Double test ANWB Citroen C3 and Kia Rio

Will it be a trend follower or a bird of paradise…?

While the facelifted Kia Rio tries to match its competitors as much as possible, the updated Citroën C3 tries to differentiate itself from it. What is the best approach within part B?

Do you remember that from school? Once upon a time you had a classmate who, in order to fit in, knew what kind of shoes you should wear, what kind of jacket, what kind of motorcycle you should ride, and so on. Kia Rio is also like that. He really wants to be a part of it. And by that we mean the big three; VW Polo, Ford Fiesta and Opel Corsa. Citroen C3 is that classmate who is completely different from the rest of the class. Call him a bird of paradise. For alternative clothes, a sharp haircut and soldier boots. Citroen C3 doesn’t want to look like anyone and stand out!

Car type and price

There is a wide choice in the small family car class. Just think: in addition to the ‘big three’ mentioned above, we are talking about Mazda 2, Peugeot 208, Hyundai i20, Renault Clio and so on. Kia Rio also belongs to that group. Although the Rio has been lifted, designers have wisely stayed close to the previous model. It was truly memorable and the Koreans wanted to keep it that way – before you know it you won’t be a part of it again! So we only see a new nose and some nicer materials would be used inside. Kia Rio facelift brings under the skin well the first two. It is the brand’s first car with a hybrid system. The 1.0-liter turbo engine has a small electric motor that runs on 48 volts. And it also has a new manual gearbox with a smart clutch – more on that later. The Rio is available from €19,990. You rent it privately from 299 euros per month. The comfort line is the entry level version. It, like all other Rios in the current lineup, always has a one-liter three-cylinder hybrid engine. This is a good choice for 100 or 120 hp. You always have the usual rich equipment, especially when it comes to additional driver assistance systems. For example, emergency brake assist, high beam assist and active lane assist are always present. You also always have air conditioning, Bluetooth connectivity and digital radio.

The test car is a well-equipped C3 1.0 T-DGi MHEV DynamicPlusLine. It also has an 8-inch navigation screen, parking sensors, a reversing camera, cruise control and Apple Carplay. And the 100 hp engine costs € 23,495. Finally: it is only available as a five-door with a diesel engine or a fully electric version is not possible.

The Citroen C3 takes a completely different approach. For starters, there is no hybrid version of this car. There is no plug-in hybrid, no mini hybrid and certainly no electric version. You will have to make do with an oil, diesel or gasoline engine. It is a 1.2 liter three-cylinder petrol engine with a choice of 83 or 110 hp. Available only as five doors. The cheapest version is C3 Live. It costs €18,390. You rent it, just like the Rio, for €299 a month. That sounds very cheap, but you get a completely empty car. Although you have cruise control and traffic sign recognition, you have almost no driver assistance systems. For example, it does not have an emergency braking system. The test car is a C3 Shine with a 110 hp engine. That’s a very well-equipped version and costs €23,890. So it’s 400 euros more expensive than the Rio. Then you get 17-inch alloys, two-tone paint, navigation, parking sensors and a reversing camera. How different is it? Well, the C3 has an unusually shaped nose, those small air vents on the doors – which should prevent you from being damaged by swinging doors in tight parking spaces (which is a free option, by the way). And according to the brochure, you can make 97 combinations (!) to distinguish yourself from other C3 drivers, and from the rest of the world.

Driving behavior

The Citroen C3’s powertrain does its job well, but a slight thump is noticeable between 110 and 130 km/h. The power source has enough torque and therefore pulls well down. The C3 does not have the good suspension system of the C4 and C5, but it is of McPherson construction at the front and independent wheel suspension at the rear with a torsion bar. The suspension is nice and easy and feels good. However, the rear axle tends to knock very quickly on big bumps and when driving under a speed transition. At such a time you want those hydraulic dampers of its big brothers. Fortunately, the test car has Comfort Seats, which cost an extra 450 euros. There is an extra slope in them and it is very nice! The car leans very little in fast corners. Just a great car to drive. And last but not least: the C3 is nice and quiet thanks to the additional sound insulation. While recording the video shown above, the fuel consumption interval measurement was still a very good 1 in 18.1. But after a week of driving in all kinds of conditions, we finally arrived at an average of 1 in 14.9. That’s a good average, by the way, considering that the three-cylinder has no electronics.

As befits a classy boy, the Rio is also equipped with the latest equipment. We have already mentioned the smooth hybrid car, but it also has a new manual gearbox. And especially the clutch pedal with which you can (dis)engage the gearbox. This connection is no longer connected directly to the container, but works electronically. ‘Clutch-by-wire’, they call it. Eliminating hydraulic coupling can help reduce consumption, Kia says. However, due to the special transmission, you should also remember to press the brake by increasing the clutch pedal when starting the car. Otherwise nothing happens. Yes, and the box must be neutral! And once you start it, you’re driving in economy mode. So you must always turn it off. After all, the ‘normal’ space is not called that for nothing. This Rio is the first Kia to get a non-hybrid petrol engine. So the power source is assisted by a starter generator. This should ensure that fuel consumption remains low. at first it was like that. During the video shown above we had a measurement that averaged 1 in 18.6. But when the exam week was over and we calculated the final exam average, we came up with 1 out of 16.5. So it is more economical than C3, but despite all the technology, the difference is quite small! You can set the car to drive in 3 modes: eco, normal and sport. But the best setting is just ‘normal’.

The electric clutch, so to speak, takes some getting used to. If you give off too little gas when accelerating from a standstill, you will feel an unpleasant shock. The driving behavior is good. The car drives precisely and with great feeling. It does it better than the Citroën. The chassis tuning is also quite similar. It is much better than that of C3. Nice and comfortable, but a little stiffer than the Citroën, so you feel good about what you’re doing. Finally, the noise level is medium. Above 80 km / h you will hear a little tire noise and above 2000 rpm the engine is also quite audible.

Security

The C3 doesn’t have as many driver assistance systems as usual. But because our test car is the Shine version, it has many additional driver assistance systems. Emergency braking system, collision warning, traffic sign recognition, and lane keeping assistant. However, the latter is a very simple thing that only emits a sound signal if you go out of your way, but does not interfere with driving. In addition, it is very annoying that you quickly turn it off. And that cannot be the intention. The list of options also includes blind spot monitoring. There is no system that warns about crossing traffic behind the car, unlike the Kia Rio

Kia Rio is the best in class in terms of driver assistance systems. We mention the collision warning system, the emergency braking system that also detects pedestrians and cyclists, the lane assistant that intervenes and detects blind spots. The line assist keeps the car well in the center of the line, but it is also very imposing. And then there is also a warning for cross traffic behind the car. You can optionally get adaptive cruise control. And with lane assistant, Rio can actually drive independently up to a speed of 180 km/h. Also new: Rio can be ordered by Vehicle Departure Alerta system that warns the driver if the vehicle in front is accelerating and reacts too late.

The room

The Citroen C3 is exactly 4 meters long and has a wheelbase of 2.54 meters. There is more than enough leg and head room in the front. It also seems that the car is quite wide, which increases the feeling of space. Unfortunately, that sense of space isn’t there in the back seat. The headroom is about right for a 6-foot-tall person, and the legroom is inadequate. A person of 1.80 quickly sits with their knees against the backrest of the front seat. The boot space with the rear seats installed is 300 liters. Citroën does not disappoint, it is good when you fold everything. In any case, you cannot have a flat loading floor. Furthermore, you have a high lifting threshold and no double bottom. The Rio’s wheelbase is four centimeters longer (2.58 meters) than that of the C3 and the overall length of the car is 6 cm longer. It doesn’t seem like much, but it makes all the difference in the back seat. At least, in terms of legroom. You have more of that than in a Citroën. However, the headroom is not enough, like the Citroen. The trunk is also larger. That saves 25 liters for the Rio (325 liters). If you fold everything, a space of 1,103 liters will be created. Here too, there is no flat loading floor, no high lifting threshold and no double loading floor. If you lift the floor you will not see the spare wheel, but the spare battery which is for the starter generator.

Ease of use

The C3 looks a little different on the inside than most cars. For leather loops to close the door. And a nice wooden/snake skin line on the dashboard. But when you start driving it is easy to use. With trays and enough compartments for small items and an infotainment system that is easy to operate. The location of the cup holder is not easy. It’s so close behind the gear lever that your cup gets in the way when shifting. It’s also annoying that the heating function is at the bottom of the menu, so operating it requires more effort/steps than when you have buttons, like the Rio.

The Rio has a separate feature under the ‘Media’ button; you can turn on background sounds, such as ‘rainy day’, ‘calm ocean waves’, ‘steps in the snow’, ‘fireplace’ or ‘smooth terrace’. The Rio seems busier on the inside than the C3. Lots of buttons on the steering wheel, for example, as well as lots of buttons on the center console, including the recently mentioned heater controls. Everything is very easy to work. But there is also a lot of work. You can see it partly between the meters and partly on the infotainment screen. Here too, there is plenty of storage space and comfortable seats that offer plenty of lateral support. Citroen can have a maximum of 600 kg on the towbar. Frank: and Rio max towing weight 900 kg.

The winner

A comparison between two cars that both have high scores, each in its own way. For example, the Citroen C3 is the most comfortable of the two and its fuel consumption is excellent considering that it only has a petrol engine and no additional electrical system. And he is the calmer of the two. In addition, he is very stubborn; you buy something special. But where the C3 scores seven and eight, the Rio tops out with nines here and there. It has a lot of driver assistance systems as usual and it has systems that you won’t find in the C3. It is the more economical of the two, has more towbar use and is slightly cheaper. And so the Kia Rio wins this comparison.

Also read our personal driving tests of these test candidates:
Citroen C3
Let’s go to Rio