Citroen e-C3 Aircross (2025-) Review

Introduction

When the Citroen C3 Aircross was first launched, it took the qualities of the C3 and merged them with the practicality of a compact SUV, creating a compact runabout that helped to make Citroen cool again. But with the new C3 becoming a bit more SUV-like in stature – and consequently replacing the old C3 Aircross – the new C3 Aircross got the scope to become even bigger. Now a bold, funky alternative to the likes of the Vauxhall Frontera and Dacia Jogger, the C3 Aircross has well and truly entered the realm of the SUV. It’s even offered with seven seats.

What’s more, the C3 Aircross has also gone electric. Now offered in e-C3 Aircross guise, the boxy family car is rivalling the likes of the Kia Niro EV, and other battery-powered compact crossovers. Admittedly, the e-C3 Aircross is not available with a third row of seats, but does that mean it loses its appeal? Or will the electric version of Citroen’s quirky crossover prove the most appealing of them all?

At a Glance

Discerning between electric and hybrid versions of the C3 Aircross is a bit tricky. There’s no immediately obvious difference between the two variants at the front, and the rear end is very similar, too. The internal combustion versions don’t even have obvious exhaust outlets. But all that means the e-C3 Aircross is every bit as handsome as the hybrid versions, with its chunky, boxy proportions and slightly square edges.

Inside, the cabin is more or less identical, save for some lightly revised displays and menus, but the basics are the same. The seats are big and comfy, the dashboard is minimalist and the plastics are a bit cheap in places, but this is a value-orientated proposition, and it still comes with a bit of tech and modernity. We just wish it didn’t have the labels in the doors with slogans such as “Be Happy” or “Be Cool”.

At least it’s spacious, and the range isn’t bad either. Even with a fairly small 44kWh battery on board, it’ll still cover about 150 miles on a single charge with relative ease, and around town, you’ll likely get closer to the official figure of almost 200 miles. Yes, the range isn’t massive, but with hybrid options available to those who want to head further afield, this is an unashamedly urban family car.

It isn’t sporty in any way, either. Yes, the 113hp electric motor offered in Standard Range versions offers reasonable straight-line speed, but there’s nothing about the ride or handling that urges you to exploit it. It’s soft and comfortable, and that’s all it wants to be. Which is quite refreshing, really.

Key Features

With the standard C3’s transition to becoming a compact SUV in its own right, the C3 Aircross has had to carve a new path, becoming bigger and more practical. But it has done that quite successfully, and the design is a nice evolution of the new C3’s style. The sharp lines, narrow ‘grille’ and the retro Citroen badging make it look modern and fresh, with a funky edge to the LED light signature and the contrasting roof of more upmarket versions. It sells the modern SUV look well.

And it delivers inside, too. The whole point of the Aircross is practicality, and the electric version has managed to carry over most of the petrol- and hybrid–powered versions’ credentials pretty well. The boot is just as big, which makes it one of the biggest in its class, and there’s plenty of room for passengers in the cabin. The loss of the optional third row of seats, which is available in combustion-powered C3 Aircross models, might be a pity for some customers, but most won’t mind. After all, the seven-seat cars get less boot space than the five-seaters, even with the third row folded away.

Range & Batteries

For the time being, the sole battery option for the e-C3 Aircross is the 44kWh Standard Range power pack, which offers an official range of 188 miles on a single charge, according to the official economy test. In the real world, you’re probably looking at 150 miles, and perhaps less if you push it a bit on the motorway, but it’s still a useful amount for most people’s day-to-day needs.

However, Citroen has promised a larger, 54kWh battery will arrive over the coming months, and that’s expected to increase the range noticeably despite being paired with a more powerful electric motor. Exact figures for power and efficiency are yet to be revealed, though, so we can’t say any more just yet.

Performance & Drive

For the time being, the only motor option for the e-C3 Aircross is a 113hp unit that drives the front wheels. Although it isn’t especially lively, the instant power delivery makes it feel more punchy than the numbers suggest. Mind you, with an official 0-62mph time of 12.9 seconds, it isn’t difficult to feel faster.

Admittedly, the e-C3 Aircross never feels all that happy accelerating hard up a motorway slip road or overtaking slower-moving traffic on a country lane, but as long as you use a bit of forward planning, it’s absolutely fine. And when you’re pulling away from the traffic lights, the electric motor makes it reasonably perky.

All of which means the forthcoming bigger battery and more powerful motor options will likely be the most appealing versions for customers, but those sticking to town centres, the school run, and commuting will be perfectly happy with this more basic, less potent option.

For drivers, the e-C3 Aircross promises comfort, but makes no promises with regards to sportiness. The car is tall and the suspension is soft, which is great for fitting people inside and soaking up speed bumps and the like, but less brilliant if you want to take a corner at any kind of speed. There is a fair bit of body roll from the Aircross, but that’s to be expected from a family SUV, even if it does have a heavy battery slung between the axles.

Still, the comfort-orientated approach is quite refreshing – most manufacturers like to trade a firmer, sportier ride for slightly better handling – and Citroen’s decision is laudable. All that said, though, the e-C3 Aircross isn’t quite as marshmallow-soft as the marketing people might have you believe. It’s great on a motorway, or over longer-wavelength undulations, but sharp bumps will still make their presence felt.

On the plus side, though, the e-C3 Aircross is compact, manoeuvrable and has great visibility, so it never feels as big as the cavernous space might suggest. For carting a family around town, it’s very good indeed, although the electric motor isn’t quite as quiet as you might hope. It isn’t exactly noisy, and it’s certainly no more raucous than a small petrol engine, but it isn’t as whisper-quiet as some electric vehicle evangelists might claim.

Charging

Citroen has fitted the e-C3 Aircross with a 100kW charging system, which allows the car to charge pretty quickly on a DC public charging point. There’s no point in going for a 350kW charger, admittedly – the car just won’t be able to make the most of them – but at a 100kW or 150kW charge point, it can top the battery up from 20% to 80% in as little as 26 minutes. And while it won’t charge quite so rapidly from a domestic ‘wallbox’ charge point, it will go fast enough to fill the battery completely overnight.

Want to know more about EV charging? Check out our complete guide to electric car charging.

Running Costs & Emissions

As with so many electric vehicles, the promise of low running costs is enough to draw consumers in. And the e-C3 Aircross is no less appealing on that front than any other, with the ability to charge at home (especially on cheap-rate electricity) making the car way less expensive to run than its petrol- and hybrid-powered brethren. Admittedly, some of that advantage is eroded if you use public chargers, but it will still be a very cheap way of transporting a family around town.

And if you’re a company car driver, it’ll be even better value. With low-rate Benefit-in-Kind (BIK) tax for electric vehicles, the e-C3 Aircross will be a much more attractive car than its siblings, making the choice of electric over petrol power a complete no-brainer for those driving company-funded wheels.

Interior & Technology

Although practicality is the key part of the e-C3 Aircross’ remit, Citroen has tried to make the cabin feel as stylish as the car’s exterior. The seats and dashboard look modern, but they aren’t especially high-tech and the quality is more ‘acceptable’ than ‘awesome’, which is to be expected in a relatively cheap car. Still, Citroen has livened things up with a flash of fabric across the dashboard and little red labels in the doors, which say things like: “Be Happy.” And they aren’t optional…

Still, the Citroen is reasonably well made, but there are some odd design decisions, including the Peugeot-style tiny steering wheel, which seems a bit daft in a car that’s so wantonly disinterested in sportiness.

Technologically, the e-C3 Aircross gets a pretty sizeable touchscreen, plus a digital instrument cluster that Citroen keeps calling a head-up display. Don’t be confused by the specifications Citroen bang on about, though. Although it sits above the little steering wheel, this tiny screen is definitely not projected onto the windscreen, and is decidedly unlike a head-up display. It is quite good at what it does, though, with a sharp display and an easy-to-use menu system, but it is pretty simplistic.

So is the touchscreen, which is arguably too simplistic at times. We can see what Citroen has tried to do – it’s keeping things clean and simple for users – and we applaud the effort, but certain systems are hidden deep in menus when they should be easily accessible, and that’s irritating. But at least there’s a panel of proper buttons for the climate control, which instantly puts the e-C3 Aircross ahead of the curve.

Practicality & Boot Space

Practicality is key to the appeal of the C3 Aircross generally, and it delivers in spades. The 460-litre boot is one of the biggest in the class, and is shared with the more conventionally powered models. However, while the hybrid-powered C3 Aircross is offered with a third row of seats, taking the total to seven, the electric versions are solely available in five-seat form.

Not that you’re losing all that much as a result. Those rearmost seats aren’t especially roomy and accessing them requires the work of a contortionist. They also cut the boot space to 330 litres when they’re folded into the floor and practically nothing when they’re in use. So for most buyers, those seats aren’t worth having anyway.

What is worth having, though, is ample headroom in all five of the e-C3 Aircross’ seats, and sensible amounts of legroom for those in the rear. The e-C3 Aircross is hardly as roomy as the e-Berlingo, but in compact SUV terms, it feels light and spacious, even with four adults on board.

Safety

The new C3 Aircross is still yet to be tested by the European new car safety organisation, Euro NCAP, so we don’t know exactly how safe it will prove. Nevertheless, we’re expecting it to perform solidly. Citroen’s record is generally pretty good of late, with the larger C4 family hatchback achieving a decent four-star rating and the even larger C5 Aircross managing five stars. As standard, all new e-C3 Aircross models will come with ample safety technology, including lane departure warning, driver attention alert and an autonomous emergency braking system. The car gets speed limit warning features (which can be turned on and off using a button on the dash), and high-specification versions also get blind-spot monitoring.

Options

With only one battery-and-motor combination currently available for UK customers, the e-C3 Aircross range suddenly becomes pretty simple. Despite its name, Plus is the basic trim level for e-C3 Aircross customers, and it comes with a reasonable amount of standard equipment. Alloy wheels, automatic wipers, and the touchscreen infotainment system are all included as standard, along with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, automatic climate control and a reversing camera.

Moving up to the more luxurious Max trim gives you a two-tone paint job with a contrasting roof colour, wireless smartphone charging and parking sensors all around, as well as a Metropolitan Grey interior colour scheme. Auto-dipping headlights and blind-spot monitoring, which alerts you if there’s something in the hard-to-see areas over your shoulders, are also thrown in.

Optional extras are not what we’d call numerous, with just a choice of colours, an alternative interior colour scheme and an 11kW on-board charging system in the offing. The colours are pretty good, with Montana Green and Elixir Red representing two of the more stylish options, but the 11kW charger system will only be of use to those who either have a three-phase electricity supply at home (most ‘single-phase’ supplies will only charge at around 7kW overnight, even on a domestic ‘wallbox’ charger), or have access to more powerful AC chargers at their place of work.

Rival Cars

Such practical electric cars are few and far between, but perhaps the most competitive of the e-C3 Aircross’ rivals are actually its cousins. Citroen is part of the Stellantis group, which also owns Vauxhall, Fiat, Peugeot and several others, so the C3 Aircross models share much with some of those brands’ products. The new Vauxhall Frontera, for example, is essentially a rebadged, rebodied C3 Aircross, but it gets less kit for the money.

Similarly, the Fiat Grande Panda is built on the same platform as those two vehicles, and also has much of the same technology, including the same motor-and-battery combination. But despite its name, the Panda is a bit smaller than the Citroen.

Elsewhere in the Stellantis stable, the C3 Aircross has to fend off more luxurious competition from the DS 3, which is surprisingly posh inside, and the Jeep Avenger, which is a bit bigger and has a more rugged image. There’s also crossover with the Fiat 600e, which is closely related to the Avenger, but has a softer, more stylish attitude.

Looking further afield, the e-C3 Aircross is up against the likes of the Kia Niro EV, with its classy interior and funky look, although the Citroen has a much more utilitarian feel to it. Otherwise, there’s some competition from the MG4 EV, which is more of a family hatchback, and the Volkswagen ID.3, which is a more polished (if still imperfect) product.

Verdict & Next Steps

Though the e-C3 Aircross is something of a standalone product, it must be remembered that this is a part of the general C3 Aircross line-up, and it can’t tread on the toes of its sister vehicles. So while the C3 Aircross generally is a compelling option, the e-C3 Aircross won’t be for everyone. Those who drive greater distances will prefer the frugal hybrid versions, for example, but if you spend most of their time around town, or you’re just after a spacious yet compact company car, the electric Citroen is definitely worthy of your attention.

Where to next?

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**Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the UK’s top leading independent car website reviews of the Citroen ë-C3 Aircross

**Correct as of 16/09/2025. Based on 9 months initial payment, 5,000 miles annually, over a 24 month lease. Initial payment equivalent to 9 monthly payments, or £1,958.04 (Plus admin fee) Ts and Cs apply. Credit is subject to status.