In many circles, particularly those moved in by younger, trendier members of society, it's almost as though Apple's iPod has become the essential companion to modern life. From the car manufacturer's perspective, this youthful element - the ones with the glazed expressions, the nodding heads and the slender white cables trailing from their ears - represent a rich untapped seem of potential sales. The problem is that it's notoriously difficult to get through to them. The C3 Airplay+ is Citroen's attempt at doing just that.

Bombarded by media messages almost since birth, the iPod generation have a keenly-developed sense of cynicism and distrust where advertising is concerned. They've also got Arctic Monkeys going ten to the dozen in their ears for 80 per cent of the time and so are unlikely to hear anything you say to them. So what's a poor car manufacturer to do if it wants to exploit this sector of the market? Citroen has hit on a solution that seems likely to work: giving away free iPods with its youth-orientated Airplay+ range of models.

One iPod is probably enough for anyone but the ones Citroen are pedalling are 4 gigabyte iPod Nanos. These are hardly the Rolls Royce of iPods but the Airplay+ models come with an integrated docking station that charges the device and allows the collection of over 1,000 tracks that it stores to be played through the car stereo. The C3 Airplay+ is also offered in a range of colour schemes - red, blue or silver - that match the finishes on the iPods themselves. There's even a CD stereo in case you leave your iPod at home.

There's more to the Citroen C3 Airplay+ than the portable music storage system that accompanies it. The car comes with a 1.1-litre engine that's very young driver-friendly by virtue of its 47mpg economy figure and group two insurance. The 143g/km CO2 emissions are class competitive and won't give you too much of a headache when the time comes to renew that road tax.

"Your entry ticket into the iPod generation could see you luck into a very nice little supermini as well"

Standard equipment levels for the C3 1.1iL which forms the basis of the Airplay+ are modest, although it's good to see that Citroen haven't cut too many corners regarding safety provision. As well as variable electric power steering, the C3 is fitted with twin front and side airbags, ABS with EBD, Emergency Brake Assist and comprehensive pedestrian safety features, making it one of the safer options in its class. Remote central locking is also standard.

In making the C3 subtly different to what we'd come to expect as a blueprint supermini, Citroen have created a car that's more faithful to their old tradition as manufacturers of supreme lateral thinking. They claim that it's a very different take on the supermini concept: three-door versions for example, will never be made. Instead, that niche is being covered by the C2. The C3 will instead offer spacious family motoring for those that aren't particularly interested in lift-off oversteer or any such lairy antics. Indeed, the suspension and steering tweaks brought in on the current model add a little extra driver involvement but stop well short of anything that you could call sporty. That would be to impinge on C2 territory.

The C3 Airplay+, like many Citroens, is priced aggressively, evidence of Citroen's success at tapping into the psychology of the UK market probably better than any other car manufacturer of late. It's available from just £7,995 with all the bells and whistles associated with this special edition model.

This policy has given Citroen such remarkable year on year sales growth. Combine that with the fact that this supermini market has increased by some 30% over the past five years and the C3 looks set fair for success. Only the small matter of the Ford Fiesta, the Renault Clio, the SEAT Ibiza, the Vauxhall Corsa, the Skoda Fabia, the Honda Jazz and others come between the C3 and number one spot on the podium. The supermini sector is a tough battleground but at least the C3 is equipped for the fight.

Like all C3 models, the interior is also 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.

Using iPods to sell cars might strike you as a bit of a gimmick but the Citroen marketing department is one of the most efficient in the industry and it's a safe bet that they know what their doing, not only with the C3 Airplay+ but with the C1 and C2 versions as well. Your entry ticket into the iPod generation could see you luck into a very nice little supermini as well.