There’s plenty of stove hot competition in the light car class including Ford’s very excellent Fiesta ST. It’s a mini rocket ship. But not everyone wants a missile in the garage. Some people like a bit of comfort, class and luxury - enter the Citroen DS3 hatch, a sweet little car out of France with plenty of kit and a totally different look.
PRICE / FEATURES
At $29,740, the DS3 is up towards the top of the light car class against the likes of the Fiesta ST, Peugeot 208GTi, Renault Clio RS, Skoda Fabia RS and VW Polo GTi. The interior is arguably the best in class with stylish carbon-look fascia and a really funky looking instrument binnacle with metal surrounds and slick-looking dials.
Actually controlling all the car’s functions is easy if a little crowded around the steering wheel column that houses a couple of multi button satellite switches. The audio system is good as is the satnav and we wouldn’t necessarily pay the extra two grand for leather because the seats are comfortable in cloth.
ENGINE
The powertrain ain’t half bad either as it’s essentially the same as you’ll find in Peugeot, BMW and Mini products as well as Citroen. That means 1.6-litre, turbo petrol four cylinder with direct fuel injection and variable valve timing along with staged oil and water pumps for more efficiency gains. The DS3 version cranks out some 115kW/240Nm with fuel consumption averaging around 6.0-litres of premium/100km.
DRIVING
But the thing about this car is its drive feel. Put simply, the diminutive Citroen makes you feel good thanks to the comfortable but sporty ride, direct steering, slick gear change and plucky engine with more than enough oomph for most applications short of track days.
It even sounds good with a muted rumble rolling out of the twin exhausts. While we wouldn’t describe the DS3’s styling as sexy, it’s certainly cute in a puppy dog sort of way with an array of LED daytime drivers on the outside of each headlight picking it out in a crowd.
There’s adequate room inside for four adults and access to the rear seats is aided by front pews that slide and fold out of the way. The boot is OK – better with the rear seats folded. It can’t meet these for outright sporty driving but the sporty 'flavour' of the Citroen DS3 is more than enough to satisfy most drivers, particularly those looking for a bit more refinement and easy everyday driving for their dollar.
Citroen DS3 D Sport
Price: from $29,740
Engine: 1.6-litre trubo 4-cyl petrol, 115kW/240Nm
Transmission: six-speed manual, FWD
Thirst: 6 litres/100km
Citroen DS3 2014: Dsport
Engine Type | Turbo 4, 1.6L |
---|---|
Fuel Type | |
Fuel Efficiency | 6.7L/100km (combined) |
Seating | 5 |
Price From | $6,380 - $8,910 |
Safety Rating |
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Range and Specs
Vehicle | Specs | Price* |
---|---|---|
Dsign | 1.2L, 5 SPEED MANUAL | $6,160 - $8,690 |
Dsport | 1.6L, 6 SPEED MANUAL | $6,380 - $8,910 |
Dstyle | 1.6L, 4 SPEED AUTOMATIC | $6,710 - $9,460 |
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