Macclesfield Express

Stand out from the crowd

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IF THE funky and stylish DS 3 is a car that appeals, you should be able to find yourself a fairly individual version. That’s because there are loads of ways these cars can be personalis­ed at new, as well as an excellent range of petrol and diesel engines and a huge range of special editions, each of which has added equipment over the car it’s based on.

When you’re looking for one, you may have to hunt around two or three dealers to find just the right car for your tastes, but when you do find it, you won’t be disappoint­ed.

The DS 3 is fun and modern with loads of bright colours, and many have a different colour for the roof and pillars, striping, or alternativ­e interior colours to help them stand out from the crowd in any car park.

This was Citroen’s answer to cars like the MINI and Vauxhall Adam and having driven a fair few of them, and have superb economy. The BlueHDi 100 reaches 60 in just

10.5 secs and can still do 83mpg, while the 120 brings the sprint down to 9 secs and can do 78mpg.

Top-performing models are the THP 1.6 turbos, both of which offer scintillat­ing accelerati­on from any speed.

That much power in a fairly small and light body gives tremendous verve in any of the six gears and the engine is smooth and reasonably quiet unless provoked.

For a car with sporting pretension­s, comfort in the lower order cars is quite reasonable, but the THPs have stiffened suspension making them firmer and more unsettled.

Grip and roadholdin­g are very good across the board with great poise and precision through the corners and responsive steering.

The front seats hold well and the dash layout is great to use and stylish to live with.

As I’ve said, there is a wide choice of paint colours, with 38 body and roof combinatio­ns alone, and door mirrors and wheels can also be chosen in a wide range of different colours and styles.

Inside, the dash can be black, white, blue or red, or even a sporty carbon fibre effect.

Access into the back seats – even though the front ones tip and slide – is never easy in any three door, and legroom and comfort do not match up to that in the front.

Basic trim levels are DSign,

DStyle, DSport, Prestige and Performanc­e but there is a huge range of special editions with added kit. Mid-range DSport comes with alloys, air con, sports seats, traction control, parking sensors, DAB stereo with aux and Bluetooth, audio remote, alarm, cruise and plenty of airbags.

Pay about £5,400 for a ’16 16-reg 100bhp 1.2 PureTech DStyle, or £8,450 for a ‘18 18-reg 120bhp 1.6 BlueHDi Prestige.

Used car review by

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 ??  ?? The DS 3 comes in a huge range of colours and combinatio­ns
The DS 3 comes in a huge range of colours and combinatio­ns
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