Citroen e-C3 Aircross Review 2025

You wait ages for an affordable, small electric SUV to come along and within a few weeks there’s another! While that increase in choice seems positive you don’t even need to scratch beneath the surface to spot that this new Citroen e-C3 Aircross is closely related to the Vauxhall Frontera Electric launched just before it.

Sharing underpinnings and mechanical components between models from seemingly unrelated brands has gone on since the dawn of car manufacturing, albeit largely well-hidden on the most successful examples.

Whether small SUV customers mind — or even notice — that as products of the Stellantis manufacturing group this pair also share body panels will only be revealed in the fullness of time, although we’re inclined to think they won’t.

You see, what will be considered far more important to them is the excellent value for money that they represent, especially in Citroen guise because it conveniently undercuts is Vauxhall equivalent by an amount that could well tempt you to drive further to a dealer for the e-C3 Aircross.

At £22,990 the Citroen e-C3 Aircross in Plus trim is £505 less than the equivalent Vauxhall, while the Max specification version is £24,990 — that’s £905 cheaper than the alternative Frontera Electric.

That means the price gulf to rival cars is even greater than it is for the Vauxhall. Remember that you’ll need to cough-up at least £26,195 for a BYD Dolphin and an eye-widening £29,995 to own the Ford Puma Gen-E. The Ford’s more powerful, certainly, but its battery is a similar size to the Citroen.

Even the ageing MG ZS EV weighs in at £30,495 although it’s both more powerful and has a longer driving range than the e-C3 Aircross.

Based on what you now know about the e-C3 Aircross it’ll come as no surprise to learn that mechanically it’s identical to its Vauxhall cousin, as well as the smaller Citroen e-C3 hatchback which impressed us with its simple, effective honesty. Of course the Aircross version's SUVness means it’s a bit heavier and less aerodynamic, making the electrical drive system work harder to earn its keep.

Power from the front-mounted motor is rated at 113PS with torque being modest by contemporary standards at 124.5Nm. Through a one-speed automatic gearbox drive is sent to the front wheels resulting in an 8.9-second 0-62mph time and an 89mph top speed, the former is slightly inferior to the Vauxhall, the latter marginally better.

Sharing the same smallish 44kWh battery as the Vauxhall the Citroen ekes-out two more miles of driving range with a WLTP Combined cycle of 188 miles between recharges. For those who predominantly drive localised commutes that’ll just fine but those who regularly travel further will be keener on the larger capacity version due later in 2025 with a range in the 250-mile ballpark.

Recharging the Citroen e-C3 Aircross’s battery with a typical 7.4kW AC domestic wallbox requires 4 hours 20 minutes to take the battery from 20% to 80%. Using a public rapid DC charger with a 100kW CCs connection reduces that recharge to just 26 minutes but will cost you significantly more for the convenience.

Sharing the spacious five-seater interior of its petrol-only and petrol-with-mild hybrid-powered C3 Aircross, the electric version isn’t compromised in any way by carrying its battery pack with the same 460-litre capacity boot that expands to 1600 litres with the second-row seats folded over.

As is the case with the Vauxhall Frontera Electric, the seven-seater option isn’t compatible with the Citroen e-C3 Aircross.

Orders for the Citroen e-C3 Aircross open in February 2025 with first customer deliveries expected in the spring.

Keep this page bookmarked to read our forthcoming comprehensive Citroen e-C3 Aircross review.