DS 3 Review (2023-present)

What is the DS 3?

You could argue that it’s a car with something of an identity crisis. It started life in 2009 as the Citroen DS3, a stylish and fun supermini - the DS model was posher and more desirable than its Citroen C3 stablemate - aimed squarely at the Mini Cooper and Fiat 500. It later competed with prestige rivals such as the Audi A1, as well as mainstream small car contenders such as the Ford Fiesta and Toyota Yaris. The DS 3 Cabrio competed with the Fiat 500C and Mini Convertible, while the DS3 Racing turbo competed with the small hot hatch contenders of the day. Then in 2015, DS split from Citroen to become the French firm’s standalone premium brand, so the Citroen DS3 became simply the DS 3 (note the extra space between the letters and number), yet aside from the name change and a minor facelift, not a great deal changed. There was more change in 2019, when the stylish supermini became a supermini-sized crossover SUV, and the car was given yet another new name to reflect that, now being called the DS 3 Crossback. Fast-forward to 2023, and the car has just been facelifted once again. Again, not a massive amount has changed with the new car, except – yep, you guessed it – the name. The Crossback bit has been ditched once again, so it’s back to being just the good old DS 3. It’s still a crossover rather than a regular supermini hatchback, though. There, you’re up to date. Phew.

Being a DS, it seeks to stand out from its rivals with unconventional avantgarde design inside and out, plus lots of luxury equipment. And, being a small crossover SUV, it competes with stylish rivals such as the Vauxhall Mokka, Peugeot 2008 (with which the DS actually shares most of its componentry as all three brands are part of the Stellantis group), Ford Puma, Hyundai Kona and Kia Stonic, as well as more premium offerings such as the Audi Q2

How Practical is it?

Not very, frankly. There’s enough space up front for tall folk to get comfy, but the rear seats are very tight on both headroom and legroom, so even kids will struggle to get comfy, and if your little’uns are still in bulky child seats, then you might very well struggle to get those in at all. Don’t even think about trying to squeeze a third person into the back row: there simply isn’t the shoulder space. Things are made to feel all the more claustrophobic for those in the back by the piece of bodywork that blocks off part of the rear window to form the shark’s fin motif that been a trademark piece of design on the DS3 since the original. To top things off, the rear door openings are small, and you’re further impeded by a piece of bodywork that juts out into the opening even more, which it’s really easy to whack your hip on as you get in.

Boot space is also pretty small at 350 litres, so many rivals do better on that score. What’s more, there’s a high load lip to negotiate, and when you drop the 60/40 split folding rear seats down, you’re left with both a step and a slope in the floor. There’s no underfloor cable storage in E-Tense electric versions, either, so they have to travel in the main part of the boot, taking up more space. A movable boot floor would solve most of these issues, but one isn’t provided.

What’s it Like to Drive?

The original DS3 was intended to be quite a sporty car, and as a result, had a rock-hard suspension that gave it a really punishing ride. Thankfully, that’s no longer the case, and things are a bit more sophisticated these days. Granted, you can still feel a bit of patter over grainy surfaces, especially at lower speeds, but on the whole, the ride stays reasonably composed and compliant in most situations. You might well feel a bit more vertical movement than you expect when encountering dips and crests, though, so things can occasionally feel a little floaty, and this also results in a bit of body lean in bends. As a result, the DS 3 doesn’t feel as sharp or as agile as a Ford Puma, but by the same token, you very rarely worry about the car’s stability on the road. The steering feels accurate and nicely weighted, too.

Two petrol engines are available (the BlueHDi diesels have been withdrawn from sale), both turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder units. The entry-level one comes with 99bhp and a six-speed manual gearbox, but we’ve not had a chance to try it yet. We have had a shot in the 128bhp version, though, which comes with an eight-speed automatic transmission, and just like it is in other Stellantis products, it’s a little cracker. There’s a surprising amount of grunt on offer, especially low down in the rev range, so it has a nice perky and eager nature. It stays pretty quiet most of the time, although when you feel the need to work it hard, it gives off quite a characterful snarl. The gearbox can get caught out every so often when you ask for a sudden burst of acceleration, but most of the time, it keeps the engine revs where they need to be and it does a good job of slushing through the gears smoothly.

The other powertrain on offer is the all-electric one in the E-Tense model. The 2023 facelift saw a slight hike in power up to 153bhp, and new 54kWh battery (with an improved usable capacity of 51kWh) results in an extension of the official WLTP range up to 250 miles (up from 212 miles). The E-Tense doesn’t deliver the all-at-once off-the-mark shove that some electric cars do, instead choosing to unfurl its acceleration in a rather more sedate manner, but nevertheless, it never feels lacking in pace, and things don’t feel too laboured when overtaking or getting up to motorway speed.

You’ll also be impressed by how quiet the E-Tense is. The absence of a petrol engine, plus extra sound deadening compared to the combustion engined models, make this a really peaceful car to trundle around in. The E-Tense also rides in a slightly more controlled manner than its petrol-powered counterparts, possible because of the extra weight sitting on its springs.

Technology and Equipment

An interesting feature that’s standard across the range is the flush-fitting door handles that pop out automatically when the car unlocks.

Entry-level DS 3 Performance Line cars come with most of what you’d expect, including alcantara upholstery, automatic air-conditioning, four powered windows, cupholders, a leather steering wheel, rear parking sensors, cruise control and a 10.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system with eight speakers, Bluetooth, DAB radio, wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto.

Performance Line+ variants add keyless entry and start, and also upgrades the infotainment to the latest DS IRIS system, adding 3D connected sat nav and natural voice recognition. Rivoli trim adds leather upholstery and some exterior chrome highlights, which isn’t much, but to be fair, it doesn’t add much to the price, either. The range-topping Opera trim, meanwhile, earns you front seats that are electrically adjusting, heated and massaging, along with a head up display, wireless phone charging, reversing camera and front parking sensors.

All trim levels in the DS DS 3 line-up have a safety package that includes automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist, lane departure warning and speed limit recognition, but the Opera version also has more driver aids on top, including blind spot detection.

DS 3 Running Costs

How you feel about this car’s pricing will depend on how convinced you are by DS’ claim that it’s a premium product. There are plenty of small SUVs that’ll cost you considerably less to buy, and some very good ones at that. Compare the DS 3’s price to that of a genuine premium contender, such as the Audi Q2, and there’s virtually nothing in it, and for some buyers, that’ll be too much to bear. If you’re buying your car brand new, or taking out a PCP or other finance deal, the DS 3’s comparatively weak resale values will work against you, too, although the same thing will work in your favour if you’re considering the DS 3 as a used car.

We mentioned earlier on the significant financial benefits that company car drivers can get if they go for the E-Tense all-electric version, but although recently improved, the 250-mile range is still not as good as in some rivals. Charging the battery takes seven-and-a-half hours on a 7kW domestic wallbox charger, while rapid DC charging of up to 100kW is supported, so if you can find a powerful enough charging station, you can charge from 10% to 80% in just 30 minutes. It’s also quite good that the DS 3 comes with a heat pump as standard, which increases the car’s range in cold weather: most rival manufacturers charge extra for the same feature.

The petrol engines are pretty efficient compared with rivals, too. The Puretech 100 has an official WLTP fuel economy figure of up to 49 mpg, where the figure is up to 46 mpg with the Puretech 130. So, a gently driven DS3 petrol should be capable of around 40 mpg in the real world.

The DS brand hasn’t existed for very long, and it also doesn’t sell cars in very high numbers, so accurate reliability data is pretty hard to source. DS doesn’t feature in many of the main reliability or customer satisfaction surveys, either.

You can try and get a steer from the performance of its Citroen and Peugeot stablemates, but this also bears mixed results. In the 2022 What Car? Reliability Survey, Citroen placed 11th out of 32 carmakers included, while Peugeot languished down in 28th. The fortunes are reversed in the 2022 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey (of which reliability forms one part), with Peugeot finishing 4th of the 29 manufacturers included, while Citroen places 13th.

Brand new DS 3s come with a two-year unlimited-mileage warranty, while a third year of cover is limited to 60,000 miles. That’s the bare minimum you can expect these days, and many other manufacturers are far more generous.