CHEAP, CHEERFUL & ELECTRIC (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

This small affordable electric hatch, the E-C3, shows us Citroen's future direction. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 35

Citroen's E-C3 aims to redefine what a small EV can be. And makes most other compact electric hatches look needlessly expensive. The brand's smallest hatch gains a crossover vibe - and a new-found fresh direction.

Backgroundword count: 188

So. Affordable electric motoring for the masses. We been promised that before. But this car, Citroen's E-C3, might just get a little closer to it. The starting price point of just over £20,000 isn't much different to that of its most obvious competitor, the Dacia Spring, but unlike that rival, the E-C3 is a proper five-seater and has a significantly higher driving range. Which is why Citroen feels it can describe this model as 'the most affordable proper electric car on the market'. It's also European-built, unlike the Chinese-made Dacia. This is the fourth generation of C3 we've seen, a line-up that will also include a (significantly cheaper) conventional petrol version. It's a model range that accounted for over 40% of Citroen's total sales in its previous generation, so it could hardly be more important. This time round, there's a chunkier crossover vibe which will initially rather duplicate what the brand offers with its existing C3 Aircross until the company relaunches that model as a seven-seat SUV. The E-C3 will be key to Citroen's realignment going forward as an affordable electric mobility brand. Let's take a closer look.

Engines and Tech Specword count: 237

To achieve its low asking price, the E-C3's engineering is quite different from that of similarly-sized but much more expensive Stellantis Group models like the Vauxhall Corsa Electric and the Peugeot E-208. First, it has an electrified version of the simpler 'Smart Car' platform the brand developed for emerging nations in India and Latin America. Second, it uses an 'LFP' 'Lithium Ferro Phosphate' battery pack, instead of the more usual lithium-ion one, LFP packs being cheaper to produce, partly because they lack cobalt. The downside to the LFP tech is extra weight, though the E-C3's 44kWh pack is still rated at 199 miles, well ahead of its Dacia Spring market rival. There's a possibility of a smaller-battery variant with a lesser 124 mile range for the future. The volume 44kWh version has a 111bhp electric motor on the front axle, propelling the car to 62mph in around 11s en route to 84mph. Ride comfort is a traditional Citroen attribute, so the Advanced Comfort shock absorber hydraulic bump stops from larger models are carried over to this one. The remainder of the damping set-up is conventional, with MacPherson strut front suspension and a torsion beam rear end. For those still unconvinced by (or unprepared to pay the price for) EV technology, Citroen will offer its usual 1.2-litre three cylinder petrol engine as part of this fourth generation please C3 line-up, with a choice of manual or automatic transmission.

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