Citroen eC3 Electric Car | Solid, Economical EV With Great Range

A few missing features now the standout feature of the C3, when it was launched, was that it was a real big, comfortable, plush French hatchback and the wheelbase was really long like it was a segment busting long wheelbase with tons and tons of space inside, and that Was not by chance, it was by Design because Citroen right from the beginning wanted to have an electric version of this hatch as well, and, as you can see right now, this car has a battery underneath, and this is a 29.2 kilowatt hour battery, which is supposed To give you a 320 kilometers of range by arai, which would translate into a real world range of about 240 kilometers, and since this battery is dropping slightly below the side skirts, it means that the ground clearance has gone down by a little margin. Its now 170 mm not 180 mm, as it was on the ice version, so thats one also. This battery is naturally air cooled its, not a liquid cool battery, but from stelantis a global car maker. You can rest assured, and it has been tested in a wide range of temperatures below zero degree celsius, all the way to 50 degree celsius. So you can rest assured that this battery is going to work just fine. Now the color that you see here is a gray color, but the color that Ill be driving will be a little different and thats because they are just tons and tons of colors on this car.

When the C3 was launched, they were 10 of accessory packs. There were many colors and the theme has only been extended with this one. Now you have four solid colors and nine dual tone colors, and this one here is the gray with polar white roof and just to give you an idea, all the colors that are there. You can see them on the screen right now now, apart from these colors, there are a lot of customization options also, and there are three Vibe packs which are available right from the factory plus one Elegance pack, which would be installed at the dealership. So three plus one four packs – and these highlights that you see here the polar white then theres a gray, theres orange. So these are the white packs and if you find a chrome pack somewhere, it would mean that its the Elegance pack, which has been installed at the dealership now lets talk a little bit more about the specs here. So, as I mentioned, the battery here is 29.2 kilowatt R, the 0 to 60 time here is 6.8 seconds now. The Tiago EV is slightly quicker there. If you really talk about the top speed, also its 107 kilometers per hour on this one, true speed, which is also higher on Tiago EV. But the range here is the real Advantage. You have 320 kilometers of air air range, which would translate in about 20 to 30 kilometers more than the Thiago EV in the real world, and the boot here is also significantly bigger, its bigger by 75 liters at 315 liters.

This one also gets a spare wheel, which is skipped by all the other EV makers, so that again is a great plus, a very practical inclusion by Citron in terms of power output. The peak power output here is 57 PS and the peak torque is 143 newton meters now thats important, because if you compare it with the Thiago EV the power there is slightly more at 74 PS, but the torque here is more because the torque there is 114 Newton meters, in terms of weight, the weight here is 1302 for the lower variant and 1316 for the higher field variant, and if you really compare it with the standard ice C3, the weight is up by about 280 kgs. The curve weight of the C3 is 1035 kgs now thats surprising, because the C3 in its ice form, despite being a bigger car, is still lighter than the Tiago which weighs in at 1087 kgs. So what you get here is a bigger car, a good battery good range, an international brand, but the performance has been a little bit subdued to keep it practical and extend the range now from the outside. This car is more or less exactly like the C3 ice variant and the only difference youll find is this e badging on the flanks right here on both the sides, and you also have this lid for the electric socket, and let me just show this to you, Foreign, so this is another difference apart from that at the rear.

Also you get the E badging, and the great thing, as I mentioned, is that the boot is as good as the C3 and you also get a spare wheel, although its not full size, its slightly smaller. But then again you can really Drive long distances with the spare wheel. The charger also comes along with the car and in terms of charging times. If youre going to a DC fast charging station, you can have this car charged from 10 to 80 percent. In 57 minutes flat and if youre going to be charging it inside your house on the 15 ampere socket itll take about 10 and a half hours to charge from 10 to 100. Now, Im going to get it inside and then Im going to get behind the wheel of the car also, but before that, let me complain a little bit because there are a few features missing, although this is not a premium car, but still there is no LED Headlamps here, so you have these basic reflectors. You dont even have a projection, but you do have these beautiful looking. They are else again Im not complaining about all of that, because its not that important, but the mirrors should have been powered theyre still manual on this one and at the very here you dont have a wash and wipe and a defogger. Now from what I understand. Citron have listened to our complaints and these problems are going to be fixed very very soon.

I wish they were fixed on this car, but from what I understand in next couple of months, youll have powered mirrors a rear, wash and wipe along with defogger as well. What I also miss is a rear view, camera, which should have been here as at least an option. Now the big Advantage with this car is its size. If you compare it with the Thiago EV. This is bigger not just in terms of the cabin space, but also boot space, and it comes from an international car maker. Also, the Highlight here is the fact that it rides very, very beautiful its a French car and the ride quality is really really amazing. Just to put things in perspective, the wheelbase itself is 140 mm longer than the Thiago EV. The length is more than 210 mm longer. The width is 55 mm, wider, the height is all also 50 mm taller and, as you would assume, all of that translates into Road presence now its time to get inside where the Thiago EV has a lot of advantages because it gets more features. But this one has space on its side. Lets see what has changed on the inside. Now you get this cutesy little key and you get remote unlock, but you dont get keyless entry and the interior is, as we saw with the C3. For the most part, the entry is just about right for a hatchback, not too low, not too high, and the seats are plush and comfortable, and the only big change that youll see inside the cabin is that you now have this toggle button here to select reverse Neutral drive or choose the ECO mode to extend your range now.

The interior that you see here is done in black and gray. You have another theme which is black and orange. If you want your interior to pop even more now, as we all know, the features here are not elaborate. However, you get this 10 inch screen, which is one of the best in the segment. It also gets Wireless Android, auto and apple carplay, which is really great. Also, the AC here is tropicalized, which means that it can fight this weather in Chennai very, very well. So that again is a highlight. Another highlight, which has always been a great thing with the C3, is the fact that you have tons and tons of storage spaces. So its very practical, you have some space here and really amazing storage space. Here you can also use this slit to store your wallet or cell phone, and the glove box is not too bad either. Now this instrument console definitely could have been a little bit better for an electric car, and all you get is this range, the odometer two trip meters and the charge remaining. Also, you dont get a push button start, so you have to press the key and you will get this ready tone and then itll show you the drive mode, that you have selected reverse neutral or drive, and you can also choose the Eco Mode now these window Buttons for the front are placed here, and the funny thing here is that, while Citroen have skimped on powered mirrors, they have not on one touch down Windows and all the four buttons not just the front two, but the rear.

Two also are one touch down. So this is one feature which probably could have been skipped and in its place, powered orvm could have probably been given. The seats, as I mentioned, are very, very plush. To have these controls on the steering wheel. The headrests are not adjustable. You have ample Headroom. The mirrors are not Auto dimming now this here is the lever to open the charging lid, and this is for the Bonnet and you also get a dead pedal. This is the button for the fog lamps and from here you can lock the window buttons for all passengers and overall its as plush as comfortable and interior as it was on the C3. The only big difference is here where the lever is missing now lets get to the back seat because thats, where a bigger change has happened, and the change here is that, because of the battery pack, the floor has come up by about 70 mm and while the Entry and exit is very easy. This is ideal height and the thigh Support also for this class is very good. The issue here is that, since your feet are now slightly higher up, your knees are pointing slightly towards the sky, and the thigh support has been very slightly compromised, Im, not saying its uncomfortable at all, but its not as comfortable as the C3, which had a lower Flow board so that you manage to get more thigh support, so thats one major difference.

Still the Headroom here, although not as much as the C3, is still sufficient for people who are up to six feet or maybe slightly more as well. You get two USB charging sockets here and your own controls for the rear. Two windows in this unconventional Place, one cup or bottle holder magazine holders. Now there are differences between the life and feel variance. Life is the low variant field. Is the high variant and Ill spell out all the differences between the two cars? In a short while you dont get 60 40 split seats, which I think should have been here. You also dont get adjustable headrests, but this is the widest car and by a long shot in its class, and you can easily see three and if space is something that youre really looking for, including the boot space and the space for three in the back bench. Then this car definitely hits the ball out of the puck. If I really have to Grumble, I would complain about a lack of isofix child seat mounts as well, but again its the same as the C3, its a very plush, very comfortable, very beautiful riding car. However, there are some amenities which are missing now we have had a couple of rounds around this test track that we have invited to, and what I can tell you is that, while the power output may not look like much, but the talk on this car is Fantastic and in the real world conditions youll not feel any dearth of power, as you can see right now, Im at about 90 kilometers per hour, and this car is still accelerating very strongly and itll go all the way to its top speed of 107 kilometers per Hour without any problem and thats, where its just going to stand its not going to go past that even on the speedo.

So while the power output number on this car may not look like much but in the real world, I dont see any problem at all. There is tons and tons of torque available, and this car accelerates very very briskly. Just like a 1.2 liter petrol engine car would accelerate and it doesnt feel sluggish at all. Also, as you can see, theres a curve ahead. There are quite a few Corners around here and, as I mentioned during my drive of the Citroen C3 also, this car handles well. It holds its line pretty well, although the steering is a little inert and it has a different feeling, because now the weight here is about 280 kgs more. So there is a slightly heavier feeling on the steering wheel, but it still is very, very inert. It doesnt feel engaging at all but thats the case with most of the electric car, so thats not something to complain about and, as you can see, I have hit the top speed already its headed in seven uh right now and from what I can understand. The battery is also depleting at the rate that its showing on the auto and the batch before me had already depleted it by 50 and it seems to be going strong even now. So, as I mentioned in the real world, you can expect it to deliver anywhere from about 220 to 240 kilometers thats. What the real world range on this car should be like lets, have a go at the braking as well, and, as you can see, the car stops on a drive.

Another great thing about this car as compared to especially the Thiago EV, is that the tires here are wider. They are grippier and this car is not screaming. With every press of the right pedal with the Thiago EV, we saw that the car was Wheel spinning and there was an abrupts transfer of power at the wheel. This one is a little bit more linear and in terms of its stability around corners. Also, it feels a wee bit more planted, so the grip from the tires and stability is slightly better here, although in terms of ride quality, as you can see its a very flatly laid out surface. So I cannot really tell you much about the suspension, but with the kind of seat of the pants experience Im getting it should be as plush as the C3. The weight is more and the suspension has been tuned and it does feel like it is going to give you a very plush, very comfortable feeling in the real world over unrelations and rough patches. I dont feel any inherent firmness here. It seems to be tuned towards Comfort now. Another thing that I know noticed is that you can move from drive to Eco thats, not a problem, however, even in the Eco Mode, as you go beyond a certain point, itll automatically show that you have gone into the power Zone and you are depleting the battery Faster than you should, and even if you are not in the Eco Mode, like, for example, I have moved out of the ECO mode and if youre driving, easy youll still get the Eco notification here.

So, whether you are in eco mode or in standard mode, you would get the Eco light if youre driving properly. However, with the Eco Mode, the region is enhanced a little bit and the car breaks with more region, as opposed to when you are not in the ECO mode. So, in the Eco Mode, the sense of acceleration is not as strong as opposed to the standard drive mode. The difference is slightly perceptible in the ECO mode. Also, it feels reasonably brisk, it doesnt feel weak or slow, but you can feel stronger region in eco mode and a stronger sense of acceleration in the standard drive mode on the inside. Its very quiet theres, absolutely no sound coming in from the outside. Although there is a bit of wind noise coming in after 80, 90 kilometers per hour, but its not disturbing at all its very mildly, perceptible and increases, as you cross, 95 96 kilometers per hour, all in all, dont go by the power output on this car. The torque is very strong and it feels like a very brisk very solid, accelerating car doesnt feel slow at all and in the real world, if youre not going to be blazing through the highway for all practical purposes, especially within the city and even on the highway. Till its top speed of 107 kilometers per hour, it doesnt feel slow. It feels like a nice brisk car and if you want a car for primarily as a city, then about or for the occasional Highway run, this should do well now, with the introduction of the citizen.

Ec3 Citron has also introduced the myosit and Connect app with 35 Plus smart features. Ota updates crash notification, vehicle tracking and Driver Behavior Analysis. It also comes with a c Buddy app, which has voice assisted intuitive features for navigation suggestions and support for emitting apps like zoom and Google meet in terms of colors. You have three white packs and one Elegance pack: 47 customization options, two interior themes, four solid colors, three new two tone: colors, which are exclusive to the EC3 and 6 existing two tone: colors the car also gets 70 plus accessories. Now a lot of people have their doubts about the battery since its natural cooled, its not liquid cooled, but stalantis has to say that the battery has been tested for temperatures between minus 10 degree Celsius to 55 degree celsius and there wont be any problem. We are in Chennai and the weather was reasonably hot and we didnt face any problems whatsoever. The battery here is also nail penetration test compliant, and there is also protection underneath to protect it from any protrusions on the road. Another great thing about this battery is that you can charge it on full DC over and over again without having to charge it on a 15 amp, socket and thats big news for the fleet operators, because they dont want any downtime and they can keep the car Running without having to wait for it getting charged on a slow charger now you also would be interested in doing the warranties and in the b2c segment the battery comes with a seven year, 140 000 kilometer warranty.

The e motor comes with a five year: 100. 000 kilometer warranty and the vehicle itself comes with a three year: one lakh 25 000 kilometer warranty extended warranty, options are also available and for B2B segment. Customizable options are available now, since, at the time of the test drive, the prices of the car have not been announced. I cannot share them with you, but in my estimation, and especially comparing it with the Thiago EV, I think this car should be priced between 10 to 13 lakh rupees, depending on how citizen wants to position it and at that price this would be a good value Proposition because electric cars until now were quite expensive and they were not very affordable by people who wanted everyday cars at the same price, uh as a naturally aspirated 1.2 liter hatchback, but that Gap is getting closed and for someone who wants an everyday car, this can Come across as a very, very usable proposition, its a perfectly good City, Car, very comfortable, very spacious, decent enough for the highway, and if its priced well, along with the Tiago EV, this would be another car which would democratize EVS in India, at least to start with. I really hope that I was able to answer all your questions about this beautiful little car here still, if you have any questions, put them down in the comments section and Ill be very happy to answer all your questions. Personally, if you like such informative, long format, high quality content do not forget to like share and subscribe to our channel.

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