DS 3 Performance

It may not have been perfect, but the curiously unique DS sometimes still hit the spot

MUCH LIKE THE BEES OF THE American Midwest, our petit ‘bumblebee’ has left us for pastures new and unknown. Without quite such disastrous implications for the local ecosystem, admittedly, the DS 3 Performance has nonetheless left behind a void, because for reasons not entirely obvious, it appealed in a way few hot hatches do.

The DS 3 was often a source of controversy within the evo office. Some thought it a mismatched combination of ‘premium’ hatchback set up to be too hardcore. Others thought it a hot hatch lacking the handling finesse and capability to rival the best in its class. In reality, it probably sits somewhere between those two points of view, but it was clear it lacked the joy of rivals such as the 208 GTI by Peugeot Sport.

Compared with the pugnacious Pug, the ride was a little calmer, but the DS’S agility was compromised. The interior was more sumptuous, yet behind the glossy plastics it felt every bit as dated as its near ten-year-old design would suggest. This meant there were issues such as the driving position, which I could never mesh with. It felt like I had to peer over the cliff-face of a dashboard, while struggling with a steering wheel that never quite lowered enough. Some taller folk in the office didn’t have such problems, though.

When in daily driver mode, the DS struggled to convince as a modern hatchback, too. The front seats, although fantastically comfortable and supportive, ate into rear-seat space, and coupled with the tough ride quality made back-seat passengers grumble more than would be expected considering they were getting a free lift.

Objectively then, the DS 3 never quite hit enough high notes to be classified a modern hot hatch prodigy, and despite its best efforts didn’t offer much in the form of luxury motoring to compensate, either.

But my lasting impression of this car is of a rather different tone. My most memorable drive in it was in the dead of night on the backwater roads of Oxfordshire. It was shortly after the last snow of winter, and the roads had dried with a crust of salt that lowered the grip threshold in a pleasingly consistent fashion. And on these the 205bhp DS 3 blossomed, front end seizing whatever grip the Michelin Super Sport tyres could generate, rear following neatly behind, or with a little provocation being coaxed into gentle, easy slides. Even the somewhat numb steering didn’t halt the interactivity, and the drive left me completely smitten – still acknowledging that better hot hatches exist, but not really caring that they do. This little ray of French sunshine, grimy with a winter’s-worth of salt-crusted mud, caused me (terrible cliché alert) to turn around to give it one last look as I walked away from it in the car park in the dead of night.

The DS 3 Performance had flaws, but not so many that it stopped me thoroughly enjoying my time with it. There are better supermini hot hatches out there, but I’d challenge you not to feel the same remorse I did when the man from DS came to take it away.

‘ Some thought it a mismatched combination of “premium” hatchback set up to be too hardcore’