Real World Charging Test Of The Citroen eC3 Electric Hatchback

Modified On May 17, 2023 05:36 PM By Shreyash

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The eC3’s claims a charging time of 58 minutes to charge up from 10 to 80 percent via a DC Fast charger. Is it true in the real world?

Citroen eC3

In the last week of February 2023, Citroen launched its first electric car in India, the eC3, which is based on the C3 hatchback. The electric hatchback comes with a 29.2kWh battery pack which offers an ARAI claimed range of 320km. Citroen’s electric car has both AC and DC fast charging options. But the brand did not specify what level of fast charging the eC3 can support. Since we had the EV with us recently, we did a real-world charging test and here are our findings.

DC Fast Charging

For our test, we plugged the eC3 at the 120kW fast charger, with the battery at 65 percent. The charging rate and the charging time from 65 to 95 percent has been detailed below in the table:

Charging Percent	Charging Rate	Time
65 to 70 percent	25kW	4 mins
70 to 75 percent	22kW	4 mins
75 to 80 percent	22kW	4 mins
80 to 85 percent	16kW	7 mins
85 to 90 percent	16kW	6 mins
90 to 95 percent	6kW	20 mins

Key Takeaways

The car's MID displayed a driving range of 135 km at 65 percent charge. At this battery level, the eC3 was charging at a rate of 25kW, which is the highest we saw. It took about 4 minutes to charge it from 65 to 70 percent.
At 70 percent charge, the charging rate falls down to 22kW, again taking approximately 4 minutes to add another 5 percent power to the battery. The charging continues with the same rate till 80 percent.
After reaching 80 percent, the charge rate came down to 16kW, taking 11 minutes to add another 10 percent of charge.
From 90 to 95 percent, the rate of charge comes down to 6kW, and it takes 20 minutes to add another 5 percent to the battery.
We pulled out the charging cable at 95 percent battery, and the car was showing a range of 218km, which is over 100km less than the claimed driving range at full charge.

Also Read: Citroen C3’s Turbo Variants Get The BS6 Phase 2 Update Along With A New, Fully Loaded Shine Trim

Why does the charging speed decrease?

Citroen eC3

According to our testing results, the charging power reduces as the battery percentage reaches 80 percent. This is because the battery begins to heat up when charged with a DC Fast Charger. Since sustained high temperatures are bad for the battery's health, slowing down the charging helps keep the battery from overheating and preserves its life.

Furthermore, the battery pack is made by combining several cells within it. Slower charging also aids in the consistent distribution of charge across the cells.

Charging Via 15A Socket

We also used a 15A socket to charge the eC3’s battery. Here’s charging time as shown in the MID at specific battery level:

Battery Percentage	Estimated Charging Time (till 80%)
1 percent (Plugged in)	8 hours and 20 mins
10 percent	8 hours

When plugged into a 15A home charger, the estimated charging time to top-up the battery from 10 to 80 percent is exactly eight hours, as shown in the car’s MID. Going by the calculations, this translates to a charging rate of approximately 8.5 to 9 percent in one hour.

Powertrain Details

Citroen eC3

Citroen’s 29.2kWh battery pack is mated to an electric motor which produces 57PS and 143Nm. Unlike some of its rivals, this system is air cooled and not liquid cooled which is probably why it cannot support faster charging.

Price & Rivals

The eC3 rivals the Tata Tiago EV and Tata Tigor EV. It can also be regarded as a bigger alternative to the MG Comet EV. It is currently offered in two variants, priced from Rs 11.50 lakh to Rs 12.76 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). We have also compared the prices of the eC3 rivals, which are detailed in this story.