Say hello to…
…the Citroen eC3 a small, electric hatchback to rival cars such as the Renault 5 and Hyundai Inster.
Citroen has concentrated on keeping costs down and offering value. As such, it uses a 44kW batter and a 113hp motor to give an official range of 201 miles. And in the Plus trim level has only the essentials in terms of standard equipment.
Standard equipment on the Plus includes 17-inch alloys, 10.25-inch infotainment screen, aircon, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, 360-degree camera, satnav, 3x USB sockets, powered windows, cruise control, speed limiter and rear parking sensors.
Max trim adds LED lights, auto high-beam, front fog lights, power-fold mirrors, climate control, wireless phone charging, reversing camera, heated seats and heated steering wheel.
Is The Citroen eC3 Suitable For My Fleet
The eC3 is clearly a niche vehicle in company car terms dictated by the size and 156-mile real-world range. However, it does have a decent sized boot at 310 litres and, for the class, a good 100kW maximum charge speed. It’s also wonderfully simple to use. There’s also physical buttons to easily turn off the lane-keeping and speed limit warnings.
All this adds up to a car that’s great for local, city use or as a low cost vehicle that can be used to get to a train station for longer journeys.
Leasing A Citroen eC3
Gateway2lease is offering the eC3 Max for £258 a month on a 9+36 contract with 10,000 miles a year. Gensen Reports forecasts the maintenance at £24 a month and the Class 1A NIC comes in at £9 a month.
Driving A Citroen eC3
Citroen has taken a refreshingly different approach bringing an electric car to the market. While almost all other brands aim for some sort of sporty handling and as much technology as possible, the Citroen eC3 aims squarely for a comfortable drive and with no more tech than is legally required or actually used by consumers.
In terms of the driving experience, the softer suspension results in a car that has a bit more body-roll in the corners than most hatchbacks, but in reality this simply means the driver can tell what’s going on. And makes the car’s behaviour very predictable.
While the eC3 isn’t particularly powerful, it’s plenty quick enough for local driving and almost fun if you do want to go a bit quicker, because it makes you drive more efficiently in terms of momentum. The brakes are reassuring and predictable too.
The eC3 will happily sit on the motorway, too, but at these speeds the efficiency is poor and range shrinks alarmingly quickly.
Over a week of mainly local, but some motorway work, we saw an average of approximately 3.6 miles per kWh. It’s difficult to tell exactly because the one tech the eC3 is missing that most driver would want is a trip computer for average efficiency.
While we really loved the eC3, it’s not perfect. For taller drivers the seating position isn’t great, and the two-spoke steering wheel is an odd, rounded square shape.
The overall impression is a positive one and it’s great to find a car that you can just get-in-and-go without needing time to change settings or modes.
FleetandLeasing.com Verdict On The Citroen eC3
A charming small car that’s simple to use, cost effective and makes sense for those only needing a shorter range.
Citroen eC3
- Model: eC3 Max
- Power: 113 hp
- Torque: 125 Nm
- Max speed: 82 mph
- 0-62mph: 10.4s
- Official range: 201 miles
- Test range: 156 miles*
- CO2 emissions: 0g/km
- BIK tax band 2025/26: 3%
* summer weather
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