Citroen e-C3 Review & Prices

The Citroen e-C3 is the electric sibling to the new C3, and just like its petrol-powered counterpart, it’s a likeable, tiny SUV-cum-hatchback that feels most at home around town. It’s very affordable and easy to drive, but the boot isn’t as big as the chunky styling suggests and you get limited electric range.

It was still highly commended in the Smart Spender category of the 2025 Carwow Car of the Year awards though, so you can think of the e-C3 as a small, affordable and delicious snack from your favourite street food stand. It’s not as big as a full-sized meal, but it’s far more affordable and just as tasty.

With its blend of SUV and hatchback styling, as well as its low starting price, the e-C3 has various alternatives such as the electric BYD Dolphin Surf, Hyundai Inster and Renault 5, as well as the petrol-powered Ford Puma or (more expensive) Volkswagen T-Cross.

Small cars seem to be going through a golden period of design at the moment, and the e-C3 is no exception. With its funky C-shaped lights all round, beefy-looking roof rails and symmetrical herringbone accents front, rear and on the chunky wheel arch cladding, the small Citroen is a proper little head turner.

Citroen e-C3 electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 199 miles (WLTP)
Efficiency: 4.5 mi/kWh
Battery size: 44kWh
Max charge speed: 100kW
Charge time AC: 0-100% in 6 hours (7.4kW)
Charge time DC: 20-80% in 26 minutes (100kW)
Charge port location: Left rear
Power outputs: 113hp

The interior is also rather striking, as the wide, dead-straight dashboard houses the small driver’s display in a neat panel, while the floating 10.3-inch infotainment touchscreen and use of fabric trim add some pizzazz to what’s otherwise a cheap-feeling cabin - though it’s definitely cheerful. The squared-off steering wheel looks fun, but it’s a pain to use around tight turns when you just want it to slip through your hands.

You get buckets of headroom inside, courtesy of the e-C3’s upright, baby off-roader silhouette, and the cabin feels oh-so-spacious up front thanks to the dashboard’s set-back design. Rear seat occupants have far more space than in a Vauxhall Corsa Electric or a Peugeot e-208, but while the 310-litre boot is an adequate size, it’s a slightly awkward shape and there’s a huge hump in the floor when the rear seats are folded down.

There isn't much hidden storage either, with a small cubby in between the seats and a small glovebox, but the door bins are fairly deep and you get a shelf and cupholders underneath the physical climate control buttons.

All e-C3s get a 113hp electric motor with a fairly small battery pack, and while it feels peppy enough when you’ve got your foot down, battery range is a lowly 199 miles - so long-distance road trips are ill advised.

Motorways aren’t where the e-C3 feels most at home, as it can feel wallowy when making lane changes or turning on slip roads, and country lanes can be thrilling experiences for the same reason - there’s a lot of body lean around fast bends, and precious little feeling of grip from the front wheels.

Around town is where the e-C3 gets into its stride, being easy to manoeuvre around narrow roads and with strong regenerative braking. The suspension is largely soft and absorbs big speedbumps well, but sharper potholes and rough roads can feel jittery and resonate through the small Citroen at times with a dull thud.

The e-C3 offers fantastic value for money, and you can check out new Citroen e-C3 deals on Carwow, as well as Citroen e-C3 lease deals, too. There are plenty of used Citroen e-C3s available through our network of trusted dealers, or other used Citroens for sale if you need something a little bigger. Carwow can even help you sell your current car when it’s time to make the change.

The Citroen e-C3 starts at a staggeringly cheap £22,000, meaning the only cheaper electric cars on sale are the Dacia Spring and Leapmotor T03 - both of which aren’t practical at all and have miniscule electric range - or the BYD Dolphin Surf, which is another excellent small car.

You do get more kit as standard in the Dolphin Surf, even in the model that’s cheaper than the e-C3, but Citroen has still equipped the entry-level e-C3 Plus with a touchscreen infotainment system, air-conditioning, rear parking sensors, LED headlights and remote central locking.

Max-spec cars get fog lights, privacy rear windows, a rear parking camera, surround-sound audio, automatic air conditioning and a wireless phone charger on top of Plus spec.

The Citroen e-C3 has soft suspension perfectly suited to the UK’s terrible roads - just don’t expect it to feel like a sports car in the corners

In town

It’s a doddle to drive the e-C3 in town. Of course, you get all the usual benefits of an electric car - swift acceleration and no gearchanges making for really smooth, silent progress. Though the electric motor isn’t the most powerful, it’s still plenty for town driving and you won’t ever feel as though you’re lacking power.

Compared with something like the Vauxhall Corsa Electric, which is quite firm, the e-C3 has very soft suspension with clever hydraulic components which Citroen calls ‘Advanced Comfort’. Usually that would be a gimmick, but in this case it suits the speed bumps that litter the UK’s highways fairly well.

Most large bumps and dips are dispatched with ease, but on the roughest sections of roads with the sharpest potholes and knackered speed bumps, the e-C3 does have a tendency to crash and thud through them - unless you really cut your speed.

Being sat quite high up, you get good visibility compared with most cars this size, though there’s quite a big blindspot over your shoulder. However, standard rear sensors and a camera on Max models means it’s still a doddle to park the e-C3, helped by a tight turning circle and really light controls.

The e-C3 has a reasonable amount of regenerative braking, though it’s not a full one-pedal setup. It’s turned on as default, too - for less regen, you have to press the ‘C’ (for ‘Comfort’) button by the gear selector, whereupon you’ll get a little more coasting.

On the motorway

The e-C3’s top speed is limited to just 84mph, so it’s perhaps not the best companion for an autobahn holiday in Germany. Up to 70mph though, it’s got enough power - the acceleration does tail off, but no more than it would in a petrol hatchback of this price. Wind and road noise are surprisingly well contained, too, even at top speed.

The soft suspension and tall silhouette do mean the e-C3 feels a little more susceptible to crosswinds, and the light steering can feel a little twitchy when you’re going fast. It also has more of a tendency to jitter about on rough surfaces at high speed.

But these are all perfectly acceptable traits in a car this cheap - if you want something around this price that’ll be a relaxing companion on the motorway, you’re better off with a petrol hatchback like a Volkswagen Polo.

On a twisty road

Accurate steering and a surprising amount of grip means the e-C3 doesn’t embarrass itself in the corners - it’s just not much fun. The steering has very little feedback and feels lifeless, though there’s a bit of amusement to be had in seeing just how much it leans in the bends. A lot, is the answer!

A Corsa Electric or a BYD Dolphin are more composed in the corners, but neither is much more fun - if you want an electric car that’s engaging to drive, you’ll need something larger like an MG4.

Lots of space for a small car, just don’t expect to find many clever storage solutions

The e-C3 makes good use of the space it has. For the driver and passenger up front, there’s loads of adjustment - though the passenger doesn’t get any seat height adjustment so it does feel like you’re sat quite high up. The cabin feels a little narrow too if you’re leaning towards one side of the husky/svelte scale, but it’s no tighter than any car at this price level.

Storage up front isn’t bad, either. The door bins are an okay size, and the glovebox is reasonable too. What looks like a shelf on the top of the dash is actually where the passenger airbag comes out, though, so best not to put items up here.

Space in the back seats

Space for rear passengers is okay, and a little better than more conventional hatchbacks of this size because the e-C3’s extra height means loads of headroom and a more upright seating position. There’s a good view out, too - not always a given, though the windows don’t quite roll all the way down.

Legroom and width across the cabin is a little tighter - a six-foot adult can just about sit behind a driver of a similar size, but anyone taller will feel cramped. Meanwhile, you probably won’t want to use the middle seat unless you have three very slim passengers.

Boot space

The Citroen e-C3 has a 310-litre boot. That sits neatly between the Vauxhall Corsa Electric’s 267 litres and the BYD Dolphin’s 345 - it’s a good size, and doesn’t feel compromised by the electric powertrain.

It’s quite a deep space, and there’s a substantial lip to hoick items over. This also means that when you fold down the rear seats (they’re split 60:40 for flexibility) you don’t get a totally flat floor. There aren’t any nice touches, either - the boot carpet feels flung in, and there’s no clever underfloor storage or load separation solutions, with just a single bag hook.

Feels good inside for a cheap car, though you can find where corners have been cut

The Citroen e-C3 has a neat-looking cabin that doesn’t immediately betray its budget roots. Instead of being an unrelenting sea of black plastic, there are some nice material choices - light coloured seats, different plastics used on the door cards, and a swathe of fabric across the middle of the dashboard. This all helps to lift the ambience and make it feel a few steps above bargain basement.

You can of course find areas that feel cheap. All the plastics are hardwearing rather than soft-touch, and there are definitely some creaks and flexing when you poke and prod certain bits.

It feels reasonably up-to-date in terms of tech, though. The e-C3’s 10.3-inch touchscreen is bright, clear and responsive - it’s a simpler interface than on Citroen’s larger cars, but that’s no stress as all the functionality is still there. It also comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, with Max trim bringing a wireless charging pad - some of the e-C3’s alternatives don’t even offer that as an option.

You also get a full panel of climate controls, which is a welcome relief when so many car manufacturers are hiding these essential controls away in a touchscreen. Shame you don’t also get a volume knob, though.

Instead of a regular gauge cluster you get a high-set strip just under the base of the windscreen - it’s like a halfway house between normal gauges and a head-up display. It’s very easy to read, but it’s a shame you can’t have it display useful extras like navigation instructions.

The Citroen e-C3 quotes a maximum range of 199 miles. During our test drive, we saw about 3.5 miles per kWh, which would give a range of 150-160 miles, which isn't bad for the size of the battery, but isn't particularly confidence-inspiring for long trips.

It’s worth noting that Citroen doesn’t equip any version of the e-C3 with a heat pump. This means that in colder conditions, the range is likely to take quite a big hit, something we plan to test.

The max charging rate is only 100kW, but with the e-C3’s relatively small 44kWh battery that’s not much hardship. Citroen claims you can top up from 20-80% in just 26 minutes from a public charger. Charging at home, you’ll see times of around six hours from a regular 7.4kW wallbox. As an option, you can upgrade the e-C3 with 11kW charging, which brings times down to about four hours.

As for tax, as an electric car the e-C3 doesn’t pay any road tax until 2025 and it’s in the lowest band of benefit-in-kind company car tax.

The e-C3 hasn’t yet been tested by Euro NCAP. The Indian-market model has undergone crash testing, and scored poorly, but the European model has been strengthened and comes with significantly more safety equipment. The platform has been built to a cost, though, so we wouldn’t necessarily expect the full five-star rating.

All C3s get cruise control, lane-keeping aids, autonomous emergency braking, speed limit alerts - the usual roster of safety equipment, in other words. Our test car had all of these disabled so we can’t tell you how annoying or otherwise they are in practice, though it’s nice to see quick shortcut buttons to the side of the steering wheel for turning them off.

Citroen came 16th out of 31 manufacturers entered into the 2025 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey - which is pretty much bang on in the middle. The e-C3 uses a platform designed for developing markets, which suggests a degree of ruggedness, and its electric drivetrain has very few moving parts to go wrong, so that should offer some peace of mind.

A three-year, unlimited mileage warranty gives some peace of mind, and Citroen has gone some way of competing with other budget manufacturers like Kia or MG in offering long coverage. It’s not quite Toyota with its stellar ten-year, 100,000-mile warranty, but Citroen offers an eight-year warranty on engine and powertrain components.