Kentish Express Ashford & District
Looking good
The DS3 is likely to appeal to anyone wanting a small, economical and funto-drive supermini as Simon Davis reports
The DS3 has been with us for some time now – since 2010, in fact – albeit under Citroen branding. Now, though, the DS moniker has been established as a new brand in its own right and has its eyes firmly set on the more premium segment of the supermini market. This means the DS3 is up against the likes of the Audi A1, as well as the daddy of the supermini market: the Mini Hatch. To help it out in its fight, the DS3 comes equipped with good looks, plenty of kit as standard, as well as a range of economical and entertaining engines.
Looks and image
The looks department is the DS3’s forte. While the car hasn’t changed too much cosmetically since it first went on sale, it still looks fresh and relevant six years later. New DS badging replaces the former Citroen ones and a redesigned grille takes pride of place on the front of the car. The DS3 is also highly customisable, with more than three million combinations of colour, wheels, trim and seat fabrics. If you’re after a car that you can truly put your personal mark on, the DS3 is the one for you. Moving inside, you will find large, comfortable leather seats that wouldn’t look out of place in a bigger, more upmarket car. Practicalitywise, the DS3 offers buyers a fairly large boot for a car of its size. Behind the wheel If you’re in the mood to throw a few corners at the DS3, you’ll find it copes superbly. It attacks corners with enthusiasm, and thanks to its slightly stiff suspension set-up, always feels well planted. On the motorway, the DS3 makes for a comfortable cruiser as well – thanks mostly to its large, supportive seats. The only time our test car fell down in this respect was over bumps and potholes, as the 17in alloys did cause the car to crash around a fair amount. While the 118bhp diesel DS3 we had on test wasn’t the quickest car in the world, the engine dishes out more than enough grunt to get you off the line in a brisk fashion. Get up to motorway cruising speeds and you’ll find it quiet and refined.
Value for money
If you’re looking to put a DS3 on your drive, be prepared to say goodbye to a fair amount of cash as this certainly isn’t the cheapest car you can buy. Our test car, which came in Prestige trim with a 118bhp diesel engine, would set you back £19,495. That said, you do get plenty of kit such as satellite navigation, an upgraded stereo system and reversing cameras as standard. The cool, upmarket image that comes with this French supermini is never a bad thing, either. When it comes to running costs, the DS3 makes an even better case for itself. All of the 1.2-litre PureTech petrol engines can manage an average fuel consumption of more than 60mpg, while the BlueHDi diesels return 83.1mpg and 78.5mpg in 98bhp and 118bhp guises respectively. The DS3 won’t be an expensive car to run then.