Slattery’s Garage Nenagh is new Citroen Dealer in Tipperary

Slattery’s Garage have been appointed by Gowan Auto as an authorised sales and service dealership, joining the Citroen network in Ireland, writes Trish Whelan. Operating since 1965, Slattery’s has transformed over the years, evolving from agricultural machinery sales to long-standing dealer partner to Gowan Auto. The family-owned dealership has been operating for over six decades. 

The French marque will arrive in Slattery’s brand-new state of the art showroom located off the M7 on the Limerick Road in Nenagh. Slattery’s Garage Nenagh was welcomed to the Citroen dealer network by Colin Sheridan, Managing Director for Citroen Ireland. The Citroen dealer network new extends to 26 locations nationwide. All the brand’s passenger and commercial vehicles come with a 5-year warranty. 

Slattery’s new location is expected to begin operations from early August. Until then, the full Citroen range is available at their existing location in Puckane.

 

Citroën C3 Aircross review: Brian Byrne, Irish Car

Be good. Have fun. Be happy. Feel good. Citroën’s C3 Aircross comes with those little messages on fabric tabs, one on each door, writes Brian Byrne. In a fraught world, such a little idea, possibly considered by some to be a frivolity, might well be more important than we realise. With our cars often being our cocoon from more tricky parts of our day, any reminder of positive things can’t be anything but good.

At the time of writing, I’ve driven a couple of versions of the C3 Aircross, the B-segment crossover from the French brand with a pedigree that’s a mix of innovation and quirkiness. Now part of the Stellantis group, and the technological inter-brand commonalities that come with that, Citroën is still determined to make its own mark.

This is the second generation of the European C3 Aircross, completely restyled with a strong exterior design that includes sculpted and muscular front bumpers, larger wings, LED headlights, and distinctive daytime running lights. It looks imposing, and my review car in red with a contrasting black roof certainly held a presence. Horizontal shapes and lines on the tailgate add visual width to the car as it drives away in front of you.

Citroën is associated with comfort, and the new C3 Aircross takes that to the next level with interiors in soft materials, funky designs appropriate to the slightly offbeat theme, providing a calm and comfortable cabin. The latest version of the brand's Advanced Comfort seats is completely redesigned, with 10mm of high-density foam added.

The traditional driver’s information pod behind the steering wheel has been replaced by a long, narrow display at the base of the windscreen. A 10.25-inch centre infotainment screen is slightly angled towards the driver. Both feature colourful and easy-to-read graphics. There are physical controls for climate management, with a wireless charging pad tucked in below, along with USB-C ports, cupholders, and the Stellantis flick switch-type selector for the automatic transmission. The compact, multi-function steering wheel has a flat top and bottom, which initially felt odd when doing lock-to-lock manoeuvring, but I got used to it. 

Second row passengers have fairly good head and leg space, the latter depending, though, on the front occupants not being overly lanky. My review car was the 7-seat option, quite rare in a B-segment car. With all seven seats in use, the boot volume is nominally 40 litres, but nil in practice (maybe you could stack a pair of umbrellas there, but they'd likely fall out when you opened the door). In my hybrid version, there's 300L of cargo space with those rear seats folded, 330L with the petrol manual option.

Power in my car was the now-familiar (and easy to like) Stellantis mild hybrid-assisted 1.2 three-pot, with a six-speed dual-clutch auto transmission. Nobody will ever call it the smoothest combination ever, but it has a comforting, lusty sound when pushed and rewards the owner with a decent economy, along with the advantages of automatic. I have also driven the electric version, and everything written here also applies except that the powertrain is quieter, maybe a bit zippier, and has a rated range of 400km.

Citroën has its own patented suspension technology, which gives its modern models an appreciably more comfortable ride than some other cars in the segment space, even ones that are related. It's the nature of the market for this small SUV that it's not going to be asked to manage rally-like handling, but I suspect that even if pushed in its standard form, drivability limits would be at the outer end. For my needs and those of most owners, it offers an entirely appropriate mix.

I didn't have to read the little 'happy tags' at any time to be smiling while driving the C3 Aircross. But it was nice that they were there.

PRICE: From €27,760; electric from €28,452; Hybrid from €29,620. WHAT I LIKED: The push to positivity. 

C3 Aircross 7-seater review: Trish Whelan, Irish Car

Growing families, or those with active lifestyles, looking for a car with up to seven seats, have a wide choice of motors to consider, ranging from budget-friendly to mid-cost or more expensive models. It’s a question of doing the maths to see which you can afford — and which family members prefer. 

My latest 7-seater test drive was in Citroën’s new C3 Aircross SUV, completely reinvented with more assertive styling and Citroën’s new styling language. Introduced here mid-February of this year, the 5-seater is available with petrol, mild hybrid, and fully electric powertrains, giving buyers the option of more cargo space or extra seats, but the seven-seater option is only offered in petrol and hybrid. The vehicle is 4.39 metres long with a straight roof and vertical rear stance, which allows for the additional pair of third-row seats. With a height of 1.66 metres, the car offers good headroom for all on board. Ground clearance of 200mm ensures good visibility and makes it easy to enter and exit the car. 

My car was a show-stopper in the Montana Green exterior option and contrasting white roof, but there are five other colour options and two roof options of black and white. Fun elements are the vertical plastic colour clips in the bumpers and the rear pillars in three different colours coordinated with the body colour. These can be changed to different colours of your choice. 

The cabin showcases the brand’s C-Zen lounge concept, which blends a nicely styled dashboard and spacious, well-equipped cabin with new materials and colour palettes. A light grey headliner adds to the feeling of space in the cabin, as does the light grey fabric on the dash, which includes a free-standing 10.25-inch infotainment screen that is slightly angled towards the driver and compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It uses widgets inspired by smartphones with shortcuts to the main navigation, phone, radio, apps, and media functions. Below are buttons for Auto, screen demisters, max air con, and air conditioning. However, the big difference is the absence of a driver’s screen as Citroën has its own version of a Head-Up Display system that projects essential driving information onto the long, narrow screen that runs across just under the windscreen. It all works rather well. The compact, leather-effect multifunction steering wheel has a flat top and bottom and is adjustable for height and reach. My car had a traditional handbrake, no front armrest(s), but a small open cubby between the front seats, as well as a divided glovebox, and very good door bins. 

Citroën is renowned for the comfort it provides in its vehicles. Sublimely comfy Advanced Comfort seats have been redesigned for optimum support and comfort and equipped with a new seat surface that includes an extra 10 to 15 mm of foam padding. Front seats have manual adjustments. The spec includes a large wireless phone charger, two C-type USB ports front and in row 2, and two cupholders. Second row seats split 60/40. Those in the third row have a small additional side window and cupholders built into the sides of the car. The five-seater version has 460 litres of boot space, the seven-seater 330 litres with the third row seats folded, and just 40 litres with all seven seats in use. With second row seats folded, you get up to 1,600 litres of capacity. 

My car was the 1.2, 101hp petrol version with a 6-speed manual gearbox, which was a joy to use, a claimed 6.0 L/100km WLTP combined fuel consumption, and road tax of €210. (Automatic transmission is standard on hybrid and electric versions.) There's a real ignition key to start the car, unusual these days. I found the steering quite light, but the car drove exceptionally well on motorways and primary routes and was quiet on the road. Alerts were so gentle, I didn’t bother to turn them off. The standard Citroën Advanced Comfort Suspension allows for a comfy drive for all occupants over all road surfaces. On wet days, I appreciated the big rear wiper. 

The entry Plus grade includes 17-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, dark-tinted rear privacy glass, LED front headlights, rear parking sensors with a reversing camera, an Emergency and Assistance System, and Cruise control with a speed limiter. MAX grade adds LED rear lights, two-tone roof, front parking sensors, a 3D Navigation system, heated windscreen/front seats/steering wheel, a smartphone charger, and Blind Spot detection (which should be in every car). 

Safety features include Active Safety Brake, Traffic Sign Recognition, and Active Lane Departure Warning System. All models get a five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty with three years’ roadside assistance. Citroen C3 Aircross represents very good value for money priced from €27,790; the hybrid from €29,620-€30,590; electric from €28,45 after €3,500 SEAI grant and VRT relief applied.

Citroen C5 Aircross First Drive: Brian Byrne, Irish Car

I've long believed the SUV definition needs clarification, writes Brian Byrne. Originally, the term 'Sports Utility Vehicle' referred to heavy-duty 4x4s built for work, often for use in rugged terrain. They were, by nature, heavy, noisy, and quite uncomfortable. Later, luxury SUVs emerged, equipped with large engines and high fuel consumption that their affluent owners could afford to overlook. To environmentalists, they became — and remain — anathema. 

Over the past decade or so, the SUV style has been adapted for the family car market, built on standard car platforms, and known as crossovers. Usually taller than the hatchbacks they are based on, they consume more fuel. But in reality, that increase is minor and reasonable considering their extra space and practicality as family vehicles. They do not merit the criticism sometimes directed at them solely because they have an SUV shape and are called SUVs 

With close to a third of registrations in 2025, the medium SUV category is now the most popular car type on the Irish market. Indeed, four of the top ten car models sold here last year were in that category: Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Toyota RAV4, and Volkswagen's Tiguan. Other makers big in the segment are Nissan, Skoda, Peugeot, and Ford. The premium brands are also represented, though for obvious reasons in smaller numbers.

Citroen has also been on the list for many years, though as a minority brand. Still, the C5 Aircross, which debuted in 2017, has been the leading model in that carmaker's range in recent years. The completely new second-generation C5 Aircross has just gone on sale in Ireland, and I've had an introductory drive in it.

The production version has stayed true to much of the concept debuted at the Paris Mondiale some 16 months ago. The previous model had rather quirky styling; the new C5 Aircross is a little more subdued than its predecessor, but arguably has at least as much presence. A handsome vehicle, it's longer than the first generation, has an extended wheelbase, and offers significantly more headroom for rear passengers.

The latest version of the Citroen chevron badge is set large and proud in the centre of the facia — in my case, the grille-less electric variant. The thin matrix headlights give the car a quietly determined look. There's a subtlety to the profile character lines that nevertheless provides enhanced aerodynamics, as does the angled rear section of the roof. Squared-off wheel arches and angular details on the rear also suggest strength.

Inside, there's a deep flat dashboard with a full-width trim element designed to increase the feeling of width. Totally new to the brand — indeed to the Stellantis Group — is a vertical centre screen in what they call a floating 'waterfall' format, melding into the centre console and forming a useful open storage space underneath. Shiny black plastics and soft-touch trim elements have been integrated well together, and the ergonomics of the switchgear and virtual screen controls are well thought out. As a Stellantis Group brand, some control relationships with cousin models, such as the Opel Grandland and its Peugeot equivalents, are evident and welcome.

Citroën has made comfort its unique selling proposition, and the seating in the latest C5 Aircross is an excellent example of the brand's efforts there. The quilted finish and high-density foam make for a very comfortable travel experience. Aided under the car by Citroen's patented progressive hydraulic shock absorbers, which really do work as well as they are promised to. For rear passengers, there's claimed segment-leading legroom in seats with a 3-way split option and adjustable backrests. The luggage space behind them at 651L is exceptional and remains the same across powertrains.

As I said, my first driving experience was in the full-electric version, which offers 210hp and a 73kWh battery, with a rated range of up to 520 km. The other drives include a 145hp petrol-hybrid and a 225hp plug-in hybrid with a rated electric-only range of 96 km. The fuel tank in that one is also larger, with a total PHEV range of 1,100 km.

On my drive, I appreciated the easy entry and the car's interior space. The electric drive was smooth and quiet, and there was an overall feeling of strength about the car, which I'll be interested in learning more about when I take one for a full review.

In the meantime, the new C5 Aircross certainly leaves a positive feeling.

PRICE: From €39,300 for the hybrid; electric from €39,939. WHAT I LIKED: Comfort in a stylish package. 

New Citroen C3 launched in Ireland

Citroën has launched the fully redesigned C3 Aircross in Ireland, offering 5- and 7-seat options with prices starting at €27,790, writes Brian Byrne. The compact SUV has a muscular, upright design and introduces Citroën’s latest styling language. 

Inside, it features the brand’s C-Zen Lounge architecture with Head-Up Display, Advanced Comfort suspension, and enhanced seating.

The car is available as a 5-seater in petrol, hybrid, and electric versions, and a 7-seater in petrol and hybrid. The fully electric 5-seater offers a 400 km range. Petrol models start with a 100hp turbo engine, while a 48V Hybrid 136 option is also available. 

Standard features include a 10.25-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, automatic air conditioning, 17-inch alloys, and driver assistance technologies.

The new C3 Aircross is available to test-drive now at Citroën dealerships nationwide, with a 5-year unlimited mileage warranty, and a complimentary home charger through Energia. 

Citroen C3 review: Trish Whelan, Irish Car

Citroën launched its fourth-generation C3 last summer, as a more modern, assertive design that resembles an SUV rather than the traditional hatchback. It is likely to attract a broader audience thanks to its spaciousness, affordability, comfort, and range of powertrains. The model is particularly significant for the French car manufacturer, accounting for 30 per cent of its sales - the previous version sold around 5.6 million units. C3 competes in the market space also occupied by the Hyundai i20, Toyota Yaris, Citroen’s own e-C3, Hyundai’s Inster and the Dacia Spring. 

While it maintains the same 4.01m footprint as before, the new model is almost 100mm taller at 1.57m, making it taller than rivals. The generous wheelbase allows for a roomy second row. Ground clearance has been increased from 135mm to 197mm. At the front, the fascia incorporates a large oval ‘chevron’ logo, new front and rear light designs, and new taillight clusters that extend into the corners. My car was in a nice shade of blue with a contrasting black roof and roof rails. Fun elements are the coloured strips that provide contrasting accents along the car's exterior. It’s a good looker, to be sure. 

The cabin of this five-seater is simple and welcoming, creating a pleasant space to spend time, especially on long journeys, with extra legroom, headroom, and elbow room. Seating is now significantly elevated, allowing everyone a better view and the driver a more commanding driving position. Citroën is renowned for comfort, and this C3 features progressive hydraulic cushion suspension. The car also has the brand's Advanced Comfort seats. 

The dashboard conveys a sense of width, while the absence of a traditional instrument cluster is quite a novelty. Instead, you find a display positioned between the top of the dashboard and the bottom of the windscreen. This allows the driver to easily view all key information without taking their eyes off the road. A well-sized 10.25-inch colour touchscreen infotainment system is user-friendly and compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Below are three large knobs for climate control, eliminating the need to navigate through screen menus. My car had a traditional pull-up hand brake and no front armrest. The cubbies included large front door bins - cheerful in white - a small glovebox, and two cupholders. In the back, passengers have wind-up rear windows and handy pockets on the front seat backs for small items. There's a high transmission tunnel for the person in the middle seat to work their feet around. 

Boot space is 310 litres, decent for the class, and can be expanded to over 900 litres with the 60/40 split rear seats folded down. My Plus version lacked a rearview camera or blind-spot monitors. But it did have front LED headlamps, 17-inch alloys, auto wipers, power-folding and heated door mirrors, rear parking sensors, air conditioning, C-type USBs at the front and rear, Hill Start Assist, a manual child lock and six airbags. 

If I were buying the car, I’d choose the higher Max grade for an extra €1,750, which includes LED rear lights, heated windscreen, front fog lights, navigation, heated steering wheel and front seats, wireless smartphone charger, and, most importantly, a reversing camera. Powertrains include petrol, hybrid, and all-electric (BEV) options. My car was fitted with a 1.2 turbo petrol engine producing 100hp, paired with a 6-speed manual gearbox. 

Accelerating from 0-100 km/h takes around 10.6 seconds, and the claimed combined fuel consumption of 5.6 L/100 km was accurate, as I averaged 5.5 L/100 km over various routes during my time with the car. This is a quiet and eager engine, and the car’s compact size makes it very nimble for parking in town. This new generation of the model hasn’t yet been tested by Euro NCAP. The C3 is built in Europe at the Stellantis plants in Serbia and Slovakia. 

The 100hp petrol is competitively priced at €23,900. The all-electric e:C3 has the same starting price.

 

Citroen C3 Review: Brian Byrne, Irish Car

It’s the nature of the automotive business that I rarely get a car to review which has a relatively basic specification, writes Brian Byrne. When I do, I don’t see it as a comedown; I find it refreshing.

It could be said that the industry will ensure its press fleet cars are at least mid-level spec to impress reviewers. But it equally reflects that buyers themselves rarely go for the basic. Even the hire car business, once notorious for picking bog-standard, is now generally going for an upgrade. Their customers want it, and it also makes the cars more saleable when returned to the market.

My recent Citroen C3 experience grounded me. The car had a petrol-only engine, a manual transmission, ignition operated by a real key, and no heated seats. Yeah, heated seats are far from what we were raised with in temperate Ireland, but we have come to expect them now. Along with so many other motoring fripperies, like variable-mood interior lighting or a dozen speakers to hear Liveline whines at concert-hall quality. No wonder the average price paid for a new car in Ireland is north of €41,000.

The current C3 B-segment hatchback is the fourth generation to wear the nameplate. It now has a chunky SUV-like styling that delivers the real benefit of more room for adults, front and rear, without becoming much longer or wider. The highish hood — ‘bonnet’ is sounding increasingly archaic to even my archaic sensibilities — along with a suitable-to-the-brand eccentricity of the headlights design, suggests a peppy disposition. The Citroen badge is large and proudly worn. Hardly any overhangs, front or rear, indicate efficient use of space. The almost straight-up rear has enough detailing to keep it interesting.

The exterior’s straight-edge style concept continues inside, with the dashboard giving a visual sense of width that suggests a bigger space. The driver instrumentation is set just below the windscreen, offering the advantages of a head-up display without the expense and adjustment system required for one. The central infotainment screen is sizeable but not over-large, and its menu system is agreeably manageable. The squarish, curved shape of the steering wheel is something you get used to very quickly. It’s even likeable.

The new C3 — it’s a 2024 model in Europe but only arrived in Ireland this year — is Citroen’s first car in the segment to get its full Advanced Comfort technology, which includes special suspension and seat designs. I’ve experienced it in larger Citroens and have been impressed. It’s just as impressive in the smaller C3, maybe even more so because, in their nature, smaller cars generally give a choppier ride.

The engine in my car was the familiar 1.2 inline-3, marketed as Puretech. The 100hp is more than adequate for the car's size and weight, and though the 100km/h sprint is a little beyond 10 seconds, the performance feels quite zippy when pushed. The 5.8L/100km doesn’t match the frugality of the mild hybrid or electric options, but is reasonable unless you’re a high-mileage driver. In which case, you probably should be looking for something in a different class.

The 6-speed manual gearbox is quite a joy to use, especially compared to the clunky 5-speed, which used to be standard in basic PSA Group (now Stellantis) cars in this segment. As I said, I don’t get many manuals these days, and I do prefer automatics, but this was a treat to operate.

The new C3 is on a platform significantly more advanced than the original model from some 24 years ago. Roomier for the occupants, and with a tad more boot space at 310 litres than any of the earlier versions. It all feels, especially to this no longer supple reviewer personally well out of warranty, a really good people-packaging offering.

I also appreciated that, despite it being a fairly basic car, I didn’t feel I was missing out on anything I would need as personal or small-family transportation.

PRICE: From €23,900, petrol or electric. WHAT I LIKED: A basic car I could comfortably live with. 

New C3 selling on space, comfort, and value

The new Citroen C3 is now on sale in Irish dealerships at a starting price of €23,400 for both petrol and electric versions, writes Brian Byrne. A hybrid version is also available.

With SUV cues, the car is the tallest in its B-segment hatchback space, with key selling points being ease of getting in and out, and comfort. The company promises more elbow and knee room than the average in the market.

The C3 has been a key seller for the Citroen brand since it was launched, with over 6 million units sold since 2002.

In e-C3 format, the car has a rated range of 320 km, and an urban-centric variant with a 200 km range will be available next year.

The car offers a high degree of visual customisation, using two-tone paintwork and 'colour clips' to accentuate style details.

Citroen takes home the treble at Bord Bia Bloom

Citroen’s Downsizers’ Show Garden has won a gold Medal and Best In Show for ‘Planting’ at Bord Bia Bloom 2025 in the Phoenix Park in Dublin, writes Trish Whelan. This marks the third consecutive year in which Citroen has achieved a gold medal for their show garden at the festival. 

The award-winning garden highlights how our needs evolve in tune with our lifestyles and life stages, downsizing cars and more accessible smaller gardens that are easier to manage - all without a need for compromise. 

The 2025 Citroen Downsizers’ Show Garden is designed by Louise Checa, a French landscape architect and chartered member of the Irish Landscape Institute who has worked around the world, designing public spaces and private gardens. 

Trevor Hunt, Citroen Marketing Manager thanked Louise, the judges and Bord Bia. Citroen is involved in a Motoring Partnership with Bord Bia Bloom, exhibiting its latest range of vehicles across this weekend. The full Citroen range is also on display at the Festival.

 

New generation Citroën Aircross

A new Citroën C5 Aircross will go on sale in first European markets in the second half of this year, writes Brian Byrne. It's the second generation of the C-segment SUV and will offer more room for rear passengers and luggage.

Powertrains will include a plug-in hybrid with a claimed range in excess of 100 km on electric power.

A fully electric version will have a rated range of up to 680 km.

The new car's styling is designed for improved aerodynamics as well as offering a stronger image than the predecessor vehicle. 

Ami Buggy announced

Citroën has revealed a buggy version of its tiny Ami electric vehicle, writes Brian Byrne. Not due for delivery in first markets until August, the latest version of the two-seater quadricycle is aimed at what the French call 'baroudeurs', people with adventurous spirits.

It will have no doors and a soft top roof, but roll-down zipped door covers are available as an accessory for poor-weather driving.

The standard Citroën Ami is available in Ireland from €9,999. 

Citroen's new C3 matches petrol and EV prices

The new Citroen C3 is available for order now with both petrol and electric versions starting at €23,400, writes Brian Byrne. The cars will be available for delivery at the start of next year.

With a chunky SUV-style look, the car offers more interior space while retaining the overall footprint of the previous generation.

Taller than the outgoing car, and than competitors, the new C3 is designed be be easier to get in and out of, making it very suitable for urban use.

Power for the petrol version is a 1.2 turbo with a power output of 100hp, and the EV will have a rated range of up to 320km. There's also a hybrid option. 

Citroen launches Ami urban electric vehicle

A new urban electric vehicle, the Citroen Ami, has been launched in Ireland at a starting price of €9,990, writes Brian Byrne. Technically a quadricycle, the Ami is a 2-seater with a range of just 75km on a charge, a distance that the carmaker says is much less than that travelled daily by city and suburban commuter. The cabin is fully weatherproof and heated.

A 'cargo kit' converts the passenger seat area into a storage space so the Ami can be used as a small delivery vehicle. A B car driving licence is required to drive it in Ireland, along with the requirement for insurance.

An Ami Peps version adds sporty decoration to the exterior. The Ami can be charged fully in four hours via a Type 2 cable.

New Citroen C3 begins markets rollout

Citroen has revealed the latest iteration of the C3 Aircross, which clones with a longer body and with up to seven seats, writes Brian Byrne.

The car will be available as a multi-powertrain vehicle, with petrol, hybrid and all-electric versions.

The new C3 Aircross shares its platform with the latest hatch C3 variant, and the car  will be rolled out in various European markets over coming months.

Irish specifications and pricing will be available at a later stage. 

New Citroen C3 Aircross will have 7 seat option

Citroen has unveiled the first images of its new C3 Aircross due here in Q4 of this year, writes Trish Whelan. 

The new C3 Aircross shares the same design identity as the new C3 announced in October of last year. Both models are based on the same Smart Car platform allowing powertrain flexibility and cost efficiency. 

Citroen say the new model ‘enters a new era with the ambition to strengthen its position in a very competitive territory’. The exterior design reveals a tougher but stylish SUV with a more assertive, muscular and robust appearance. 

Measuring 4.39 meters in length, the C3 Aircross offers up to 7 seats with two foldable seats in the third row which is a first in the segment. The long wheelbase also allows for more legroom for rear passengers. 

Citroen will offer a two-tone roof on the model with punctual colour accents such as the additional colour clips on the bumper and quarter panel which the owner can change as they wish. 

In addition to a combustion engine offer, C3 Aircross will introduce a hybrid engine particularly suitable for this design silhouette as well as an all-electric powertrain. 

More information about the new C3 Aircross will be revealed closer to launch.

 

 

Doran Motors celebrate joining Citroen network

To celebrate the arrival of the Citroen brand at Doran Motors Carrickmacross, a launch day is being held today between 4pm and 7pm with music, food, entertainment and the chance to win prizes, all alongside a visit from Monaghan GAA players, writes Trish Whelan. 

Citroen Ireland has appointed Doran Motors, Carrickmacross in Monaghan as its new authorised sales and after sales outlet in the north-east. The dealership, established by Peter Doran in 1979, was recently acquired by the Frank Keane Group. Citroen joins a stable of brands already offered in the dealership, with the French marque’s new showroom now open to the public. 

Colin Sheridan, Managing Director at Citroen Ireland extended a warm welcome to the entire team at Doran Motors on joining the Citroen Ireland dealer network and wished Gerard, Carol and the team every success. He said ‘this appointment solidifies the Citroen network and will support market share in the north-east’. 

Carol Kerr, Sales Director at Doran Motors says she is looking forward to showing new and existing customers what the Citroen range has on offer in both passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. 

 

Citroen e-C4 X review: Brian Byrne, Irish Car

There’s a common thing about new cars. When they are presented to customers, or to us in the motoring media, they all come wrapped in hyperbole, writes Brian Byrne. The substance of it can differ, whether trumpeting innovation, connectivity, engineering excellence, economy, or whatever. But ‘class leading’ or ‘state of the art’ are regularly the added epithets.

The truth is, it is very hard these days for brands and their individual models to be actually better than their competitors, such is the state of development in design, powertrain, and safety right across the automotive industry. That’s going to become even more the case as electric cars reach an ever-stronger proportion of car sales. There’s not as much difference between EV powertrains as there can be in the traditional ICE ones, depending on whether they derive from performance or economy standpoints. And driver assistance systems are now ubiquitous, by regulation or ENCAP crash-test requirements, so you can own a Rolls Royce or a Dacia and probably have the same chance of surviving a severe impact incident.

Of course, there’s a quantum of difference between the comfort and perceived quality across those two brand extremes. This is where the future of cars choice is already here. The days of sound and fury as a buyer attraction are going or gone — indeed, the powertrains on even low-end electric cars offer what used to be hot-hatch acceleration, without the audial fuss.

The directors of the Citroen brand saw this coming some time ago. Anticipating that competition even from their companion brands within the Stellantis group — Peugeot, DS, Opel et al — was going to require something special, they fell back on attributes they knew a lot about from their heritage. Comfort. And style.

Which is where the e-C4 X I’m writing about this week sits squarely. The style, albeit with a few quirks in detail without which it wouldn’t be Citroen, is in my perception an elegance with edge among a compact hatch segment where sameness can too easily become a norm. You can quibble about the complicated frontage, or raise your eyebrows at the rear lights. Whatever. They are but Citroenicities (Citroen eccentricities). The proportions are good, the presence is solid. And nobody who knows anything at all about their car brands will wonder what are you driving.

Inside is the same kind of individuality. Strong design on the centre stack under the infotainment screen. A steering wheel squeezed both top and bottom, to different extents. But a strong emphasis on practicality, especially with the climate controls. Which is especially nice given that Citroen were the first brand where they put everything into those dratted stroke and scroll touchscreens — I complained about that from the very first launch. I continued complaining. Now they have gone back to knobs and switches. I don't take sole credit for it, very many other journalists did too.

That liftback design offers a coupe exterior perspective but doesn't compromise on interior space in any way, so rear seat passengers have a much head space as those in front. And the style also gives a quite ginormous boot.

My review car was the electric version, but petrol and diesel versions have recently arrived. The 136hp output and a rated range of 360km may both seem light but it is the experience of most EV owners nowadays that with home charging, that lower figure is more than adequate for almost all daily use. It also strikes an efficiency balance in overall vehicle weight.

The drive is on a par with other electrics in its space, which are all very good in this respect. But it is in the comfort stakes that the Citroen strides out way ahead of that growing pack. It is where the brand shows that, in this characteristic, what they claim is not hyperbole. It's real. A proprietary suspension tech that really does work, and some smarts applied to seat design are the complementary elements here that prove to be more than their sum.

Citroen as a brand these days claims its comfort role with a capital C. With the e-C4 X it is the latest promise fulfilled. You can also expect it in the petrol and diesel versions.

PRICE: C4 X petrol from €29,100; diesel €37,600; e-C4 X review car from €33,418. WHAT I LIKED: A practical and interesting car true to its Citroen eccentricities. 

New Citroen C3 to 'democratise' EVs

Citroen is claiming its new C3 will ‘democratise’ electric cars in the same way as the 2CV did for motoring in general, writes Brian Byrne. That was the view of company CEO Thierry Koskas when he showed the newly-revealed latest generation C3 in Dublin this week.

The car has debuted as an electric vehicle, though there will be thermal engine versions in due course. But the €23,300 price point in some EU markets for the version with a range of 320km is a sweet carrot to be offering. When it comes to Ireland this time next year, however, customers here are likely be coughing up more because of our car taxation regime. Anticipating questions about the range, Mr Koskas said 320km is ‘more than enough for daily use’ in the user segment. 

“We don’t have a price yet,” Citroen Ireland’s Colin Sheridan (below) said at the Dublin reveal, though when pressed he said the new ë-C3 could be coming in at ‘under €30,000’. It's believed that a version to be available in other markets at €19,900, with a 200km range, is unlikely to be brought to Ireland’s buyers.

Apart from the pricing, the Citroen CEO said the comfort and specification levels of the new generation C2 will set it apart from the equivalent products by other brands. He also outlined a simplified  grade structure of just two levels, with automatic air conditioning, LED lights and a comprehensive suite of driver assistance systems will be standard throughout. “There will be no options, just a choice of colours,” Mr Koskas said. He added that while the new car sits higher than its predecessor and has SUV elements but remains a hatchback. A B-SUV on the same platform will be revealed later, and teaser slides were shown at the Dublin event, held at the HQ of importers Gowan Auto in City West.

The new ë-C3 will use a less expensive lithium-ferro-phosphate battery to help keep costs down, but it will be capable of 20pc-80pc recharging in 29 minutes.

Citroen 2CV.