Review of the new Citroen C3 Cachet Range

If you've only £10,000 to £12,000 to spend on a supermini, then you won't be expecting to buy something with a great deal of cachet. You know, something to get the neighbours' curtain twitching. Something capable of giving you a warm, fuzzy feeling every time you sneek a look out to the driveway.

But perhaps, if you spending this kind of money, that's exactly what you should be able to expect. Citroen obviously think so, hence their recent launch of a whole series of special edition 'Cachet' model, based on the C2 citycar, the C4 family hatchback and trhe C3 supermini we're looking at here.

The Cachet receipe is pretty simple to understand. For about the same as you'd pay for a mid-range 'Rhythm'-trimmed model ('Rhythm' trim being one-up from the baseline 'Vibe' spec), you get all the main items a supermini buyer could wish for fitted as standard. Cachet special editions come complete with alloy wheels, front fog lamps, air conditioning and an MP3 compatible CD player, as well as remote central locking, front electric windows, four airbags and Isofix fittings.

There's a choice of two 1.4-litre petrol engines (with either 8 or 16 valves) and a 1.4HDi 70hp diesel, for cleaner, more economical use. Colour choice is between arctic steel, tuscan blue, passion red and iron grey.

Otherwise, it's the usual C3 package, enlivened a couple of years back with a restyled nose featuring a bigger air intake, a more pronounced grille and far bigger chromed Citroen chevrons. More important with this refresh were the alterations inside which included revised and markedly higher-quality dashboard and door panels. The stereo and ventilation controls look tidier these days too, and there's a more grown-up feel about the interior generally. The effect is still not class-leading but it's much more like it.

"A car capable of giving you a warm, fuzzy feeling every time you sneek a look out to the driveway.."

With 75bhp on tap the 8v petrol C3 1.4's performance can best be described as unhurried, reaching 62mph in 12.4 seconds and a top speed of 104mph. The average fuel economy figure of 45mpg is above average in class. Many customers will feel tempted by the 67mpg 1.4 HDi diesel version. This was the model we tried.

Fire up the HDi engine and you'll be greeted by an initial muted hacking which almost instantaneously settles down into a low-key thrum. Citroen have excelled themselves in insulating the powerplant to such an extent that when out on the open road, only the punchy swell of torque gives the game away. The all-alloy 1.4-litre direct injection diesel may well seem familiar to some and it is indeed the same engine used by Peugeot and Ford - at least in the eight-valve guise featured here. The reason for its popularity is because it's a fine engine, built around the almost obligatory common rail architecture and given respectable performance by the fitment of a small turbocharger.

All-in, the engine generates 70bhp and when combined with the C3's lighter overall weight and longer gearing, it manages not only to return better economy figures than a similarly-powered Fiesta, but also manages to outsprint the little Ford. True, you won't buy a C3 1.4 HDi for its performance, but the eight-valve engine's sprint to 60mph in 13.4 seconds is perfectly adequate, as is its top speed of 103mph. These figures probably won't set your trousers alight, but this engine has 25% more torque than the 1.4-litre petrol unit and endows the C3 with enough muscle to effortlessly undertake motorway overtaking manoeuvres without recourse to anything as undignified as a downchange.

If you haven't tried a C3 before, then you'll probably find the car's interior as being rather adventurously styled - which makes a change from all the other makers who seem to be slavishly aping VW Group products. As a result, instead of a dull Teutonic cabin, we've got one that goes its own way, light and airy with low window lines and bold, sweeping curves. More importantly, there are enough bins, cubbies and boxes to make locating a carelessly stowed bunch of keys the work of several minutes.

Citroen's Moduboard system is a load bay dividing system that helps protect soft items from hard, clean from grubby and prevent bulky objects from racing across the load bay during spirited driving. Clever safety-conscious electronic features have been borrowed from the larger C5 - things such as speed-sensitive intermittent wipers with rain sensing activation, hazard lights that deploy automatically under severe braking as well as side airbags, ABS with EBD, Emergency Brake Assist and comprehensive pedestrian safety features.

Given that the bulk of Citroen's profitability is accounted for by aggressively priced budget models, you wouldn't bet against Citroen dealers shifting a few of these C3 Cachet models. After all, they look like decent value. Is that enough in today's cut-throat market? It will be interesting to see.