Here’s a detailed look at the paint palette available on the Citroen C3 Aircross 5-seater compact crossover-SUV, which we hope will help you choose your perfect new car colour. You can also read our in-depth C3 Aircross review for more details about Citroen's versatile crossover.
There are 7 main paint options for the Citroen C3 Aircross, comprising 2 ‘flat’ solid paints and 5 metallic paints. Beyond that, there are also 3 roof choices and 5 different ‘Colour Packs’ (which clothe the door-mirror housings and the front-bumper skid-plate inserts in the chosen colour, as well as bringing coordinated graphics in the rear-quarter-panel glass too). Besides the exterior hues, we also outline the various interior upholsteries that go with these paint finishes.
Paint Types
Solid = a simple body colour with no additives in the paint. Usually comprises 3 coats, these being a primer, then the paint, then a clear, protective lacquer. Solid paints aren’t particularly shiny and are normally the only standard/no-cost colours offered by manufacturers.
Metallic = same application process as above but the paint now has powdered metal mixed into it, which reflects more light to give the car a shinier appearance. Metallic finishes usually cost more than solid paints.
Pearlescent/Mica = as above, only instead of metal, ceramic crystals (known as ‘mica’) are added to the paint. These not only reflect light but refract it too, giving one colour different appearances in different levels of light. They’re normally as expensive as or pricier than metallic paints.
Matte = uses special ‘flattening’ agents in the paint/layering make-up to give the car a non-reflective appearance, and sometimes an unusual texture too. These are normally the most expensive and rarest of paint options, and are not offered on many new car models.
Exterior
Polar White
Type: Solid
Cost: No cost (default colour on all models)
Available On: All models
While you might expect the Citroen C3 Aircross to share its paint palette with the C3 supermini hatchback to which it is closely related, there are in fact quite a few significant differences between these 2 French compact cars. Chief of which is the fact that Polar White flat (a solid paint) is the standard colour for the Aircross range, whereas it’s a £275 option on the lower-riding C3 (which, bizarrely enough, gets a metallic paint as its standard finish). Anyway, as the Aircross has even more dramatic exterior detailing when compared to the C3, Polar works well on its bodywork as a contrast finish to the plastic addenda, although – like all automotive whites – it will quickly show up grubby marks and the like once it has been used a few times after being washed.
Khaki Grey
Type: Solid
Cost: No cost (free alternative to Polar White on C-Series Edition) or £295 (on Shine and Shine Plus models)
Available On: All models bar C-Series Edition specification
The first variation from the C3 family comes with this solid-finish alternative to Polar White, which is called Khaki Grey. It’s one of those flat-grey finishes that were super-trendy in about 2018, although they’re not quite as fashionable in the 2020s. That said, it’s a great colour for the C3 Aircross, giving it a purposeful and utilitarian appearance, and not only will it be low-maintenance in terms of how often you’ll need to wash it to keep it looking decent, it also works really well with some of the brighter and more daring Colour Packs available for the Aircross, such as Anodised Orange (shown here). C-Series customers are at a slight advantage here, as if they fancy Khaki it’s a no-cost alternative to Polar White – but anyone wanting the same eye-catching grey paint on a Shine or Shine Plus Aircross will need to fork out nearly £300 for Khaki.
Platinum Grey
Type: Metallic
Cost: £545
Available On: All models
The first of the metallic options at £545 apiece, Platinum Grey is a colour the Aircross shares with its C3 relation and it’s a darker, more gunmetal-y grey than Khaki solid. It’s perhaps a less youthful shade than Khaki as a result, but Platinum does bring a certain classy restraint to the appearance of Citroen’s smallest crossover and it’ll also not need to be cleaned every single weekend as it’ll be able to mask accumulated road dirt well.
Perla Nera Black
Type: Metallic
Cost: £545
Available On: All models
Another import from the C3 palette, Perla Nera Black remains as daftly named as ever (Black Pearl Black that’s not a pearlescent paint, anyone? No?) but it looks good – when it’s sparkly clean. Like most blacks, it shows up winter road crud more readily than any other colour available for the Aircross and it’s also the only colour in the palette which renders the standard bi-tone finish of the Shine Plus flagship specification cars redundant – if you want this paint on the Aircross, you’ll get a monotone car; Citroen doesn’t automatically switch out the PNB roof for a Polar White one, which is what it does on the C3 hatchback range. However, you can still get a Polar White roof for a Perla Nera Black Citroen C3 Aircross, but it will require you to specifically tick a box on the order form of a Shine Plus car, or fork out £200 if you want the bi-tone look as an option on a Shine model.
Cumulus Grey
Type: Metallic
Cost: £545
Available On: All models
The last of the colours shared with the C3 supermini and also the last colour of 5 available to C-Series Edition customers, Cumulus Grey is about as close to silver as you’re going to get on the Aircross. If Platinum is the darkest grey and Khaki represents the midtone, Cumulus is the lightest of the 3 in this tonal family, although it still looks great against the black-plastic detailing of the C3 Aircross and it’s also a colour that’ll hold up OK if you don’t wash the car religiously on every Sunday of the year.
Voltaic Blue
Type: Metallic
Cost: £545
Available On: All models except C-Series Edition
Moving into the non-monochrome colours offered for the C3 Aircross, the first of them is Voltaic Blue. Now this is an unusual one, because different car manufacturers – even manufacturers who are in the same overarching automotive group – very rarely call their paints by the same name, even if they are indeed an identical shade of a given colour. Yet Voltaic Blue is a paint code used by Vauxhall, on models such as the Corsa supermini and Mokka crossover. It’s not a major problem that Voltaic is used for the Aircross, though, because it’s a smashing, bold, midtone blue that teams well to the corresponding Anodised Blue Colour Pack if you want it to, just as well as it carries off more daring contrast detailing. Voltaic Blue ought to continue to look good, even when encrusted with a layer of winter road grime, so good news for the hydrophobes out there who dread washing the car weekly.
Pepper Red
Type: Metallic
Cost: £545
Available On: All models except C-Series Edition
Another deviation from the C3 line, which gets Elixir Red as its top paint, Pepper Red is the final choice for the C3 Aircross. And if it is indeed a different shade of red to Elixir, then it’s a mighty marginal degree of variation – it’s maybe a touch darker and more cherry-ish than Elixir, but broadly in the same rich, deep palette of reds. It’s therefore a corking colour for the Aircross, albeit you can’t have the Anodised Orange Colour Pack with this body finish; that’s perhaps for the aesthetic best, though.
Further Exterior/Interior Design Options
The C3 Aircross follows the Citroen C3’s lead by offering a strong selection of bi-tone roof and Colour Pack options to further personalise the look of your small French crossover-SUV.
Perla Nera Black Roof
Cost: No cost (standard on Shine Plus) or £300 (option on C-Series Edition and Shine models)
Available On: All models
The standard bi-tone contrast for the flagship Shine Plus specification of the C3 Aircross brings in Perla Nera Black paint at all points above the shoulder-line of the Citroen’s doors. This cannot be teamed with the Perla Nera Black body, for obvious reasons (hint: it wouldn’t be bi-tone any more), but it goes with every other colour available for the Aircross. For £300, you can tick a box to have the bi-tone look on the lower C-Series Edition and Shine models, too.
Polar White Roof
Cost: No cost (free alternative to Perla Nera Black on Shine Plus) or £300 (option on C-Series Edition and Shine models)
Available On: All models
This is a free alternative to the Perla Nera Black roof on the Shine Plus flagship models, or the same £300 as a PNB roof if you want a different bi-tone look on the C-Series Edition or Shine versions. The Polar White roof cannot be teamed to a Polar White body, for the same reason that a PNB roof plus a PNB body would equal a monotone PNB Aircross (see below), but Polar also cannot be specified on the Pepper Red cars. Which is a shame.
Monotone
Cost: No cost (standard on C-Series Edition and Shine, free alternative to Perla Nera Black bi-tone on Shine Plus)
Available On: All models
Tick no boxes at ordering time, and this is what you get on the C-Series Edition and Shine variants of the C3 Aircross. However, if you fancy a Shine Plus car but you don’t want a contrasting roof, then for no extra cost you can have the whole vehicle in monotone if you’d like. This is effectively what happens if you specify a Perla Nera Black Shine Plus C3 Aircross and don’t tick the Polar White roof option.
Shiny Black Colour Pack
Cost: No cost (standard on Shine and Shine Plus models)
Available On: All models except C-Series Edition
As standard on the Shine and Shine Plus models of the C3 Aircross, the door mirror caps and the inserts in the front skid guard (the silvery bit on the Citroen’s chin) come in Shiny (gloss) Black. Then, in the rear-quarter glass (the fixed panels of the glasshouse immediately behind the back doors), there is what is known as the ‘Chrome in Glass’ graphic. This is basically a sticker which mimics the outline of the glass with a bold perimeter line, with thinner, fainter lines running horizontally within it. This Colour Pack finish is not available on the C-Series Edition models.
Polar White Colour Pack
Cost: No cost (free alternative to Shiny Black on Shine Plus) or £200 (Shine)
Available On: All models except C-Series Edition
This switches the Shiny Black details mentioned above to Polar White, but it also changes the graphic in the side-rear glass – to what is known as the ‘Freeglass’ image. This is like the Chrome in Glass item, only the outer line is finished in white and there are no horizontal lines in the middle of it. The Polar White Colour Pack is a no-cost option for the Shine Plus flagship models, but it’ll cost £200 on the mid-grade Shine cars and it is not available at all on the C-Series Edition trim.
Anodised Blue Colour Pack
Cost: No cost (free alternative to Shiny Black on Shine Plus) or £200 (Shine)
Available On: All models except C-Series Edition
As per the Shiny Black Colour Pack, only here the mirror caps and the skid-guard inserts are finished in bright blue – and this gets the Chrome in Glass window graphic. The Anodised Blue Colour Pack is a no-cost option for the Shine Plus flagship models, but it’ll cost £200 on the mid-grade Shine cars and it is not available at all on the C-Series Edition trim.
Anodised Orange Colour Pack
Cost: No cost (free alternative to Shiny Black on Shine Plus) or £200 (Shine)
Available On: All models except C-Series Edition
As per the Polar White Colour Pack, only here the mirror caps and the skid-guard inserts are finished in burnt orange – and this gets the Freeglass window graphic. The Anodised Orange Colour Pack is a no-cost option for the Shine Plus flagship models, but it’ll cost £200 on the mid-grade Shine cars and it is not available at all on the C-Series Edition trim. You also can’t specify it if you choose Pepper Red as the main body colour for your C3 Aircross.
Anodised Bronze Colour Pack
Cost: No cost (standard on C-Series Edition)
Available On: C-Series Edition only
Exclusive to the C-Series Edition models of the C3 Aircross is the Anodised Bronze Colour Pack. This puts said-colour inserts into the skid guard and finishes the door mirrors in the same hue, while there are also bronze 3D-embossed ‘C-Series’ badges on the bodywork too. Interestingly, the C-Series Edition doesn’t have a graphic at all in its rear-quarter glass.
Interior
Standard Ambience
Type: Cloth
Cost: No cost (standard on C-Series Edition and Shine)
Available On: All models except Shine Plus
Available With All Body Colours?: Yes
The standard interior for the C-Series Edition and Shine cars gets a straightforward name, in the form of the Standard Ambience. This sees Mica Grey fabric seats in the main, complete with a white beltline across the shoulders of the seat backs – above which, the tops of the seats and the head restraints are black. There’s a subtle difference between the C-Series Edition cabin and that of a Shine car, in that the C-Series Edition (weirdly, being the base model) gets a plusher soft-touch dashboard and custom carpet mats, while the Shine models have a standard dash.
Metropolitan Graphite Ambience
Type: Cloth and synthetic leather Advanced Comfort seats
Cost: No cost (standard on Shine Plus) or £500 (option on Shine)
Available On: All models except C-Series Edition
Available With All Body Colours?: Yes
The interior of the range-topping Shine Plus C3 Aircross, and also available on the mid-spec Shine cars for a £500 outlay, is the Metropolitan Graphite Ambience. This sees the beltline on the seat backs switched to orange, with light-grey fabric above, while beneath this line the seats are finished in ‘Brasilia’ black leather-effect and grey-flecked fabric upholstery. The seats are also Advanced Comfort+ items, with a Metropolitan Graphite touch for the surrounding fascias and a wrapped dashboard to finish the look off.
Hype Grey Ambience
Type: Leather and synthetic leather Advanced Comfort seats
Cost: £900
Available On: Shine Plus only
Available With All Body Colours?: Yes
Only available on the flagship Shine Plus specification of the Citroen C3 Aircross, the Hype Grey Ambience costs £900 as an option and this is because it is the only interior which features true leather. It’s ‘Mistral’ grey-green hide for the main part of the seats, teamed with contrasting charcoal synthetic leather for a 2-tone upholstery effect. Again, these are Advanced Comfort+ seats, while a wrapped dashboard, a gloss-black centre console and Hype Grey accents complete the most upmarket interior ambience available for a C3 Aircross.
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