13 months with my Citroen e-C3: 20,000km update

The Citroën ë-C3 meanwhile has been stellar. I am not sure whether it is the lack of noise, the sorted suspension, or the forced breaks for charging, I am rarely fatigued, even after 4 to 5 hours of driving

BHPian mathewanil recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

This December was another milestone for my car. Thirteen months and 3 weeks old, my car crossed 20000 km on the Odo.

A few days before that, I had bumped into a parked auto at a Charging centre at Bengaluru and the car sustained minor scratches on the bumper and a broken perspex of one headlight assembly. I did manage to glue and tape the headlight at the site of the accident.

I then enquired with the Citroen centres at Bengaluru if they could replace it. The headlight assembly was not available at both KHT prime service centres, and they told me it would take about three days to obtain. So, I decided to get it replaced at the VTK centre at Chennai while doing the 20,000 service. Thankfully, these guys had the part and did accommodate me at short notice for the assembly replacement as well as service.

I reached the workshop at 8:45 am one day and it took another 45 min before an engineer met me as they open around 9:00 am. The place was crowded with Jeeps, Citroen and Fiat cars. They had many bays and forklifts, but the service team was harried due to the large volume of cars at a single centre in Chennai. Many cars were parked outside from the previous day’s work.

My car was taken in at 11:00 am. A general check up, change of pollen filters and wiper wash fluid was done. They also did software updates for the infotainment system and cleared the sensor error codes. The brake fluid was not replaced because it was apparently in good condition. Wheel balancing and rotation was also not done because they did not have enough wheel weights. Neither was the car cleaned due to some glitch in their electrical supply which was beyond their control. The headlight assembly was thankfully replaced. However, there was still a slight gap between its lateral margin and the bumper panel. I got back my car by 3:00 pm and I drove back to Vellore. Although VTK did a reasonable job, there is scope for improvement. I think opening more touch points for service should be high on the priority list for Stelantis. Crowding one centre with cars of multiple brands and harried staff will not go well for the future. Normally, I would have insisted that the bumper be disassembled, and the clamps holding it, realigned, for a better finish. Taking home an unwashed car was also an unacceptable experience. However, the total cost of service and the part replacement was only 6,800 rupees.

The car meanwhile has been stellar. Although skeptical at first, it certainly is a great car for long drives. I am not sure whether it is the lack of noise, the sorted suspension, or the forced breaks for charging, I am rarely fatigued, even after 4 to 5 hours of driving. The power delivery and response has also not taken a dip and thankfully no squeaks and creaks have crept-in either. I have fast charged the car more than hundred times without any issues.

I have recently obtained a ‘smart’ brake light online (Magicshine SeeMee 100, smart brake light Ver 2). These are typically used on bicycles. It is a rechargeable battery powered unit and has an inbuilt accelerometer (gyroscope) to detect deceleration. I have mounted it to a homemade stand, and it sits facing the rear windshield. It lights up even during traction braking and I can see the vehicles behind me reacting while I slow down, both in the city and on the highways.

It is not perfect, calibrated better for bicycles and not cars. It tends to light up rarely even at constant speeds and sometimes to directional changes. While ‘on’ its blinking and on breaking it lights up with full intensity. The downside is that this mode drains the Li-ion battery, and it would need charging after 2-3 hrs of continuous use. It set me back by about 3.5 K but I am glad I have it now. There was always this constant worry (like most EV owners) that someone will tailgate me while slowing down using regenerative braking in the city.

So, having done 20K on the Odo, what does owning an EV mean to me? It means a saving of 1.2 lakhs in fuel costs compared to my Kushaq and an added savings of 12,000 rupees for service costs. This saved amount is dutifully being invested in mutual fund SIPs every month to offset for the cost of the car. The shear convenience of charging the car at home, easy drivability without shifting gears, the instant torque for quick accelerations, the near silent cabin and fatigue free driving are great dividends of owning an eV.

Each manufacturer has their work cut out for the future. Making reliable, glitch free cars should be high priority and not just adding gimmicky features. Having well trained service personnel and widening their reach is just as important. Without these, EVs and their manufacturers will vanish like the smoke from the tail pipes that they are trying to minimise.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.