To you and I, there's no real meaning to the 'DS' range by Citroën. That's until I give you a quick French lesson. Although we say is as 'dee ess', the French would pronounce it as 'day ess'. But what a minute, you pronounce 'déesse' like 'day ess' too! So DS is sort of like a code for 'déesse', which means 'Goddess'. The DS range, or Goddess range, is the luxurious side to Citroën. The numbers correspond to the standard car on which they're based - DS3-C3, DS4-C4 and DS5-C5. Today we're dealing with the DS3 supermini.
When it first entered our world in 2009 the DS3 instantly caught our eye, attracting the younger customers. Its stylish looks and personalisation was something that we saw very rarely back then.
Still in its first generation 5 years later, the DS3 looks just as fresh as when it came out. But along the way, Citroën have added some sparks to keep it that way.
To keep up with competitors, entry level DS3 models come as standard with cruise control, 60:40 split folding rear seats, six speakers and sports suspension. If you climb above that, alloy wheels, tinted rear windows, air conditioning and Bluetooth® make it a sensible choice. You can climb the ladder a big higher to find sports seats, a roof spoiler and rear parking sensors, but once you reach the top spec you notice Citroën has concentrated on safety with Active City Brake, xenon headlights and the eTouch Emergency & Assistance System.
Some would say I'm lazy, but I'm going to take a quote directly from Citroën.
"Once you've chosen from 11 stunning body colours, it's time to consider a shade for that 'floating' roof. Take your time; there are 35 potential combinations..."
Take a look at the brochure and you'll stumble across pages 30 and 31. On those pages are 8 door mirror colours, 4 roof colours, 11 body colours and 3 wheel designs. What's interesting is the car's key (which I think looks great, by the way!) can be specified to match your car, with 5 colours available!
Turn your page and you'll see it's not only the upholstery that you can change! With 5 colours for the gear stick and 4 for the dashboard, there are endless possibilities!
Lastly, if you choose not to have a car with a contrast roof, you can choose from 6 designs on the roof, from butterflied to the Union Jack.
Download or order a brochure here.
There's a choice of 3 petrol engines with only the mid-powered one available with an automatic transmission and 2 diesels. Only the top power outputs (petrol and diesel) use a 6-speed manual 'box, the rest use a 5-speed (unless it's the 4-speed auto which isn't up to today's standards).
According to Citroën you can achieve up to 80 mpg in certain DS3 models, but expect above 40 mpg (or in the region of 60 mpg for the efficient diesels).
At the moment, only the diesels emit under 100 g/km of CO2, making them free to tax.
With a 285-litre boot, the DS3 sits comfortably above its rivals, such as the 270 litres offered by the Alfa Romeo MiTo and Audi A1 (Hatchback and Sportback), the 211 litres offered by the MINI 3-Door Hatch and the 278 litres offered by the bigger MINI 5-Door Hatch. It does have 15 litres less than the C3 on which it's based though.
Something it may be lacking in is a set of back doors, making it a strict 3-door car like the MiTo. Personally, I think adding rear doors would be a mistake, so Citroën's playing it well at the moment! But if practicality is something that you're looking for, you can buy the MINI 5-door Hatch or Audi A1 Sportback which both have 5 doors, as opposed to their 3-door equivalents (known as the MINI 3-Door Hatch and simply Audi A1).
One thing that the DS3 has that none of its direct rivals have is a retractable roof. Although it's known as a different car (Citroën DS3 Cabrio), it's certainly an enticing prospect. It's only £2,000 more than the metal-roofed DS3 too! Look out for a Fiat 500C though which is £1,605 cheaper and has a similar canvas retractable roof (£3,000 more than the standard Fiat 500).
The DS3 (£13,295) is priced suitably to steer buyers away from the MINI 3-Door Hatch (£13,935), 5-Door Hatch (£14,535), Audi A1 (£14,355) and Sportback (£14,975) but it's slightly more expensive than the MiTo (£12,760).
An important factor to remember though, is that's the DS3's entry point price and if you step up to the 2nd trim you will add some £4,000! I managed to get my 'ideal' DS3 to £20,000. Take a look how by clicking this link.
No comments:
Post a Comment