Taking the C3 to the heights

Years ago I took glider flying lessons, writes Brian Byrne. The experience was quite different to any other kind of flying, because once the sailplane was released from the towing aircraft, there was a quite extraordinary silence.

Not complete silence. A soothing rush as the wind swished over the canopy changed emphasis whenever the aircraft turned, dived and soared. And the visibility through the perspex bubble as one handled the very basic controls to do those things was extraordinary.

It's probably as close as you get to being a bird and still have something around you. Hang-gliding, I guess, is the next level. One I have no difficulty in saying I'll leave to the birds ...

I was reminded of that time last week when driving the new generation Citroen C3. Not because it took me into the clouds, but because I could look up and see them.

This latest version of the Citroen supermini has been shapeshifted somewhat, though still retaining the basic style and design cues of its first generation.

The main difference in the review car was the panoramic windscreen which goes from the scuttle right back to behind the driver's head. There have been Opels with this feature before, but I never got around to driving them. And the Citroen C4 Picasso has had it, and I did.

In a supermini, though, it almost does feel more like that glider. Except there's still engine and road noise, which means that gentle rush over the canopy is missing. Oh well, you can't have everything ...

But what you do have in this new C3 is a really good driving experience. A surprisingly good one. I say that last knowing that it could be interpreted as having not expected the car to be good, but it really means that it is more than the good that I did expect.

Before I go there, let's look at the style and substance. The overall curves of the original have been stretched a little, and window lines tweaked with some chrome detailing. The front has gained a rather less glitzy styling that other models in the brand's range have shown in recent years. And that's to the good.

The inside has been given the new dashboard treatment which the DS3 premium Mini competitor has, maybe with a tad less sophistication for obvious reasons. But the quality of the trim materials is at the high end. A shift back to a more traditional instrumentation than in the generation one C3 is a welcome move.

It's a roomy car. It feels it, too. There's room for my legs, head, fairly broad shoulders. And I wouldn't be seriously uncomfortable in the back seats on a run .

Maybe the airiness of the panoramic windscreen has something to do with that sense, at least up front. Yet, I'm not sure it's for me. OK, if I was living with the car for more than the standard week, I suspect this is an issue that would just melt away. But I was all the time conscious of the rail over my head on which the sunblind contraption was set. To the point that, most of the time, I pulled it forward to a 'standard' roof configuration.

Maybe I just want to get back in a glider ...

The review car was the 1.4 HDi version, a frugal powerplant which in this size car also gives it a punchy fun character. As well as, so far, an easy tax rating (I wouldn't count on cheap green road tax lasting beyond the next Budget of Desperation, though; money has to be gathered to maintain TDs' salaries).

That engine verve encourages a bit of fun driving. And, if anything else, Citroen has a pedigree in good handling, whether in esoteric or traditional suspensions. The underpinnings of the C3 are in the latter category, and there's a mix of ride and roadholding that's as good a combo as you might ask for in the segment.

Sporty performance comes in high-power versions of standard cars. It isn't in the basic C3, and it wouldn't be appropriate. What you get in this one is the kind of driving feel that will take you comfortably the kind of short and longer distances that buyers in this segment need.

OK, Ford has this part of the Irish business in a stranglehold in Ireland with its Fiesta. That doesn't mean the latest C3 isn't as good.

My own opinion, mind, but I think it is.