Used Citroen C-ZERO review and buying guide (2010 to 2018): which one to buy and what to check

Which used Citroen C-Zero should you buy?

Buy the C-Zero with the healthiest battery you can find, whatever its year, because that's the part you least want to replace. It's a Mitsubishi i-MiEV wearing a Citroen badge, and Peugeot sold the identical car as the iOn, so across 2010 to 2018 there's one body and one electric drivetrain. Your real choice comes down to the state of the battery and the bodywork.

From summer 2012 Citroen fitted a smaller battery, and the maker claimed the range hadn't changed thanks to better regenerative braking. The real change was in the cells, which got an electrolyte that copes better with heat. Neither pack has a track record that makes one year the safe buy, and a 2013 car has had its whole pack fail, so judge the car in front of you on its range, not its build year.

The oldest cars need the hardest look for rust. The body's light, and it corrodes along the front edge of the bonnet and on the rear wings once a car's 8 to 9 years old, so by now that covers every C-Zero on sale. A car with clean metal in those two places and a strong battery is the one to go for.

Which Citroen C-Zero motor and battery is the safe choice?

There's no engine to choose: every C-Zero is fully electric, with one motor and gearbox and no petrol or diesel option. The only hardware difference between cars is the battery. Those built before summer 2012 carry a 16 kWh pack of 88 cells, while later ones have 14.5 kWh across 80 cells using the more heat-tolerant chemistry.

A failed pack is the big risk. One 2013 car suffered total battery failure, and Citroen quoted 18,000 to 22,610 euros plus tax for a complete Yuasa pack. That isn't always the bill, though: a dead pack can sometimes be brought back by replacing only one or two cells, so a battery fault doesn't automatically mean a whole new unit.

Some cars built in 2011 and 2012 were recalled to have the engine control unit replaced, because the original could malfunction and cut the power. It's a small recall, but losing drive on the road isn't something you'd want, so it's worth confirming on any car from those two years.

What should you check when viewing a used C-Zero?

Rust comes first: crouch down and run your eye along the front edge of the bonnet and round both rear wings, where the thin body starts to corrode at 8 to 9 years old. Check the windscreen for cracks too, as one owner of the identical Peugeot iOn had theirs crack overnight with nothing hitting it.

Ask the seller to have the car fully charged when you arrive, then see what range the display shows and drive it far enough to watch how fast that drops. Ask for invoices for any battery work, and if cells have been replaced, find out how many and when, since a weak pack doesn't always need a whole new unit.

On the test drive, listen for rattles, see how quickly the windscreen clears with the demister running and notice how it copes with a crosswind, all things one iOn owner complained about. That same owner found little more than a thin strut behind the rear bumper, so check it closely if the back's had a knock. On a 2011 or 2012 car, get proof the engine control unit recall's been done.

Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.

What does a used Citroen C-ZERO cost to run?