Review: Citroën ë-C3.
Our full review · Specs & price Belgium 2026
Real-world range = WLTP × 0.78 (Belgian winter conditions, motorway 130 km/h). Official BE configurator price, .
Our review of the Citroën ë-C3
The ë-C3 is the first European electric car to drop below €25,000 without feeling like a punishment. For €23,300, Citroën gives you a 44 kWh LFP battery, 320 km WLTP and the hydraulic-bump-stop suspension that swallows Brussels cobbles. The trade-off is paid elsewhere: no heat pump, home charging capped at 7.4 kW, and a range that collapses as soon as you hit the motorway in January.
Driving & comfort
In practice, comfort is this car's number one argument, and it delivers. The Citroën Advanced Comfort suspension with hydraulic bump stops is standard across the range: on the cobbles of Schaerbeek or the expansion joints of the Brussels ring, the ë-C3 filters better than a Renault 5 or a Peugeot e-208, both of which cost €5,000 to €8,000 more. The Advanced Comfort seats follow suit, with thick foam that makes a real difference on a Brussels-Namur run. The driving position is high, mini-SUV style, and forward visibility is excellent. The rest of the cabin reminds you of the price: hard plastics everywhere, a digital instrument display reduced to a strip under the windscreen, and an infotainment system that lags on entry-level trims. In the back, two adults fit, three only on short journeys, with a narrow middle seat and slightly tight access. The 113 hp and 1,416 kg are enough in town and on A-roads, but overtaking at 120 km/h on the E411 motorway takes some planning. The boot is quoted at 310 L, decent for the class but well short of the 326 L in a Renault 5.
Daily charging
This is where the spec sheet holds both the good and the bad surprise. The good: rapid charging accepts 100 kW DC, which means 20-80 % in 26 minutes. No rival at this price does that; a Dacia Spring tops out at 30 kW and a Fiat 500e at 85 kW. On a Brussels-Arlon run, one Fastned or Ionity stop is plenty. The bad: home charging is limited to 7.4 kW single-phase. If your wallbox is an 11 kW three-phase unit, as most recent Belgian installations are, the car will never draw more than 7.4 kW. Reckon on about 6 h 30 for a full charge, which is still comfortably an overnight job. The battery is LFP (lithium iron phosphate): unlike NMC chemistry, it can be charged to 100 % every day without premature wear, which is a genuine everyday convenience. The winter black spot is the complete absence of a heat pump, not even as an option. At 2 °C on the E19 motorway with the heating on, range falls to around 180 to 200 km, against 270 to 300 km in mild weather in mixed use. That's not a detail: it's the difference between doing Brussels-Ostend and back in one go or having to stop.
Total cost of ownership
At the Belgian domestic electricity rate, around €0.35/kWh, filling the 44 kWh costs about €15, or €6/100 km on a 250 km real-world basis. An equivalent petrol city car sits closer to €10 to €12/100 km. Over 15,000 km a year, the gap is €700 to €900, excluding public charging, which remains two to three times more expensive. On tax, Flanders ended the full exemption for electric cars on 1 January 2026: every new registration now pays €61.50 of TMC (registration tax). In Wallonia, the new calculation introduced on 1 July 2025 leaves the ë-C3 at the floor, with an annual road tax of roughly €107. In Brussels, an electric car stays at the minimum of the scale. As a company car, the €23,300 list price puts the ATN (benefit in kind) at the legal floor of €1,690/year in 2026, while keeping 100 % deductibility for an order placed before 1 January 2027. That's where the ë-C3 becomes almost unbeatable: few new cars cost a Belgian employee so little on the payslip.
- €23,300 for 44 kWh: the only electric car with that capacity under €25,000 in Belgium
- Advanced Comfort suspension with hydraulic bump stops as standard: filtering from a class above
- 100 kW DC charging, i.e. 20-80 % in 26 minutes, unheard of at this price
- LFP battery: charge to 100 % daily without accelerated degradation
- ATN (benefit in kind) at the floor of €1,690/year in 2026 and 100 % deductibility as a company car
- No heat pump, not even optional: 180 to 200 km real-world on the motorway in winter, against 270 to 300 km in mild weather
- AC charging capped at 7.4 kW single-phase: an 11 kW three-phase wallbox will never be used to the full
- Hard plastics across the whole dashboard and slow infotainment on entry-level trims
- No Euro NCAP crash-test published for the ë-C3 as of the latest check (August 2025), and no blind-spot warning on entry trims
Our verdictThe ë-C3 is the best way to go electric in Belgium on a tight budget, provided you accept that it is built for the daily 40 km and not for long winter journeys. The suspension comfort and the 100 kW charging are well above the asking price; the missing heat pump is the sacrifice that explains everything else. As a company car, with the benefit in kind at the floor, it is hard to beat.
A Belgian household looking for a first electric car under €25,000, covering 30 to 60 km a day between home and work, with a socket or wallbox at home, and two or three long trips a year. Also an excellent company-car choice thanks to the low list price.
A driver covering more than 200 km of motorway a day, especially in winter. Also to avoid if you have no home charging solution, or if you expect Volkswagen-level trim quality and infotainment.
Full specifications
Citroën ë-C3 in Belgium — what you need to know
Typical Belgian trips
With 246 real km, the ë-C3 covers Brussels–Ardennes (≈ 260 km return) with a fast charge, Brussels–Coast (≈ 220 km return) without charging.
Tax benefit
For self-employed and companies, this model is 100% tax-deductible in 2026 (last year at this rate). No direct purchase grant for individuals. Road tax is greatly reduced for this EV.
Home charging
With 7.4 kW AC, a full charge from 20% takes approximately 5 hours on an 11 kW wallbox. On a 230V plug (2.3 kW): about 15 hours. Overnight charging easily covers the average 50–80 km/day.
Frequently asked questions — Citroën ë-C3
What is the real-world range of the Citroën ë-C3 in a Belgian winter?
Reckon on 210 to 240 km in mixed use below 5 °C, and only 180 to 200 km if you drive mostly on the motorway with the heating on. The ë-C3 has no heat pump, not even as an option, which widens the gap with a Renault 5 or a Peugeot e-208 in January. In mild weather it holds 270 to 300 km in mixed use.
Can the ë-C3 charge on an 11 kW three-phase wallbox?
It plugs in without any problem, but its on-board charger is capped at 7.4 kW single-phase. You will never draw more, even on a 22 kW charge point. A full charge takes about 6 h 30, comfortably an overnight job. So there is no point investing in a three-phase wallbox if the ë-C3 is your only car.
How much does a full charge of the ë-C3 cost in Belgium?
At home, at the average Belgian rate of around €0.35/kWh, the 44 kWh come to nearly €15, or €6/100 km over 250 real-world km. On a public rapid charger at €0.59/kWh, the same charge rises to around €26. Home charging is therefore the economic condition of this car.
What registration tax do you pay on a ë-C3 in 2026?
In Flanders, the exemption for electric cars ended on 1 January 2026: every new registration pays €61.50 of TMC (registration tax). In Wallonia, the calculation reformed in July 2025 leaves an electric car at the floor, with an annual road tax of around €107. In Brussels, the ë-C3 stays at the minimum of the regional scale.
Is the ë-C3's LFP battery an advantage or a drawback?
Mostly an advantage day to day. A lithium iron phosphate battery can be charged to 100 % every day without accelerated wear, where an NMC pack prefers you stop at 80 %. In return, LFP performs less well in severe cold and its energy density is lower, which partly explains the 1,416 kg for only 44 kWh.
Does the ë-C3 make sense as a company car in Belgium?
Yes, it is one of its strongest arguments. With a list price of €23,300, the ATN (benefit in kind) falls to the legal floor of €1,690/year in 2026. An order placed before 1 January 2027 keeps 100 % deductibility. Few new cars cost a Belgian employee so little net.
Has the ë-C3 been tested by Euro NCAP?
As of the latest available check (August 2025), Euro NCAP had published no crash-test result for the electric ë-C3. Entry-level trims also do without blind-spot warning and adaptive cruise control, two aids that have become common elsewhere. If active safety matters in your decision, check the equipment list of the exact trim before ordering.