Citroen C3 News

Citroen has updated its C3 light car for the 2019 model year, with new equipment including AEB for the first time.

ANCAP has awarded five-star safety ratings to both the Alfa Romeo Giulia mid-size sedan and Stelvio medium SUV based on tests conducted by foreign agency Euro NCAP.

Citroen has increased the price of its third-generation C3 light hatch by $500 over over the initial recommended retail price announced in October, with the all-new model kicking off from $23,490.

Jaguar has laid claim to the title of World Car of the Year with its high-riding F-Pace, as three SUV models occupied the top placings for 2017.

Citroen Automobiles Australia has confirmed its light-commercial vehicle range will expand mid-year with the anticipated arrival of the next-generation Dispatch mid-size van.

The top end of town has snubbed next week's Paris motor show but the biggest auto event on the European calendar will have plenty of new sheet metal.

Citroen’s third-generation C3 five-door hatch has been officially revealed a day after images of the car were leaked online.

The French car maker has released some pricing and specification information ahead of the new light car's showroom debut later this month, with Citroen making the somewhat odd boast that the top-spec model has "the largest windscreen ever seen on a small car," the panoramic Zenith windscreen, 35 per cent larger than a normal windscreen. Prices will start from $19,990 for the C3 VT manual-only, the VTR+ will retail from $23,490 for the petrol/auto or $23,990 for the turbodiesel/manual.  The C3 Exclusive flagship in petrol/auto will be priced from $25,990 or the turbodiesel/manual model will retail from $26,490. The incoming C3 will go up against the Peugeot 207 and Renault's Clio, as well as the Polo from Volkswagen and Ford's inbound Thai-built Fiesta.  Citroen says the C3 will be more refined than its predecessor, with three times as much sound-absorbent material than the outgoing vehicle. The new car measures 3940mm long, 1730mm wide and 1520mm tall and will offer 300 litres of bootspace despite being shorter than much of its competition. The little hatchback sat fourth - behind the C4, C5 and Berlingo - in terms of sales at the end of last year and instead of where perhaps it should be - in 2008 it sat second behind the C4, a position to which Citroen believes it can return with the new model. Citroen Australia general manager Miles Williams says the C3 has been an integral part of the company's Australian line-up and the outgoing model's supply dried up in May. "We have a considerable pent-up demand for the new model ... we have, therefore, released details of the prices and specifications ahead of the arrival of the new model so that customers can start selecting and ordering their new C3," he says. The new car has been built with the brief of lower weight, better aerodynamics and lower emissions.  The range will be offered with two petrol power-plants and one turbodiesel - the 1.6-litre 16-valve unit producing 66kW and 215Nm while claiming a combined fuel use figure of 4.3 litres per 100km will be teamed with a five-speed manual for the Exclusive model. The two petrol engines on offer will be a 54kW/118Nm 1.4-litre 16-valve petrol engine in the VT, teamed only with a five speed manual.  The VTR will be offered with the turbodiesel or the PSA/BMW joint-venture powerplant, the 1.6-litre turbocharged 16-valve engine producing 88kW and 160Nm - offer refined and economical performance. The new C3 range will have a six-speaker sound system - with the option of an upgraded eight-speaker set-up; Bluetooth phone/audio link and a USB port are available on the options list for all models bar the Exclusive. The new C3 safety features list will include stability control, anti-lock brakes and up to six airbags.  The entry-level VT model has 15in steel wheels, an MP3-compatible sound system with wheel-mounted controls,  air conditioning, power-adjustable mirrors, front power windows and a trip computer. The VTR+ adds curtain airbags, front fog lights, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, cooled glove box and cruise control with speed limiter; the Exclusive adds climate control, power windows front and rear, Bluetooth, USB connectivity, folding and heated door mirrors and 16in alloy wheels.

Designed and built exclusively by AMG, the Jaffa C 63 concept is a one-off with distinctive bright orange paint offset by black painted wheels, badges, grille, exhaust tips etc. Basically everything that’s not orange or glass is black. Even the custom black interior features orange highlights and orange stitching. But the real story is under the skin. The new Performance Package Plus is designed to appeal to the power-hungry sports driver. It increases power output by 22kW to a sky-high 358kW, delivering near-DTM race car performance potential (the DTM cars produce 377kW). Unlike the exclusive exterior treatment – which is bespoke – the Per-formance Package Plus is available for production C Class AMG vehicles  and includes a high-performance braking system with composite tech-nology on the front axle, a carbon fibre spoiler lip and an AMG perform-ance steering wheel clad in Nappa leather/Alcantara. Performance? Immense. This C63 AMG accelerates from 0-100km/h in 4.4 seconds and 0-200km/h in just 13.9 seconds. (The standard C63 AMG does it in 4.5 seconds and 15.2 seconds respectively). Top speed is electronically limited to 250km/h. The boost in power arrives thanks to the AMG 6.3-litre V8 modified en-gine: forged pistons from the new SLS AMG supercar together with new conrods and a lightweight crankshaft translate into a weight saving of three kilograms. Reduced ?inertia boosts the responsiveness of the V8 engine. There is also a variable intake manifold painted titanium grey. The Performance Package Plus matches composite brake discs on the front axle with red-painted and AMG-logo brake calipers all round. The brake discs are connected to an aluminium bowl to avoid temperature peaks.  Even the connection between the disc and bowl is new: instead of the usual screw connection, the aluminium bowl is now connected to the brake disc via cast-in arms. The advantage is more consistent tempera-ture distribution on the brake disc. The C63 AMG is one of AMG’s most popular vehicles. In 2008, 8100 C 3s were sold worldwide. And they’re put to a range of private as well as official uses – for example a C63 AMG estate is used as the official F1 medical intervention car, and a C63 AMG sedan is the official safety car in the DTM German Touring Car Masters series.

The three brands are all gearing-up for a major attack on next year's new-age world championship, which will be open to smaller cars with smaller 1.6-litre turbocharged engines.Downsizing in the series means Citroen is switching to its C3, Ford is moving from the Focus to the Fiesta, and Mini is coming back to rallying for the first time since the 1960s with its Countryman.Ford already knows it has a winner in the Fiesta, which claimed the Monte Carlo Rally this year without a turbocharged engine. It is shown in Paris just a week before Ford begins testing for next year's championship, when it will try to snap Sebastian Loeb's six-year run as world championship with Citroen."Countless hours have gone into the Fiesta RS WRC to reach this point, and for the car to be unveiled in public for the first time is a proud moment for us.  We are right on track with our development and the team is delighted with testing to date," says Ford's rally boss, Malcolm Wilson.Its Citroen rival is already testing and picks up the basic mechanical package from the successful C4, with aero tweaking to the DS3 body including wider guards, a giant rear wing and cooling vents in the body.  But the rally star in Paris is the Mini, which is unveiled by FIA president and former rally co-driver Jean Todt.“The response to our announcement that Mini will return to the world of rallying next year was very positive. The FIA World Rally Championship is the pinnacle of rallying, making it the ideal platform for demonstrating the competitive spirit of our brand," says Mini's global marketing boss, Ian Robertson.The Countryman is massively tweaked for rallying and is displayed in Paris with giant front and rear wings, a bank of bonnet-mounted spotlights and a stripped-out cabin.The car is developed by Prodrive, the British motorsport operation that also runs Ford Performance Racing in the V8 Supercar championship, and has already run well in testing.  But Mini is unlikely to challenge Citroen and Ford in the early events of the 2011 WRC, which begins in Sweden in February.