'Autocar' UK on DS3

[voyager]

the 27th January issue of 'Autocar' UK has its first test of the DS3

French Dressing
Forget any concerns that Citroen's new DS3 is just a tarted-up three-door C3. After driving it around Paris, Matt Prior says it's a serious rival for the Mini and Alfa MiTo.

The question is, i suppose, will you give it the benefit of the doubt? Citroen would like you to view the DS3 as more than just a C3 supermini with three doors, but it knows things are not that simple. It can't just decide it's going to 'do' premium and expect everybody to tag along. First the product has to be up to it. And even then, you still need people to have a bit of faith.

So if you are feeling a bit uncharitable, assume you're not. For the moment, believe that this isn't a three-door C3; it's a credible alternative to a Mini, Alfa MiTo or Fiat 500.

You'll note that two of those are overtly retro - a free ticket to the premium club - but while Citroen has revived the DS name, the DS3 is not a retro car. The sister models that follow it won't be, either. There will eventually be a DS4 and DS5 too.

Where the DS3 is concerned, that means first that it's pleasingly, muscularly proportioned; then the big box of neat design touches gets opened. The roof looks like it's floating thanks to some adept pillar work, two-tone paint is on the cards, there's a strip of LED running lights down each side of the nose, the door handles are chromed, and so on. It catches more than its share of glances in France, and it looks pretty tidy to me.

The same goes for the inside. The DS3's cabin is tastefully appointed and most surfaces have been carefully finished. At least, most places above your hip point have been. Citroen has done little to alter the switchgear and some of the cockpit's lower surfaces are ordinary, but they're up to standard. It lifts the mood above regular C3 levels, to be on a par with the niche, premium players.

It's spacious, too. Because the DS3 is based on a 'proper' supermini and is not forced to follow a retro styling theme, the DS3 has more boot and rear seat space than its similarly fashion-conscious rivals.

Eyeing the success of those, though, Citroen has given the DS3 a vast range of options and accessories to match the 500 and Mini.

Our test car is kitted out with the current range-topper, that 1.6-litre turbo, an engine spookily similar to the one you'll find in a Mini Cooper.

This unit soon shows itself as a bit of a star. Though it shows its best side at the top end, it pulls well from the mid-range onwards and is a willing, zigy companion.

It would convincingly leave a Cooper behind.

Our test takes us around Paris, then out of it, and it doesn't take long to realise that this isn't just a faster C3.

Around town, across Paris's cobbled streets, the ride is supple yet also well controlled. It's far less soft than a normal C3, of course, but it takes the edges of bumps adeptly.

That its seats are far more supportive helps too. You can even find a semi-sporting driving position, thanks to a neat wheel that reaches a long way back.

The DS3 steers well. The weighting is good; it's middling-light around town and stays that way, which is at least consistent - better than being artificially ultra-light one minute and dreadfully heavy the next. It has the measure of a Mini.

One of the nice things about Paris is that it doesn't take long to drive out of it. Out here the DS3 reveals handling that's tidy rather than stupendous, but certainly engaging.

Limits are respectable; initially it'll understeer, but the rear mucks in if you give it a lift or a bung. A 500 Abarth would be more in your face, a Mini also more immediate but ultimately less resolved. For me, Citroen has got the DS3's balance right. Like the rest of the car, it's playful and mature in equal measure.

It's a brave thing Citroen is trying here, and its retailers will have to be up to the task too, because premium is as much about exceeding customer's expectations as it is about products. The easiest thing for Citroen to do would have been to launch a retro 2CV recreation. I'm glad it didn't. And i'll admit that, while i might not have been uncharitable, i was healthily sceptical about the DS3's chances. But it won me over pretty quickly.

My hunch is that it'll take Citroen a while before consumers are prepared to engage with it as they might with a Mini, but it deserves its chance. It's not just a less inventive rehash of an old idea, for a start.

If other DS models are as good as this one, they could all be winners. Lots of coulds, chances and hunches. But one thing i'm certain about is that the DS3 is more - a lot more - than just a three-door C3.