On a recent jaunt to Holland I was given a Citroen DS3 from my friends in Hertz for a three-day trip. I covered only 300 kilometres and for half of that I was on my own. First impressions from the outside were good. A white roof and black body looks good on what I think is a handsome car. Alloy style hubcaps were a surprise on a model that looks so good but in fairness winter tyres were fitted (as is recommended in Holland during winter months) so they can be forgiven. Folding wing mirrors added to the sense of style along with tinted rear windows and a small roof spoiler.
Inside, the DS3 looked the part too. Comfortable sports seats featured suede inserts and good support; and a simple leather sports steering wheel with adjustable rake and reach helped give a very good driving position. A clear and organised dash display was nice to see and the simple controls continued to the centre console for the standard CD stereo and air conditioning. All around it was a nice place to be and it's good to see the extra money you pay over a standard Citroen gets you something a little special. The spec continues with auto wipers and lights, cruise control and remote audio controls. It's great to have the auto this and that but one place I would mark this car down in is that everything is mounted behind the steering wheel. This means you have four stalks to contend with, which might not be an issue did this car not have an auto box with paddle shift - so you're now looking at six items behind the wheel. It's a little busy and believe me, you will be using the paddles a lot.
The engine fitted to this DS3 was a 1.6-litre HDi diesel and its redeeming feature is that it is not fond of diesel. It only used a quarter of a tank in the 300-kilometre round trip. It revs a little but is not going to be rushed - much like the auto box. I'm not fond of giving out about things but I want to put this into perspective. I have a 1990 BMW 3 Series (E30) 1.8-litre auto petrol Touring estate with over 160,000 kilometres on the clock, and its four-speed automatic transmission is smoother than this 2013 Citroen five-speed unit. Changing in the DS3 in auto takes around three seconds when it chooses to do so and it's not smooth going up or down. Try to put your foot down and make some progress and you end up with seasickness. Paddle shift is the only way to drive it but if it's available I would say get the manual and spend the cash on alloys or entertainment or leather or a sunroof.
I like the DS3 in terms of its looks, comfort and running costs. I think it will still look good in another five years. It has the right qualities for the market it's targeting and I think I might be part of that market, but based on this drive alone with this diesel engine and this auto box I would be looking at a MINI or a Beetle before the DS3.