A drive to the beach in the Citroen C3 Aircross
The C3 Aircross is one of the latest crossovers to hit the market, but how does it fare in the eyes of a younger audience?
“You’ve got one of those, Auntie Chezzy, haven’t you?” asked my nephew Lewie on a sunny drive to the beach. He pointed to another Citroen on the road, so I have to give him kudos for that – he is only seven years old, after all.
He wasn’t quite right though, because while he got the manufacturer right (impressive), he didn’t quite nail the model. The car he was in fact pointing to was the C3 Picasso, and while I can understand and appreciate him likening the two vehicles, I found myself getting somewhat defensive of my C3 Aircross. I went on to explain to him – despite his obvious lack of interest in discussing the subject further – that the Aircross was far newer than the Picasso and that what we were driving to the beach was far superior.
Naturally, at seven years old he was only mildly enthused by all this, but I was the adult in the situation so I tried to rise above it… a difficult feat, I’m sure you can appreciate.
I really have grown to love the C3 Aircross for all its quirkiness, and there’s certainly some quirkiness to the car – like the fact the glove compartment is so small that you can barely put a purse in it without struggling to close the door (a problem for a woman like me who keeps every single receipt in her purse to the point of breakage), or the fact the cup holders aren’t really deep enough for you to navigate a cup of coffee round a roundabout without holding on to it for dear life. These are all things that some drivers might get annoyed about but not me, not in my beloved C3 Aircross.
How does it drive? An important question in a car review, so let me reassure you this compact SUV drives pretty nicely, and despite the issue with my coffee it handles bends and fast manoeuvres rather well. It genuinely is a nice drive – something that my nephew soon discovered as we pounded over the pebble drive on the way to our favourite part of the beach on that sunny Sunday afternoon.
Personally, the style of the car inside and out suits me just fine. Sure, it doesn’t have the gloss that other more expensive compact SUVs have, and perhaps it could be argued that it doesn’t demand attention on the road and just kind of blends in.
It certainly doesn’t have that wow, turn heads factor that other cars command, but for the price and convenience of such a vehicle (when you’re taking kids to the beach on a jam-packed sunny Sunday with everything but the kitchen sink in the back, you become immensely grateful for things such as good air conditioning, ample seat space in the back and a very good-sized boot – (is it really necessary for children to take so much stuff with them out on a day? Apparently so) I would argue that the Citroen C3 Aircross is a very decent option for families or couples looking for some room.
Needless to say, my nephew hasn’t asked me any car-related questions since…
