Browse over 9,000 car reviews

Citroen C3 vs Toyota Prius C

What's the difference?

VS
Citroen C3
Citroen C3

$28,880 - $34,990

2023 price

Toyota Prius C
Toyota Prius C

2018 price

Summary

2023 Citroen C3
2018 Toyota Prius C
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Turbo 3, 1.2L

Inline 4, 1.5L
Fuel Type
Unleaded Petrol

Unleaded Petrol/Electric
Fuel Efficiency
5.2L/100km (combined)

3.9L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

5
Dislikes
  • Price
  • Sub-par refinement
  • Ownership costs

  • Feels record-player old in places
  • Some cabin materials feel cheap
  • Standard safety is underdone
2023 Citroen C3 Summary

You’re a city dweller on the hunt for a small hatch, but the usual suspects just don’t do it for you. Time for a trip down the urban road less travelled.

The Citroen C3 fits the bill in terms of scale, but brings something extra when it comes to personality. A fun-sized European with the ability to surprise and delight.

It comes at a price, though. So, is the promise of some extra excitement in your motoring life worth it? Read on to find out.

View full pricing & specs
2018 Toyota Prius C Summary

See if you can guess the name of the world's first ride-sharing app. You're thinking Uber, right? Nope. It was a company called Sidecar. It's broke now, shuttered for good in 2015. What about the first video-on-demand service? Netflix? Nope. Amazon beat them to it, for starters, but so did many other, now-defunct companies who tried it even earlier.

The point is, being first on the scene is no guarantee you'll be the best, or the most successful. I mean, just look at electric cars; plenty of manufacturers were doing all-battery models before (and arguably better than) Tesla, and every one of them is now parked in Elon Musk's gargantuan shadow.

Before full-electric there were hybrids, and first to arrive on that particular scene in any meaningful way was Toyota and its awkwardly shaped Prius, back in 2001. And they had that field to themselves for a while, but soon enough the other manufacturers trotted out hybrid and plug-in hybrid models of their own.

And so Toyota shook up the Prius offering, launching the seven-seat Prius V, and the bite-sized (and Yaris-based) Prius c we've tested here, in 2012, hoping to broaden the appeal of its hybrid offerings. Problem is, 2012 was an awfully long time ago, and so Toyota has waved its wand over the ageing Prius c for 2018, changing its design, tech offering and interior in an effort to keep it fresh.

So, is the Japanese giant still head of the hybrid class? Or has it been beaten at its own game?

View full pricing & specs

Deep dive comparison

2023 Citroen C3 2018 Toyota Prius C

Change vehicle