Palmball
MB Enthusiast
I got fed up of waiting for the C63 so I've cancelled the order and downsized! 
Well....no actually, that was all a big lie!
It's actually my girlfriends new car and after my constant moaning about her previous car, a Mini Cooper S, she finally decided to shut me up and get something else! Despite being a relatively new Mini (i.e. 2008!), it must have been a bad one as in the year we had it, the car had 3 oil leaks and the interior rattled, buzzed and creaked like no other car I've ever known. It wound me up something chronic!
After going to the Geneva motorshow, both of us were pretty impressed with this new Citroen DS3; so much so that a couple of days after getting back we found one in the spec she wanted (i.e. a red one with everything option on it!), sold the Mini to a local car trader for very good money and bought the Citroen! The good thing about the Mini is that it hardly depreciated in the year and was one of the easiest things I've ever sold!
First impressions about the DS3 is that it's very funky looking, it's very smooth and refined to drive and has very, very good build quality (yes...I know its a Citroen but I REALLY mean this - the quality is mighty impressive).
The looks
A very subjective thing but this is a very striking car and it's getting lots of notice. Just how long this'll last I don't know but at the minute, there's aren't many others about so it looks different and pretty cool.
Unfortunately ours has black wheels which don't sit well at all against the dark red car and white roof; they're being re-painted in white in a couple of weeks to match the roof colour!
Interior
The looks of the interior are pretty special; the seats are supportive and in the white leather they look good, the dash is very modern and, as I've already said, the build quality is first rate...I know its only done 150 miles but there isn't a rattle or creak and the whole interior seems very solidly put together (i.e unlike the Mini, if you prod the dash it doesn't creak under stress!). Randomly, it's also got one of the comfiest steering wheels I've ever held - it seems to be shaped perfectly to fit the natural curve of your hand/fingers.
What isn't so impressive is the driving position; it's not unacceptable like most other french cars but unlike most of the mainly German cars I'm used to, you just can't get close enough to the wheel without having bent legs. The French must all have little legs!
Performance
The DS3 actually has the same engine as a Mini Cooper S (1.6 Turbo) but it's slightly detuned. However, the DS3 is a good 50kg lighter and has exactly the same torque so in reality it feels just as quick. Well, not strictly true; it's so smooth and quiet that you don't get the same sensation of speed but the speedo says otherwise! Autocar have just tested it to 60mph in 6.7 seconds which isn't too bad for a 150bhp car!
In fact, for a small car it is incredibly quiet on the motorway. On the private test track that I took it on today (as it would be highly illegal on the public road) it cruised at well over 100mph in relative quietness.
Handling
Now, this is the area where the Cooper S should still be superior and yes, the Mini was sharper and more direct with loads more feel. The DS3 has very little feel in comparison but it has very good roadholding and just grips and grips.
It's very easy to place and aim for the apex on a bend (again, on that private test track thing I went on today
), it tucks in nicely (and safely) on a lift of the throttle and it stays composed on bumpy bends...something the Mini with its bone-shaking ride couldn't do for toffee. In fact the overall drive is very well suited to our sh!t roads with a good ride and handling compromise.
Here's a few photo's....
Well....no actually, that was all a big lie!
It's actually my girlfriends new car and after my constant moaning about her previous car, a Mini Cooper S, she finally decided to shut me up and get something else! Despite being a relatively new Mini (i.e. 2008!), it must have been a bad one as in the year we had it, the car had 3 oil leaks and the interior rattled, buzzed and creaked like no other car I've ever known. It wound me up something chronic!
After going to the Geneva motorshow, both of us were pretty impressed with this new Citroen DS3; so much so that a couple of days after getting back we found one in the spec she wanted (i.e. a red one with everything option on it!), sold the Mini to a local car trader for very good money and bought the Citroen! The good thing about the Mini is that it hardly depreciated in the year and was one of the easiest things I've ever sold!
First impressions about the DS3 is that it's very funky looking, it's very smooth and refined to drive and has very, very good build quality (yes...I know its a Citroen but I REALLY mean this - the quality is mighty impressive).
The looks
A very subjective thing but this is a very striking car and it's getting lots of notice. Just how long this'll last I don't know but at the minute, there's aren't many others about so it looks different and pretty cool.
Unfortunately ours has black wheels which don't sit well at all against the dark red car and white roof; they're being re-painted in white in a couple of weeks to match the roof colour!
Interior
The looks of the interior are pretty special; the seats are supportive and in the white leather they look good, the dash is very modern and, as I've already said, the build quality is first rate...I know its only done 150 miles but there isn't a rattle or creak and the whole interior seems very solidly put together (i.e unlike the Mini, if you prod the dash it doesn't creak under stress!). Randomly, it's also got one of the comfiest steering wheels I've ever held - it seems to be shaped perfectly to fit the natural curve of your hand/fingers.
What isn't so impressive is the driving position; it's not unacceptable like most other french cars but unlike most of the mainly German cars I'm used to, you just can't get close enough to the wheel without having bent legs. The French must all have little legs!
Performance
The DS3 actually has the same engine as a Mini Cooper S (1.6 Turbo) but it's slightly detuned. However, the DS3 is a good 50kg lighter and has exactly the same torque so in reality it feels just as quick. Well, not strictly true; it's so smooth and quiet that you don't get the same sensation of speed but the speedo says otherwise! Autocar have just tested it to 60mph in 6.7 seconds which isn't too bad for a 150bhp car!
In fact, for a small car it is incredibly quiet on the motorway. On the private test track that I took it on today (as it would be highly illegal on the public road) it cruised at well over 100mph in relative quietness.
Handling
Now, this is the area where the Cooper S should still be superior and yes, the Mini was sharper and more direct with loads more feel. The DS3 has very little feel in comparison but it has very good roadholding and just grips and grips.
It's very easy to place and aim for the apex on a bend (again, on that private test track thing I went on today
), it tucks in nicely (and safely) on a lift of the throttle and it stays composed on bumpy bends...something the Mini with its bone-shaking ride couldn't do for toffee. In fact the overall drive is very well suited to our sh!t roads with a good ride and handling compromise. Here's a few photo's....
, it looks nice, and I'll be interested to know how you get on with it. I'm hoping it will have better build quality then the bmw/toyota/mini garbage you had before.
