| First Drive | Farnborough, England | Citroen C3 |

Citroen's C3 has always had a bit of oddball charm about it, but with this new car the Gallic company has added some real substance to the distinctive looks.

In the Metal

Sharing much the same pronounced curvature in profile as its predecessor, the new C3 is a good looking supermini - certainly a pleasant departure from the norm in the market. It gains some Citroen C4 pointers with the chrome trim along the shoulder-line, while the nose is a bit less bulbous and more technical looking than before thanks to the neat headlamps. So it's still obviously a C3, but a bit more grown up and classy with it. Where the new car really feels different is inside. The outgoing version had the structural integrity of a McDonald's cardboard cup holder, and Citroen has gone to great lengths to better it with this new model.

The result is impressive; you'll no longer feel the need to apologise to your passengers, the interior among the most interestingly designed in the class. There's a cool body-coloured stripe running across the smart dashboard, while the air vents, sculpted steering wheel and cowled instruments look and feel in a completely different league to its predecessor. Quality is massively improved, though the odd flimsy feeling bit of plastic is still evident - though forgivable at this price point.

What you get for your Money

Citroens always offer a decent value proposition and this C3 is no different. The range starts at £10,790 and rises to £16,140. That's on-paper pricing for now, as Citroen will almost certainly be offering generous offers and cash-back deals in time. Kit levels are decent, with all but the VT trim getting the C3's huge panoramic Zenith windscreen. Other than that, the VT spec gets everything you could reasonably want, though VTR+ (the next level up) gets that windscreen along with niceties like air conditioning, curtain airbags, a leather steering wheel, alloy wheels, that chrome body strip, fog lamps and cruise control for a little over £1,000. There's an Exclusive trim too, which brings a really upmarket level of trim to some of the bigger engined versions.

Driving it

Citroen would be wrong to try and outdo the Fiesta or Mazda2 for on-road dynamics, or Volkswagen's Polo for eerie refinement, so it does its own thing. That means a softer, comfort orientated set up that lopes along well enough, though oddly the suspension does sometimes struggle with rougher surfaces and there's some road noise from the tyres. The engines all work well enough though, the launch cars being offered with 1.4- and 1.6-litre units in either petrol or turbodiesel guise.

The smaller engines are the better choice, both the 1.4-litre petrol and turbodiesel feeling more than lively enough in the C3. Stepping up to the larger engines brings no appreciable increase in pace and C3 drivers are unlikely to be interested in 0-62mph times. Combined economy in the 1.4-litre petrol is in the high 40mpg range, while the 1.4-litre HDi is officially capable of returning 65.7mpg if you're gentle with it.

It's unlikely you'll ever get overly excited about driving the C3; the steering is light and lacking in any feel and the gearshift is fairly loose in its throw across the gate. What it is though is easy, with none of the controls being heavy or awkward, the C3 a light, simple car to drive. Visibility is good - especially if you've got that panoramic screen - the windscreen pillars surprisingly slim and the cabin feeling airy up front. It's a bit more cramped in the rear for legroom, though headroom is good and the boot is a decent shape and size.

Worth Noting

The C3 will be offered with more engines in the coming year or so, with some three-cylinder units joining the range and bringing super-low CO₂ emissions. That'll be helped too when Citroen adds stop-start to the range, this due to arrive in 2011. It's pretty green already though, with none of the big-sellers emitting more than 140g/km, and the Airdream+ model dipping into the road tax-free zone with its sub 100g/km CO₂ output. It'll also do 74.3mpg on the combined cycle.

Summary

Citroen's C3 has certainly grown up in this incarnation. The looks remain appealing and Citroen has moved the interior onto a completely new level - it's really smart inside now. Comfortable, easy to drive, decently priced and specified, the French firm has a very credible supermini contender to compete with in this hotly contested marketplace.