DS3 D SPORT 1.6 PETROL TURBO
page 2
FIRST IMPRESSIONS. (driving impressions on page 3)
BRAKES: With all round discs, ventilated at the front, these are fantastic and the electronic brake assist is very impressive and activates the hazard flashers automatically when you stamp hard on the pedal. Stability under hard braking is excellent.
6 SPEED GEARBOX: - more like a switch than a lever so quite precise, but light and with short travel. Hopefully will become more slick with use (& practice). The gearing is quite tall - almost the same as the diesel. 6th is 2000rpm for about 60mph. 5th is good for 150mph (in theory - at 6000rpm), 4th for 110, 3rd for 90, and 2nd for about 65.
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On the dash can be seen a Scangauge which is used to monitor
additional parameters such as boost pressure, intake air temp,
throttle position (not pedal position) etc. It also confirmed the
accuracy of the tacho and that the speedo reads about 2mph high (also
confirmed by gps) . The intercooler is efficient, the temperature
never rising by more than a few degrees. This contrasts with the
X-Type diesel (Mondeo engine) where it is almost useless due to the
temperature rising by about 1.5C for every psi of boost (22psi max).
STEERING: The electrically assisted steering is quick and direct but too light and a bit lacking in feel for me. Devoid of torque steer or kickback though.
ENGINE & PERFORMANCE: This is very smooth and quiet - essentially inaudible until 3000rpm, with no sensation of the turbo working (since it comes in from such low rpm) It pulls like a tuned 1.6hdi turbo diesel but one that keeps on pulling strongly to 5500rpm instead of tailing off once past 3500rpm. Sounds superb when revved and third gear is very punchy between 3 & 5.5K rpm. It pulls from 1500rpm in 6th like a turbo diesel so can be driven like one should you be able to resist the temptation enjoy the engine. However it does feel like it could use a bit more poke (& less turbo lag) at about 2000rpm in the high gears. The remapped engines gain about 30lbs ft more torque & 30bhp which will be very noticeable. We'll be using a Performance Box to measure the performance before going to the dyno - details on our sister website, tuning-diesels.comhere
HANDLING & RIDE: The ride is good - firm and well damped (not as harsh as the Mini Cooper's) but not tiring on any journey regardless of the road surface smoothness. As the car has barely done 1k miles, I expect it will become even better once the springs and dampers have bedded in. There is negligible body roll and little dive or squat and no torque steer under hard acceleration (except on uneven & damp surfaces in 2nd & 3rg gears). The ESP can be switched off but hasn't been yet. Ideally the chassis will be so well developed that the esp won't have much to do and if it has been working, it is completely unobtrusive. Grip from the Bridgestone Potenza Re50a 205/45*17 tyres is excellent (on damp and wet roads too). I will be tempted to replace them in due course with Toyo T1rs for more grip and possibly less noise.
STYLING & BUILD QUALITY: From the front it is clearly C3, but from the side particularly, very different to the norm. From the rear there are shades of Mini. The leds in the front bumper are bright and help to attract the attention of passers by so you will get noticed. You will also be tail gated by curious motorist trying to find out what just shot past and into the gap in front of them... the tailgate logo doesn't very obviously shout 'DS3'. At last the French have almost caught up to the Germans in the build quality stakes. There is nothing to complain about whatsoever with the fit & finish, quality of the interior trim or feel of the controls. The ergonomics are fine and my 250mile each way round trip on saturday left me feeling less tired than I expected and with no aches and pains.
INTERIOR COMFORT & GIZMOS: The leather seats are comfortable, have height as well as the usual adjustments and excellent lateral support but I would have liked lumbar adjustment as well. The steering wheel is adjustable for reach and rake. A second stalk on the left operates cruise control and speed speed limiter option but cleverly, the throttle pedal has a 'stop' at about 3/4 travel. Pressing the pedal past this stop over rides the speed limiter so if you need a burst of speed there is no need to switch off the cruise or speed limiter. This is a quiet car at speed although there is some tyre noise from the Bridgestones but not as obtrusive as in the MINI. All the usual electric gizmos are present including digital climate control, Bluetooth, a HIFI (so says Citroen) operated from a second stalk on the right, theft alarm (the lesser models don't have one apparently) etc. The bluetooth phone connection works well - operated from the button on the end of the radio stalk. Did I mention it seats 4 adults or 2 adults and 3 kids and has a capacious boot making it much roomier than a Mini?
WISH LIST. If I was 'picky' I'd have liked: more intermittent speeds on the wipers, lumbar adjustment, parking sensors, colour dash displays instead of boring orange monochrome ones and the two stalks for the cruise and radio/bluetooth phone are obscured by the wheel spokes so would be better mounted on the wheel itself.