Published:
5 February 2012It takes no time at all to appreciate the benefits of that low window line, because the Citroën C3 has one of the airiest cabins in the class. That’s also down to the ‘Zenith’ windscreen (standard on the range-topping Platinum variant), which means the top of the glass stretches far back into the roofline. So far, in fact, that the sun visors have to be mounted on a slide, which acts like a false ceiling and allows the visors to reach forward far enough.
With the slide in its rearmost position, the C3’s cabin is exceptionally bright, while anyone who has sat in the previous C3 will find the view across the top of the new car’s dashboard far more appealing. The upper dash, dials and centre console switchgear have an appearance and tactile quality that are light years ahead of the old C3 and now compete with the best in the class.
The cabin is very spacious for this class, too. The C3’s 300-litre boot marginally eclipses the Ford Fiesta’s 295 litres, rear leg room is good, rear head room is particularly strong and the driving position is decent (though still not as good as that of a Volkswagen Polo).
Front passengers get plenty of knee room because of the recessed lower dash. This we find a little surprising because most superminis are used by people who need a decent storage cubby rather than extra rear legroom.
