfections. It copes brilliantly with speed bumps, too.

On the motorway

The C3鈥檚 suspension makes it a very relaxing companion on the motorway - it deals with poorly surfaced roads better than many cars two or even three times the price. Getting it up to speed isn鈥檛 quite so serene, but with 100hp on tap the C3 is significantly more powerful than most entry-level cars of a similar price - think of the 75hp you get in a base Volkswagen Polo, or the 70hp of a Fiat 500 hybrid. This means it鈥檚 quicker to accelerate than those cars, and you have much more in reserve at the national speed limit.

The soft suspension, light weight and slab sides do mean that the C3 feels a little susceptible to cross winds and buffeting from larger vehicles, and the light steering means it can also feel a little twitchy. Both are perfectly acceptable compromises in a car this cheap.

On a twisty road

The C3鈥檚 light steering is pretty accurate and it grips surprisingly well in corners. However, the body leans a lot in the bends and there isn鈥檛 a lot of feedback about what the front wheels are doing - so you鈥檇 struggle to say it was much fun.

If you鈥檙e looking for a small car that鈥檚 really engaging to drive, you鈥檒l need something like a Suzuki Swift or a basic Mini - otherwise, the C3 is well up to the standards of other cheap cars.

Lots of space - and not much else

The Citroen C3 is pretty big for a cheap car, and if you鈥檙e comparing it to something like a Kia Picanto or Toyota Aygo X you鈥檒l find it positively palatial. The front seats are wide, comfortable and have enough adjustment for drivers of all sizes - though don鈥檛 expect anything beyond the usual fore/aft, backrest and height adjustment.

Storage in the front is pretty good, with two big cupholders and a phone shelf in the centre (with a wireless charging pad on higher trim levels), big door bins and a reasonable glovebox. Plus models don鈥檛 come with a centre armrest, but Max cars do and there鈥檚 a little extra storage under here. You can also leave things on the wide, fabric-covered shelf of the dash, though they won鈥檛 stay there under hard cornering.

Space in the back seats

Space for rear passengers is pretty good, especially next to the much smaller cars you鈥檇 be comparing the C3 against price-wise. The extra height of the C3鈥檚 boxy body means passengers can sit more upright, giving them more legroom, and so you can pretty easily squeeze four six-foot adults inside.

The central seat is really narrow, though, so you probably won鈥檛 fit three people abreast unless they鈥檙e all very skinny. The rear doors open nice and wide, and there are ISOFIX child seat mounts in the two outer rear seats. There are small door bins for rear passengers and, in models without a central armrest, access to the storage bin - but no cupholders or armrest.

Boot space

The C3鈥檚 310-litre boot compares very favourably to most cars of a similar price - take the Toyota Aygo X (231 litres), Dacia Sandero (328 litres) or Hyundai i10 (252 litres). It鈥檚 a deep rather than long space, with a substantial lip to hoof items over - and the rear seatbacks don鈥檛 leave a completely flat floor when you fold them down. Don鈥檛 go expecting any clever storage solutions in the boot, either - there鈥檚 no false floor, the trim feels rather unfinished, and there鈥檚 only one hook for a shopping bag.

Some corner-cutting evident, but the C3 feels really good inside for such a cheap car

The C3 has an attractively designed interior, which makes a nice change when talking about a budget car - some of this model鈥檚 alternatives really feel as though they only have a dashboard so that there鈥檚 something to hold the speedometer in place.

Material quality is uniformly inexpensive and feels it in places, especially lower down on the dashboard. However, most of what you touch feels like it鈥檚 been quite well screwed-together, and a swathe of fabric trim across the middle of the dashboard brightens up what would otherwise be a sea of black plastic.

The dash is dominated by a 10.3-inch touchscreen which features as standard equipment on both C3 trim levels. It鈥檚 the same size as the one that features on some of Citroen鈥檚 other cars, but has a less complex interface with fewer features - not necessarily a bad thing, as it feels simpler to use.

Some functions are a little awkward, but the good news is that the C3 comes as standard with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so you can bypass Citroen鈥檚 own interface if you prefer. This also provides you with navigation, which isn鈥檛 standard otherwise.

You get a discrete gauge cluster, which takes the form of a digital screen right at the top of the dashboard. It鈥檚 easy to read, but doesn鈥檛 have much in the way of functionality - you can鈥檛 get it to show data beyond basic trip computer functions, for example, where a Volkswagen Polo鈥檚 digital dashboard can display a full-screen map if you so desire.

The C3鈥檚 1.2-litre petrol engine doesn鈥檛 have any official fuel economy figures yet, but based on our fairly lengthy test drive we鈥檇 say that 50mpg is easy to achieve, with 55mpg possible if you have a light right foot.

CO2 emissions are a relatively unimpressive 128g/km, though, so the C3 doesn鈥檛 make the most cost-effective company car.

The forthcoming C3 Hybrid should have improved fuel efficiency courtesy of its electric motor, plus reduced emissions. We鈥檒l update this review once official figures become available, and of course once we鈥檝e had the chance to confirm them for ourselves.

The new Citroen C3 hasn鈥檛 been crash tested by Euro NCAP yet. The Indian-market model has been tested and scored very poorly, but for Europe Citroen has made some significant changes under the skin and to available safety equipment so we鈥檇 expect a better performance for the model you鈥檒l be able to buy - if not necessarily the full five stars.

All C3s do get the full roster of EU-mandated safety equipment, but the early-build test car we drove had all of them disabled so we can鈥檛 report on their effectiveness.

Citroen鈥檚 historic reputation for unreliable cars is quickly being quashed, with impressive performances for several models in the including outright victory for the C4 in 2023.

The C3鈥檚 platform may be new to Europe but has been out in other markets for some time, and being designed for developing areas of the world means a certain degree of ruggedness and repairability. The C3 is covered by Citroen鈥檚 standard three-year, 60,000-mile warranty - unlimited in the first two years.