Personalise your DS3

Personalisation is the name of the game and the French company has stepped up to the plate in a bid to win sales from Mini, Ford and Vauxhall.

This is probably the boldest bid yet by any company with 10 body colours, four potential roof colours and even the dash comes with a choice of five different colours.

You will have seen the DS3 on the road – there’s simply no missing it – and that’s just what Citroen had in mind when they launched this latest addition to the DS range. 
The 17” black alloy wheels are a really great feature.

But don’t be fooled into thinking that DS3 is just a styling exercise because that would be far from the truth. In fact it’s a really good car to drive and comes with a wide 
choice of very economical engines.

The 1.6 DS3 DStyle Blue HDi 100 on test was a very impressive performer with a top speed of 117mph and 0-62mph in 10.6seconds but more importantly it produced 
around 80mpg over a week’s motoring. I began to think the fuel gauge was stuck.

The turbocharged diesel matches looks with performance through a five-speed syncromesh manual gearbox and will impress those protecting our planet by only 
producing 87g/km of emissions thanks to a stop and start system that uses alternator management and energy recapture. 

I’m not sure what all that technical engine management-speak means, but it works and means you pay no road tax.

Sports suspension on the test model meant good handling but did have some passengers complaining about a hard ride. There was plenty of grip with precise steering 
and an all-round safe feeling.

The cabin is a great place to be and I simply love the use of colours, clever instrumentation appearance and metallic steering wheel controls – it’s fun just to sit there and 
think “wow”.

There’s a neat seven inch touch screen control system, cruise control, tyre pressure monitor, exterior temperature display, a multi-function trip computer and simply 
stunning black panel night-time instrument lighting.

There’s plenty of room up front but sadly rear passengers were not too happy with the leg room on offer, though entry to the three door model is easy enough thanks to 
huge doors. There’s probably just enough boot space for most, though not if you’re a golfer.

There’s more than enough safety packages on board with ABS and Electronic Stability Control and all-round curtain airbags as well as automatically activated hazard 
warning lights should you get into a bit of trouble.

The DS3 is competitively priced too. The test car is available at £16,595 but front arm rests, roof colouring and parking sensors pushed that up to £17,195.

I would have expected the package to include a SatNav system alongside the DAB radio and Bluetooth system and although there’s more than enough storage areas cup 
holders are nowhere to be found. 

If you want to be seen out there get down to your local Citroen dealer now. The DS3 stands out in any crowd.