Brilliant Citroen e-C3 Aircross now goes further and costs less

Citroen is first to get government Electric Car Grants, just in time to discount its Extended Range e-C3 Aircross

The Citroen e-C3 Aircross is one of the best new cars I’ve driven this year – I love its blend of family-friendly space, first-rate tech and comfortable drive. Now it’s about to get even better with a longer-range version and the government’s Electric Car Grant to make it even cheaper.

Citroen has been the first car maker to benefit from the Electric Car Grant, with £1,500 off its range of electric cars. That includes the new e-C3, e-C4, e-C4 X and e-Berlingo.

Next into Citroen showrooms in September will be the e-C3 Aircross, a more spacious version of the e-C3 with a bit of SUV attitude, and the Electric Car Grant will apply to that model, too.

The new Citroen e-C3 Aircross now goes up to 249 miles on a single charge (Citroen)

Until now, only the Standard Range models have been available to order, with a maximum claimed range of 188 miles. Now, though, Extended Range e-C3 Aircrosses are set to arrive with the option of a 54kWh battery rather than the Standard Range’s 44kWh unit, giving a range of up to 249 miles.

The maximum charging speed on a suitable charger remains at 100kW, meaning the Extended Range cars can take 28 minutes to get a 20 to 80 per cent charge.

There’s a £1,900 price increase for the bigger battery, but the e-C3 Aircross still looks to be good value, especially when the Electric Car Grant is taken into account. The range now starts at £21,595 for the Standard Range Plus model or £23,495 for the Extended Range version – both prices include the government-provided discount.

Moving up to the Max version costs another £2,000, so £23,595 for the Standard Range car and £25,495 for the Extended Range Max, again both prices include the Electric Car Grant.

All e-C3 Aircross models get a 10.25-inch touchscreen featuring wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a reversing camera, Citroën Head-Up Display and a compact steering wheel. MAX models add level add front and rear parking sensors, a heated acoustic windscreen, a heated steering wheel and heated front seats, and wireless smartphone charging.

Although we drove the new e-C3 Aircross earlier this year, first cars aren’t expected to arrive in UK dealerships until September, in time for the new 75-plate registrations.