Citroën C3 Aircross SUV - Interior & comfort

Citroen is on a mission to make driving a more relaxed affair and this is immediately apparent when you hit the road. Long-travel suspension gives the Aircross a smooth, loping ride quality on most road surfaces, although the occasional shock of potholes is the price you pay for a suspension that takes the edge off uncomfortable body lean when cornering.

There are wide seats designed to mimic your living-room armchair and you can choose from a selection of ‘Ambiances’, with different themes and colours for the upholstery. Importantly, the Aircross offers customers something different in an already overpopulated class, with the choice of sticking with a black-and-grey palette or ticking the box marked ‘Hype Colorado’ and enjoying a characterful two-tone interior.

Citroen C3 Aircross dashboard

The C3 Aircross' dashboard has a lot in common with that of the Citroen C3 supermini, with a clean look and lots of emphasis on the central infotainment screen. The dashboard texture varies depending on the ‘Ambiance’ you choose and how much money you spend, with soft-touch materials added as you go.

Equipment

C-Series trim, the current entry-point, includes 16-inch alloy wheels and a bodystyling kit with plastic front and rear skid plates under the bumpers for a stocky look. You also get niceties like a leather-trimmed steering wheel, a soft-touch dashboard facia, and ‘Graphite Grey’ interior trim with contrasting white stitching. There’s also a seven-inch display with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. This means you can hook up a compatible phone and enjoy navigation and services like Spotify – as long as you have enough mobile data. LED daytime running lights, front parking sensors, cruise control, automatic air conditioning and automatic windscreen wipers are also standard fit.

Shine trim adds ‘Mica’ grey cloth upholstery, active safety braking (autonomous emergency braking (AEB), as it's otherwise known) and forward collision alert. It also gets Citroen’s own sat-nav system, which includes a three-year subscription to real time traffic data and speed camera locations.

The top spec standard trim level is Shine Plus, with 17-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, a contrasting roof colour and keyless entry. It also gets front parking sensors, a reversing camera and a sliding rear bench.

There's also a Rip Curl special edition, that's a collaboration with the well-known surfing brand. It includes an interior makeover and a unique exterior look, thanks to a choice of four exterior colours, a black roof and Rip Curl graphics. It also gets added niceties including a sliding rear bench, a central rear armrest, and a ski flap in the rear seat to help with loading long items.

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Options

The only standard paint colour is red, with white coming in at £295 and metallic colours costing £500. The standard grey cloth ambiance is free, while Metropolitan Grey with red details costs £350, and Hype Mistral – with enhanced upholstery and soft-touch trim – costs £750. You can upgrade the Shine trim to have 17-inch alloy wheels for £220 and add a panoramic sunroof for £1,030.

Every C3 Aircross has front-wheel drive, but you can add a system called Grip Control to the Shine, Shine Plus and Rip Curl spec cars to help improve traction on slippery surfaces, for £300. It works by applying the brake to a spinning wheel to send torque to the tyre with more traction.

Colour packs that finish the headlight surround, door mirror, roof rails and C-pillar white or orange cost £250 and a detachable tow bar costs £500.