Citroen C3 Turbo replaces our ageing Tata Nano AMT

The i20 N Line was a last-minute consideration because I did not want my dad to buy a manual car and then regret it.

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The Return of the Manuals

A Summary of how we welcomed another Citroen, the C3 turbo, to join its big brother the C5 Aircross.

Circa 2015. We sold our last “Manual Gearbox” car, the much beloved Skoda Fabia 1.3 Turbo Diesel. With that, we bid Adieu to Manual cars forever, and vowed to buy only Automatic in the Future.

In the current traffic scenario, it simply does not make sense to drive Manual cars.

My dad, who is a proper petrolhead, has been driving cars since the late 1980s and he said that the only constant is “Change” so it was time to shift entirely to Automatic cars.

Fast forward to 2023, my dad got a call from his friend that he was driving to Sringeri from Mangalore alone and asked if he would join him. My dad said yes, and asked which car he would be going in. To which his friend replied he would be taking his New Citroen C3 Turbo. And the trip was ON.

They left in the Evening at 5 and returned by 11 PM. I was still awake watching some match and the first thing Dad told me when he returned home was – “We are buying the Citroen C3 turbo ASAP”.

Apparently, my dad drove the car on the return leg of the journey and had an Absolute Blast driving this little Monster of a car.

Three things he Loved about the C3 Turbo

• The bomb of an engine with its free revving motor.
• The Excellent ride quality
• The Halogen Headlamps, yes, the Headlamps. He is sick and tired of driving cars with LED Headlamps. Most of the new cars have pathetic LED headlamps which are “All Show and No Go.”

Need for a New Car

Our Tata Nano was getting old but did not have any major gremlins. The only issue was that the AMT gearbox was always confused and tricky to modulate while driving. Plus, the plush ride was not so plush anymore, it felt too bouncy on the Concrete roads here in Mangalore.

The need for a small city runabout arose, but this time we wanted a car capable of doing highway runs if required.

We Zeroed in on the following cars to replace the Nano with

• Citroen C3 Turbo - First Choice
• Hyundai i20 N Line DCT - Last-minute consideration
• Tata Punch EV – Wild Card entry

The i20 N Line

The i20 was a last-minute consideration because I did not want my dad to buy a manual car and then regret it, so I had to get an automatic test drive and chose the N Line.

Even though the specs look excellent on paper, real-world experience of the N Line left a lot to be desired.

• Our major complaint was the Stiff ride quality, especially in the back seat it felt horrible.
• The lag in the DCT transmission felt pretty confusing at slow speeds.
• Tacky sounds exhaustive.
• Low seats, especially for my parents they felt like they sat low and did not like the visibility.

We did an extensive test drive about 20 Kms and was instantly rejected for the above reasons.

The Tata Punch EV

Our primary need was for a city car, however, occasional highway runs should also be possible.

Saw a few posts about the Tata Punch EV on Team Bhp and added it to the shortlist as it looked crazy good. I called up the local dealership and said that they had just gotten the test drive vehicle and we would be the first customer to drive it.

Got the car home the next day, SA was excellent, explained everything, and was super knowledgeable.

Initial impressions were good, the car was quick and the silence of the EV was something to be experienced.

But then slowly we started noticing the shortcomings.

• Poor insulation- Stopped at a traffic light and we could hear the conversation from the 2-wheeler next to us.
• Poor Fit & Finish, nothing surprising, it is a Tata Afterall, and rough edges at quite a few places.
• Range anxiety: I do a lot of Mangalore – Mysore – Bangalore Runs. My main criteria were that it should be able to do Mangalore – Mysore, 250 kms, on One full charge. SA was honest (such a rarity) and said this was not practically possible as the battery would get drained during the ghat climb up to Madikeri.

Even during our Test drive of 20 kms, half of which was Highway driving and the rest was a city with some uphill climbs, the range dropped by 45 kms.

Thus ended our hopes of buying the Tata Punch Ev, I was excited for the New Punch as the size is just perfect for city use. But was rejected for the above reasons.

Finalising the Citroen C3 Turbo

Like they say, the first choice is the best choice, and in this case turned out to be true.

We went to the Citroen showroom here in Mangalore for a test drive, and surprise surprise, no test-drive car was available.

They said they would arrange one within a week, but they could not, instead they got the C3 Aircross for a test drive, same engine, and Gearbox, but a bigger body.

I was able to test drive both the Manual and the automatic. But was not too convinced as the vehicle dynamics would be different between a Hatch and a SUV. So, we called up our family friend and went for a drive in his C3 Turbo.

One drive in it and I was floored, it was a Maniac! I absolutely loved it and we decided to buy the car. It did remind me of our Mini Cooper.

We finalised The Citroen C3 Turbo Shine Variant, which now comes with Alloy wheels, Rear Wash & Wipe, electrically adjustable ORVM’s, Auto Start-Stop, etc, in the Dual tone Shade of White, with an orange roof.

Discounts & Drama!

We approached the Mangalore Dealership and they told us that there was a flat discount of Rs.1 Lakh on C3 Turbo Models, and after a several rounds of negotiations and discussions, the Final price offered by the dealership was Rs.9.95 Lakhs with the option to get Insurance from outside.

Even though we had a pleasant and professional experience with the dealership, especially SA Mr.Sathya Narayana and Showroom Manager Mr.Gautham, we couldn't close the deal as we weren't completely satisfied with the negotiations.

Simultaneously spoke to the Mysore and Bangalore Dealerships.

Mysore had the same Citroen Dealer as Mangalore “Raja Ganesh Citroen” so they were able to match the offer by the Mangalore dealership and no other changes.

Bangalore dealer “PPS Motors,” with whom we had bought out Citroën C5 Aircross, was showing his attitude as usual, and his final quote was Rs.10.20 Lakhs.

That is when I remembered that there was a Hubli dealer as well. Found the number on Google and spoke to the dealership. He had 2 C3 Turbo’s lying unsold in his inventory. We were able to close the deal on the phone in 5 Mins flat.

Super professional, and No-Nonsense approach by the manager Mr. Somashekar of Citroen Hubli.

We were able to close the deal at a Sweet Rs.9.70 lakhs as the final price all-inclusive.

He even ended up providing us free Underbody coating a few accessories and even a full tank of Fuel to drive back to Mangalore

Delivery & Initial Impressions

We had a function to attend in Bangalore, so we clubbed the delivery with those dates, and on 3rd Feb 2024, we drove from Bangalore to Hubli to take delivery of our Brand New Citroen C3 Turbo.

They had everything ready for us as we arrived at 5 in the evening, finished all the documentation in 15 minutes and we were ready for the delivery ceremony, the car was covered in a nice satin cloth and they arranged for a small Pooja and a Cake cutting ceremony as well.

Overall dealership experience would be a 10/10. I would recommend the Hubli dealership if one is looking forward to purchasing a Citroen.

The next day we drove back to Mangalore Via Yellapur – Gokarna and onto NH 66 towards Mangalore.

It was epic fun driving the C3 Turbo on the twisty roads. My dad who was on the Volvo XC 60 had a tough time catching up with this little monster.

After 100 kms we switched cars and then I took the wheel on the Volvo, while Dad and mom hopped on the C3.

When we stopped for lunch at Honnavar, my dad could not wipe the smile off his face, he was absolutely in love with the car and was really enjoying driving manual cars again.

Service Experience

As of writing this thread, the car has completed 7,500 kms. However, the only service it had was at 2K Kms, and that was just a customary check-up of the vehicle and topping up of essential fluids.

It also got a small software update for the infotainment system, but there were no noticeable changes in the system after the update, Maybe they fixed some bugs.

The Service was free of charge, as I asked them not to wash the car as it is ceramic protected and I did not want them messing it up in any way.

The Mangalore Citroen service centre is a shared premise between Citroen and Jeep as the dealership is the same. The Service centre floor is shared with the Jeep centre, whereas the Showrooms are separate.

The C3 has not had a major service yet, but from the experience of getting our C5 Aircross serviced, I would not be worried much as they are excellent.

Pros & Cons

At the time of writing this I have driven the C3 about 7,500 kms and here are my observations.

Pros

• The 1.2Ltr Turbo Petrol Engine with 110 Bhp & 190 NM torque is an absolute blast to drive
• Light clutch and clean shifts make it enjoyable to drive even in traffic
• Halogen headlamps are powerful and serve the purpose better than LED lamps
• Fabric seats are surprisingly comfortable and easier to maintain.
• Seat height is just perfect, not too low like other hatchbacks or too high like an SUV. You can just slide into the seating position comfortably.
• Good FE, was getting 17-18 Kmpl while maintaining speeds of 100-110 Kmph on BLR-MYS expressway.
• Suspension is lovely gobbles up everything, and ride quality is superb.
• Powerful AC, Decent Music system, and A Big 10” screen with Wireless Android auto and Apple car play make it a pleasure to use this car on long journeys.

Cons

• Turbo Petrol engine is sensitive, a fun session of driving and FE drops to 10-11 kmpl.
• FE during city drives is Also in the range of 12-13 kmpl.
• Due to the torquey nature of the engine, it feels jerky to drive in the city (or maybe I have forgotten how to drive Manual cars)
• Steering feels disconnected and understeer is evident as it is a Front wheel drive car.
• Rear suspension is a little too soft and bottoms out with full load whilst passing speed breakers.
• Not as quiet as a Maruti petrol, you can feel the NVH of the 3 Cylinder motors sometimes.
• Looks similar to the NA C3. The only Visual differentiation between a Turbo C3 and an NA C3 is a small “Puretech” Badge on the left side of the trunk.
• The Tiny 30 Litre Fuel tank is a pain and thus frequent visits to the Fuel station.

Conclusion

On a drive back from Mysore to Mangalore, an Audi A6 driven by a Bhpian overtook me, and what followed was a lovely session of enthusiastic driving for the next 50 kms, where not only was the C3 be able to stay with the A6, it was able to overtake the A6 in some twisty sections. Only in the long straight section was the C3 unable to catch up as it is restricted by its Theoretical top speed of 167 Kmph.

In a sea of underpowered hatchbacks, the C3 Turbo stands out by being fast and fun to drive, Forget VW Polo’s and i20 Nline’s, this thing eats Creta’s and XUV 700 for breakfast. And can even catch up with the big Germans on highways and twisties alike.

The fact that its kerb weight is only 960 Kgs, coupled with the 190 NM of torque makes it an absolute peach to drive. It may not have the best 0-100 kmph times, but the in-gear acceleration is something that I have not experienced driving a VW Polo or the i20 N line, which would be its main Competitors in the “Warm Hatch” categories.

It's a "Sasta Mini Cooper", if I could call it so. Every time the engine pulls in the 2nd & 3rd gear, it reminds me of our Mini Cooper S. It is super addictive.

The fact that you can get a Turbo Petrol car in the year 2024 for less than Rs.10 Lakhs is amazing. We are very happy with the Citroen C3 Turbo

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