[ltz.lawya]

Hey everyone!



I picked up my C3 Auto in early December, and I’ve been dailying it thus far. Clocked well over 2,000kms (odo stands at 2.3k now), and I’ve finished the first service. Thought I’d share my views on the car here since I’ve done enough miles to get a decent idea of the car, and I hope this review from an owner helps prospective buyers make an informed decision since there genuinely isn’t enough content out there on this beautiful machine.

I’ll break this review down into a few parts - 


Why C3 AT?

I drove the C3 Turbo MT after seeing reviews on here, especially the one by Sri Sri 90. The fact that you could get a hatch that is a blast to drive under 10lak, was interesting enough for me. I TD’ed the C3 Turbo-MT in mid-2024, and while the car was fun, it severely lacked in features.

The plan to get one was temporarily on hold, when one day I got news from my Citroen Sales rep that the C3 AT was incoming with a 6spd TC AT, Projector Lamps, and a much-needed multi-information display instead of the cheap-looking display they already had. Electric mirrors were a nice addition too. 

Got the news and I made my booking soon enough, much before the actual announcement was even out.

Long story short - it met pretty much most of my requirements. 
Fast and Fun hatch - check.
Proper AT - check.
Features I need (Projector Lamps, Auto AC, Rear Wash & Wipe, Usable MID, Electric Mirrors - check.
Practical and Affordable - check.

Other alternatives I considered within my 15lak budget included -


1. Ignis (Fun, but I needed a proper AT)
2. 
i20 N-Line(Expensive, Poor Mileage, not-so-fun DCT)
3. 
Altroz 1.5D - I considered this despite being a Manual purely out of my love for diesels. 
(Poor Refinement and Build Quality issues, although a very evident Throttle Lag was the ultimate dealbreaker)

Thus, C3 AT was finalised. 



Engine and Gearbox - Overall Performance

In a sea of lukewarm hatches, this one is able to truly put a smile onto my face whenever I floor it. There’s ample power for overtakes, it maintains a fast pace without struggling, and when I need it to, it cruises comfortably. 



The Torque kicks in pretty early, so there’s no need to be aggressive with the car for power, making it diesel-like in terms of power delivery. If you’re someone who loves to redline, this might not be it, as the power curve in this one lies mostly in the midrange. I’ve only done 2.3k kms, and I’ve only been aggressive with it just twice, but the aggressiveness simply wasn’t worth it in my experience.



The 6spd TC box does a decent job. Shifts up pretty fast and I’m in the right gear 95% of the time. The remaining 5% of the time was noticeable was when I was on a downhill run and the car would rev itself a lot when I wasn’t applying throttle, and it did shift, but the shifts were slow. I ended up using manual mode to upshift, and that solved it. Manual mode was slow to respond, it might be because the car is new. I haven’t used manual mode much after that instance and I mostly just keep it in Drive.



It’s great for regular driving, shifts are barely noticeable, but the kick-down time is slow. Takes a second or two for the power to kick in, and this scared my friends. However, there isn’t any lag in power delivery when I build up speed, but when I aggressively stomp the throttle, the gearbox takes it’s time to figure things out.

That being said, I’ve done some risky overtakes with this one, and since I maintain speed, the gearbox maintains the flow very well and it’s never let me down. I’d rate it a solid 9/10. Suits my driving style. Linear acceleration suits this gearbox best.

Ride Quality

This is where it truly shines. It’s very comfortable but not too soft, and it handles pretty well. Balanced is how I’d put it. Prior to purchase I’d assumed it might be similar to what a Creta offers, but it’s not as floaty as a Creta on highways (I’m quoting my friend who owns a Creta here)



It handles turns well, although there’s mild understeer and the A-Pillar can block your view at times. Not that it’s a recipe for danger, but having this fact in the back of my mind helps me drive safe.



Bad roads are handled extremely well, and I don’t really feel unstable grounds on my daily commute. I confidently fly past at 50-60km/h while most vehicles slow down. The car is capable of more, but I’m a bit considerate of my car hence I slow down a bit.



The ground clearance is worth a mention. I’ve scraped over quite a few surfaces on my cousin’s Polo 1.2, while the C3 goes through all that and much more with ease. It’s actually very relieving, and I’m able to drive carefree knowing that the C3 can and will handle most of it. I did get the engine guard for my car as well. 


Extremely practical suspension that’s perfectly balanced for comfort as well as being driven hard is how I’d put it. Very balanced and I love it.

FE and costs.

I’ve been doing mostly inter-city running, and I currently get a mileage around 12.5 to 12.9km/L.


Slightly aggressive driving and it did drop to 11, and I got 10.5 on another day when I let my friend drive it in B2B traffic. He was aggressive with the overtakes, but having to regularly slow down resulted in lower FE.



I saw in the earlier photos of the C3 AT posted in this thread that the MID was showing an avg FE of 8.x km/L. I think it might be because of how TD cars are driven. I absolutely babied my car and although we did speeds near 100km/h, it was at very low RPMs and in a relaxed manner. Turbopetrols are also sensitive to inputs, so that might be it.

Most of my commute gets happily done with light throttle inputs. 

I’ve only done the first service so I can’t comment on maintenance costs for now. First service was free. Haven’t paid for anything except fuel so far, lol.

Features and Comforts

The seats are nice to be in. They’re positioned high, which is something I’m only getting used to in a hatchback of all things, but it’s manageable. Fabric is nice and the seats hold me well. 

I do wish there was a handrest in the centre though. Citroen, if you’re reading this, offer it as an accessory. I’ll be the first in line to buy. 



Audio is decent, CarPlay and Android Auto both work seamlessly. Wireless takes about 30-45s to connect, while wired connection is instant. I’m not much of an audiophile but the audio is good, although it’s a bit bass-heavy.

Projector lamps are amazing, rear wash and wipe works well, and the electric mirrors are a very practical addition. Love it. Very barebones set of features but I’ve got all I need. Other features like sunroof and cooled seats are truly more of a want than a need, and at this price point I genuinely live without those.

The app is nice too! I get to see details about the avg. FE and I’ve been cross-checking it with tank-to-tank FE calculated by Fuelio, and it’s been accurate for me thus far. Very useful app.

Sales and Service Experience


Huge disappointment, honestly. EVM Cochin has been extremely unethical and shady, and the only reason why I put up with them is because I liked the car.



They initially pushed for me to get the top model of the car with the dual tone paint and the vibe pack, and told me the monotone variant wouldn’t be available. I foolishly nearly fell for it, and thankfully I checked the Citroen website and got to know that the monotone variant was available.



I had plenty of time on my side so I chose to wait it out, and behold, Monotone was available. Sales rep was extremely pushy and wanted us to make full payment without guaranteeing delivery date, and I made it clear I wouldn’t pay without PDI first.



I did the PDI eventually and cleared payment, but I was forced to pay Handling/Incidental charges. Was a bit ignorant of the same myself, so when I later notified the staff at Citroen of the same, I was told by one Mr. Piyus from EVM that I could challenge the same in consumer court if I needed the incidental charges removed. I guess Supreme Court orders mean nothing when you’ve got a Monopoly, eh? 



There were errors in the settlement summary as well, and while I’d have normally ignored it, the fact that EVM was pulling shady tricks one after another didn’t sit right with me. So I got it corrected and I got my car. 



Oh well, that was that, and I decided not to bother with it because I frankly don’t have the time to go to court over INR 5K.


Service has been much better though. I wasn’t there physically, but I was told about the procedures that would be done during first service, such as a wash and vacuum and an overall check, and I approved the same. They tried to sell me on an underbody and silencer coating along with Vinyl flooring, to which I replied with a simple ‘no’. That was that. Service was decent. 



Overall, the experience has been meh. Funny thing is, they could’ve made money off me by selling me accessories that I actually asked for, such as a rear spoiler, but Citroen has been putting those on back-order for a while now. What a shame. 

Overall rating - 6/10.



Conclusion

Amazing car, especially when you consider the price point at which it is offered. Get one if you’ve got requirements similar to mine, I assure you it will not disappoint.

Have attached a photo of my car as well. Hope you guys like it.

[FueledbyFury]

Congratulations on the new steed!

With its incremental updates, it's a gem of a car, and C3 threads are now active. If Citroën had launched with all these features, it should have become a runaway hit. Good seeing that Citroën is showing improvements based on the market demands.

Drive safe and munch more miles!

[Shreyfiesta]

Congratulations Ganesh on your new C3! And thank you for a meticulous initial ownership review. Can’t wait to drive this one.

Wishing you a blissful ownership and I'm sure you will keep updating this thread as you reach milestones ahead.

[ltz.lawya]

@FueledbyFury Fully agree with your views on the C3. Thank you so much for the kind words.

@Shreyfiesta Thank you, bro! Feel free to leave me a message whenever you're in EKM, we'll definitely go for a drive in this one. And yes, I'll update this regularly for sure!

[Dreamlifter.07]

Congratulations! Wishing you much miles on it!

I had got one for my mom in November, when I booked they did say they had an app wherein you can track the car and all that. By after I got it, they were like Citroen pulled support for C3.

Did they say anything to you about the app?

[ltz.lawya]

Originally Posted by Dreamlifter.07

Congratulations! Wishing you much miles on it!

I had got one for my mom in November, when I booked they did say they had an app wherein you can track the car and all that. By after I got it, they were like Citroen pulled support for C3.

Did they say anything to you about the app?

Thank you!

About the app, yes, there is an app, and I do use it. I saw that we have the same car, albeit with yours being dual tone, so I don't think the question of Citroen pulling support for the C3 applies here. My car is still supported on the app and it works fine. I just checked it now.

The app allows for turning on AC, lights, and unlocking the car, and I'm also able to see distances driven, FE, Fuel consumed, Range remaining as well as the location of the car.

Safe to say, Citroen has not pulled support for the app so I'd suggest checking on this with your Sales guy. I got mine set up on delivery day itself.

I've been using it on iOS thus far. Fairly smooth experience.

[Big Smoke]

Originally Posted by ltz.lawya

Other alternatives I considered within my 15lak budget included -


1. Ignis (Fun, but I needed a proper AT)
2. 
i20 N-Line(Expensive, Poor Mileage, not-so-fun DCT)
3. 
Altroz 1.5D - I considered this despite being a Manual purely out of my love for diesels. 
(Poor Refinement and Build Quality issues, although a very evident Throttle Lag was the ultimate dealbreaker)

Thus, C3 AT was finalised.

Hi, I’m curious to know why you didn’t consider the Fronx Turbo, and Magnite/Kiger Turbo. Also, if you thought about any used cars?
I am also considering to buy another car with similar conditions.

Thanks! 



[ltz.lawya]

Originally Posted by Big Smoke

Hi, I’m curious to know why you didn’t consider the Fronx Turbo, and Magnite/Kiger Turbo. Also, if you thought about any used cars?
I am also considering to buy another car with similar conditions.

Thanks! 



Fronx Turbo - The Turbo - TC combo did get my attention. I did test drive it, but I didn't like the car. I've heard good reviews about the engine, but i found it underpowered for my driving style. I wasn't aggressive with the car, and I found it to be very weak when I drove it on Container Road. The gearbox was pretty quick with the upshifts.

I've been told that Suzuki TD cars are poorly maintained, so that might have made things worse, but I wasn't satisfied with it. Onroad price for Cochin came out to 15.87Lak for the top-end model, and I didn't feel it justified the price considering the power and features on offer.

Toyota Taisor looks pretty though.

Magnite /Kiger - I didn't consider it. My first impression of the car was that it's cheap. The fact that it was offered with a CVT didn't help it's case either. Didn't check it out as it didn't interest me.

Used Cars hahah I considered plenty of them. Sadly things didn't work out for me.

Found a nice GT 1.5TDI but that deal fell through, found another Rapid 1.6AT but that was overpriced, and was about to settle for a 1.2MPI way below my budget but then, my family told me to cancel on it as there were some discrepancies in the paperwork. Also considered Jazz CVT and 2014 City (and it's facelift too), but I didn't proceed much with it.

My family preferred a new car, so I wasn't met with much support when I brought up used options. The ones that actually came close to happening were the GT-TDI, MPI and Rapid 1.6.

If you do find a decent used option, please do consider it. Lots of good cars out there but I couldn't make it happen owing to lack of support. A close friend of mine picked up a Polo 1.5TDI MT Highline and he's extremely happy with it.

[OpenRoads]

Congratulations on the buy! Wish you many many happy miles on it. I have always likes the C3 from the start but was not happy as they didn't came up with the AT initially and did very little to improve their dealership network.

But with the 6 speed TC, best in class suspension and a peppy engine the C3 makes a complete package.

[yogiii]

Originally Posted by ltz.lawya

Long story short - it met pretty much most of my requirements. 
Fast and Fun hatch - check.
Proper AT - check.
Features I need (Projector Lamps, Auto AC, Rear Wash & Wipe, Usable MID, Electric Mirrors - check.
Practical and Affordable - check.

Other alternatives I considered within my 15lak budget included -


1. 
i20 N-Line(Expensive, Poor Mileage, not-so-fun DCT)

Thus, C3 AT was finalised. 



Have attached a photo of my car as well. Hope you guys like it.

Congratulations on your purchase ltz.lawya!! Would love to see some more pictures of your car.

It is indeed a good car with most of the things that matter in a car well sorted.

Did you test drive the i20 N Line manual? If yes, how would you compare C3 Turbo Manual with it?

The N6 manual at 9.99L ex-showroom is a value for money proposition!

[Captain_Slow_01]

I drove a rental Citroën C3 petrol manual once through Munnar, Kerala, and it was my first experience with a Citroën. What an incredible suspension setup and such a fun car to drive! I was also amazed to find wireless CarPlay in such a budget

[ltz.lawya]

Originally Posted by yogiii

Did you test drive the i20 N Line manual? If yes, how would you compare C3 Turbo Manual with it?

The N6 manual at 9.99L ex-showroom is a value for money proposition!

Heyy, I didn't TD the N-Line MT. Thought i'd stick strictly with ATs if i was getting a new car, and the only exception i made was for the Altroz because it's a diesel.

That being said, I bought this C3 AT for 9.99!
The variant is Shine Turbo AT Monotone, and the ex-showroom price is 999,800. The variants that cost more than this gain a dual tone paint scheme and some plastic bits (aka vibe pack) but those really don't add much from my POV.

and yes, I'll send more photos soon. Have clicked a few but I'm yet to blank out the plates + I've been busy with work. Will get back to this soon for sure!

[echo77]

Originally Posted by ltz.lawya

That being said, I bought this C3 AT for 9.99!
The variant is Shine Turbo AT Monotone, and the ex-showroom price is 999,800. The variants that cost more than this gain a dual tone paint scheme and some plastic bits (aka vibe pack) but those really don't add much from my POV.

My friend and I also picked up turbo auto C3s (in the same colour without the frills) in early December. Both will be primarily driven by our better halves, and for us it's also our daily beater for shopping and errands.

At under 10L, this is a very good option. The moment you pick the frills (dual-tone, vibe pack), it goes above 10L and the additional tax kicks in (depends on your state).

I've got to about 800km so far. The ride has been awesome. The suspension is the best in this segment and I would dare say the engine too. The engine is a bit noisy though and sounds more like a diesel. It easily crosses 100 and 80-90 is a good cruising speed. The manual shift has a delay, so I didn't end up using it much. The auto itself is relatively quick for overtaking.

I got approx 12-13kpl with mostly spirited and city driving. I can't seem to keep my foot off the accelerator with a grin on my face. With wifey driving, I expect to get about 14-15kpl over the long run.

The AC is a chiller. It gets cold for us at 25 and it goes down all the way to 14. I guess the small cabin helps.