The drive to cut fuel consumption and CO2 emissions is turning into a race of epic proportions in Europe and Citroën has just performed some sweet one-upmanship on its rivals with the new C3 e-HDi 70 Airdream.
Just announced for the European market, this C3 has an official CO2 emissions rating of just 87g/km, from combined fuel consumption of 3.4 litres per 100km. This means it emits slightly less than its main rivals, namely the Ford Fiesta Econetic (95g/km), Opel Corsa EcoFlex (94g/km) and VW Polo BlueMotion (89g/km).
To achieve its distaste for fuel, this C3 employs a 51kW four-cylinder HDi turbodiesel engine and an idle-stop system to cut urban consumption down to the bone. It's even rather frugal on the open road, where Citroën claims it'll sniff just 3.2 litres per 100km - albeit not at a very high speed.
Cars like this are an attractive proposition in Europe, where emissions regulations are becoming ever-stricter and cities like London even charge a hefty congestion fee for cars that emit more than 100g/km.
Citroën has made some decent strides in this respect, as UK marketing director Jules Tilstone puts it: "Underlining the brand's firm environmental commitment, a full 50% of Citroën cars sold this year emit under 130g/km of CO2 and there has been a five-gram decrease in average CO2 emissions for the European range as a whole."