Presentation Citroën ë-C3: Affordable electric mobility
For many contemporaries, the turn to electromobility ends when they look at the manufacturers' price lists. Inexpensive models have been scarce up to now, so many prospective buyers opt for a car with a conventional combustion engine after all. With the electric Citroën C3, a small car is now coming onto the market that significantly lowers the current price level.
With the ë-C3, the brand is launching a full-fledged vehicle in the B segment at the beginning of next year, which, with its targeted price of 23,300 euros, will make electromobility affordable for many interested parties. The 44 kWh battery is expected to provide a range of 320 kilometers (according to the WLTP measurement method) and can be charged from 20 to 80 percent in 26 minutes at a 100 kW fast charger. This will be followed in 2025 by an even less expensive version with a range of 200 kilometers at 19,990 euros.
In addition to the electric C3, other versions with combustion engines will follow. The model is the brand's most popular, having been built more than 5.6 million times since its market launch in 2002 and accounting for 29 percent of Citroën vehicles sold in Europe.
The brand is returning to its roots with the affordable E version, which is priced at the same level as the electric Dacia Spring. André Citroën was one of the pioneers of mass mobility in Europe when he rolled his first automobile off the first European assembly line onto the market in 1919. This has obviously not escaped the attention of the marketing people in Paris, because with the new trademark they are picking up on the oval chosen by the founder.
Also part of the brand's DNA is the comfortable way of getting around, which in the new C3 translates into the combination of the "Advanced Comfort Suspension" with the new "Advanced Comfort Seats," which are making their way into a compact car for the first time. They have a particularly thick special foam so that occupants should experience the feeling of sitting in a comfortable armchair and the C3 should "rise to become the most comfortable vehicle in the B segment," explains Laurence Hansen, Director Product and Strategy.
The interior has grown in all dimensions and exceeds the class average in the rear, according to Citroën. In designing the new C3, the company's creatives took elements from the edgy Oli concept model and created a beefy body with the obviously unavoidable SUV elements. The suspension uses two progressive hydraulic shock absorbers that are supposed to swallow the deficits of the infrastructure.
For the powertrain, the developers chose an 83 kW (113 hp) electric motor that accelerates the C3 from zero to 100 km/h in eleven seconds. The top speed is reached at 135 km/h. Networked navigation with the new "ë-Routes" app can be used to shorten driving times and find charging stations. The C3 uses the new BEV platform with LFP (lithium ferrophosphate) battery pack.
Citroën has always been the brand that does things differently from its competitors. So it's no surprise that the electric C3 lacks the classic instrument cluster in front of the steering wheel. Instead, a new type of head-up display provides information by projecting driving data onto a glossy black area between the top of the dashboard and the bottom of the windshield. A 10.25-inch screen completes the information section.
Connectivity and assistance systems are up to par, and in terms of trim levels Citroën limits itself to two offerings "You" and ""Max." For "You", standard features include LED headlights, the "Advanced Suspension", emergency braking system the HUD, cruise control and air conditioning. "Max" adds 17-inch alloy wheels, two-tone paint and the comfort seats. (aum/ww)
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