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Following on from my drive and review of the new C3, I was given a DS3 as a
courtesy car when my C5 went in to Freeborn of Winchester for a service.
The car was black with a pale blue roof (and door mirror housings and
key insert). My initial impression, on a gloriously hot and sunny
day in June, was that the interior was very dark and that the plastic
‘chrome’ found on the dashboard and steering wheel reflected the
sunlight. The contrast with the Zenith windscreen-equipped C3
could not have been greater. My C5 has a light grey leather
interior and obviously is much roomier than the DS3 which felt quite
claustrophobic in comparison.
Again, like the C3 (and to a lesser extent my C5), the A pillars were
very thick and the B pillars were so thick as to cause a real problem
when looking to one’s left. Rearward visibility was not very good
either. As I mentioned in my C3 review, “…clearly the pillars
have to be thick in order to provide the roll over protection mandated
by European construction regulations and clearly, the loss of the front
part of the roof as a result of the Zenith screen plays a part in
this.” The DS3 has a ‘proper’ roof so I find myself wondering why
the pillars have to be quite so thick.
The first few miles driving in Winchester’s rush hour traffic was not
the most relaxing of experiences. The ride was noticeably firmer
than that of the C3 and the steering heavier. I believe that the
C3’s ride is quite exceptional for a steel-sprung car; the DS3 seemed
only average. My satnav took me on an odd route out of Winchester
– lots of steep hills and badly maintained surfaces and the car crashed
and banged from one pothole to another. The 195/55/R16 tyres
didn’t help either.
Once I got out on the open road, the car was much nicer; the handling
is excellent, being essentially neutral with a touch of understeer when
pushed hard. The steering feels nicely weighted and responsive
and loads up as cornering speeds increase. However, one can feel
the imperfections of the road surfaces – I think this is what the
muttering rotters mean when they talk about ‘feel’. I don’t like
it. I like that ‘slightly detached but unaffected by the surface’
feel that hydropneumatic cars have. In the final analysis though,
this is a subjective matter. For every person who likes the feel
of ‘traditional’ Citroëns, there are probably a couple of dozen who
dislike it intensely. And if Citroën want to appeal to the
majority, they have to engineer this populist sort of feel into their
cars. The C3’s steering was less ‘feely’ and much lighter and I
can imagine some prospective buyers being put off after a test
drive. Body roll, as one might expect, was non-existent.
Driving in Winchester traffic, the 90 bhp 1.6 Hdi engine felt torquey
and responsive. It was quite happy to pull from just above idle
speed in third gear. It came as something of a surprise then to
discover that I needed to make use of the gearbox to make rapid
progress on country roads. Fortunately, the gearshift and clutch
are excellent and the ratios nicely chosen. And it is possible
that there are people out there who revel in the contortions imposed by
a DIY transmission – the so-called ‘sporty’ fraternity.
The engine note, even when pushed towards the red line, sounded very
nice – no trace whatsoever of the infamous compression ignition rattle;
nor did it run into a brick wall at the red line. There was a
little bit of gearbox whine but very little wind noise. However,
opening the driver’s window led to very severe buffeting at speeds as
low as 40 mph and I found myself grateful for the very effective (and
very quiet) airconditioning.
There is a folding armrest between the two front seats and this is de
rigeur
if one wants to make fast progress since the seats have insufficient
lateral support. In the up position, this armrest contributes to
the feeling of claustrophobia in the rear. In the down position,
one has to put one’s arm to the left of it in order to fasten the
seatbelt or operate the parking brake. I also felt that there was
insufficient lumbar support. The rear is very cramped
indeed. I am 5’11” and with the driver’s seat adjusted correctly,
I was unable to sit in the seat behind. Sitting behind the front
passenger’s seat after moving it fully forward meant that my knees were
hard up against the back of the seat. The very thick B pillars
with their odd angle meant that the rear of the car felt dark, cramped
and claustrophobic.
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The
dashboard is of a higher standard than that of the C3 and the plastics
used are tactilely superior although I dislike the plastic
‘chrome’. The steering wheel too feels nicer than that fitted to
the C3.
Having criticised the ride, I followed a Mini Cooper along a bit of
road that the French would once have described as chaussée deformée
and could see the driver bouncing up and down. The ride in the
DS3 meant I too could feel the road surface but it was not
uncomfortable. The Mini slowed to 45 mph and I felt quite happy
to overtake and resume the 60 mph we had both been doing earlier when
the surface was smooth.
A quick look at the computer display revealed that over the last 1000
odd miles, it averaged 50.3 mpg and 30 mph.
As I all too often observe when driving small Citroëns, I am not in the
market for such cars and I therefore have to try and put myself in
someone else’s shoes. If I were 30 years younger, had only two
small children, lived in a town (where its compact dimensions make it
easy to park), were a few stone lighter and liked to drive in a
‘sporty’ manner, I might very well consider the DS3. As a general
rule, I try not to read other people’s tests of cars but one would have
to be a hermit to be unaware that the DS3 is generally reckoned to be
superior to the Mini and Alfa Miata. Whether this makes the DS3 a
good car and the other two merely average, I cannot say. For a
small Citroën, it sets new standards of build quality and it must be
said that it is quite distinctive looking. Whether it advances
the art of automotive engineering is a moot point. But then
people in this sector of the market probably don’t want cutting edge
technology; they want something that is chic, stylish and fun.
The DS3 is all of this.
As it is, I far preferred the C3 which has similar performance, more
room, a better ride and, to my way of thinking, better steering.
© 2011 Julian Marsh
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