Surprisingly the C3 was awarded only four stars out of five by Euro NCAP for crash protection and many other small cars, such as the Hyundai i20 and Ford Fiesta, have received five stars. The main reason it misses out on the top score is that stability control isn’t standard on the range and is only available on certain models. Under Euro NCAP’s stricter rating (introduced in 2009) this means it can’t be awarded the maximum rating.

The safety organisation also highlighted poor protection from the seat and head restraint against whiplash injuries.

With 300 litres of luggage space, the C3 has one of the largest boots in the small car class and can carry more than alternatives like the Vauxhall Corsa and Peugeot 207. It’s on par with the Skoda Fabia but has a less prominent load lip while the boot area itself is more than a metre wide. The rear seats split 60/40 and fold down with just one lever (from the boot or the seats themselves) allowing you to carry larger items.

Up front there is good stowage including a large glovebox, a useful central cubby between the front seats and – on certain models – underseat trays. The door pockets are annoyingly short though and not very user-friendly.