CITROEN offers a brilliant Prius alternative – but this isn’t quite it. The C3 1.6 HDi might astound you with excellent fuel economy and impressively low emissions – and for some of people, these are reasons enough to buy. You might also be seduced by lovely styling (still, after all these years) or revel in the sheer individuality of driving an offbeat French car. But this baby is now one of the very senior light-car offerings, reflected in the generally tight packaging, patchy interior presentation and dull driving experience. The price makes the C3 no steal either. We suggest stretching to the gorgeous C4 diesels, or hanging out for this car’s not-too-distant replacement instead.