Citroen e-C3 review

Well, there’s none of that neck-jerking acceleration you get in some EVs, for starters. As a reminder, it gets a 111bhp electric motor good for 0-62mph in 10.4 seconds and a top speed of just 84mph. Progress is gentle, linear, smooth.

But Citroen has never tried to suggest anything but. It’s not a sports car, it’s a family hatchback, and comfort is put first and foremost here. Every e-C3 gets advanced comfort suspension as standard, complete with hydraulic bump stops at each corner that Citroen claims provide a ‘magic carpet ride’. 

We wouldn’t go quite that far, but it is impressively smooth riding, ironing out all but the harshest of bumps and ruts, though we did find it to be a little more fidgety compared to the petrol version, largely due to the added weight.

HOW DOES IT CORNER?

As you’d expect. Look, it steers nicely enough, but if you attack a corner with too much vigour there’s a fair amount of body roll. It’s just not as planted as the new Mini Cooper Electric, but nor does it claim to be, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

And anyway, chances are these will spend the majority of their time around town, pootling kids to school, heading to the supermarket. And it’s perfectly adept at that, nippy enough when you need it, and not too large for our swelling cities.

WHAT’S THE RANGE LIKE?

As ever, the 199 miles of range from that 44kWh battery pack should be taken with a pinch of salt, but in mid 20-degree temperatures on our 60-mile test drive we returned with 73 per cent charge, equivalent to 145 miles. That’s pretty good going.

In winter you’re obviously looking at slightly less, likely around 150 miles. The e-C3 will charge at up to 100kW remember, with a 20 to 80 per cent top-up taking just over 25 minutes on a rapid charger, or a little over four hours using a home wallbox.