car tested: DS3 1.6 auto
original date of test: 17 March (report embargoed till today)
test duration: 20 mins
good step-off, steering surprisingly light (given the car's sporty pretensions) and fairly strongly self-centering. light, but still precise and therefore the car is easy to set-up in a corner and position, helped by its balance, and visibility-out. its relatively long wheelbase and well-damped suspension contribute to the overall sense of poise. the package as a whole does encourage brisk and confident driving, contributed to in no small measure by its well-tuned exhaust.
on the subject of the acoustic environment, the cabin was a little noisier than i was expecting - given the coo-ing of the UK motoring press about how 'premium' the car has been made to feel.
the touchy, feely surfaces of the cabin send largely positive messages, with the exception of the frangible glovebox lid, which feels like it's made from kueh pie-tee shells.
i am very keen on the presentation of the instruments on the dashboard, and on balance i feel the cost-decisions have been made in the 'right' ways, to communicate a tremendous sense of 'bon vivre' to the driver. the detailing on the driver's side of the dashboard is excellent.
for the front passenger, what is not immediately obvious from a casual visual inspection, but is quite readily apparent once one is seated, is the extreme degree to which the passenger's side of the dashboard has been scalloped, to an extent approaching that classic exemplar of dash-scalloping, the Alfa 145 (1994 - 2001). regardless of such dubious inspirational origins - liminal or otherwise - the result is a sense of spaciousness (that 'bon vivre' again) for the passenger - as long as he or she doesn't reach forward to open that glovebox.
on the subject of storage space, it is gravely unfortunate that the car has no cupholders - a surprise, but certainly no delight. further, i have my doubts about the lightness of the steering. i was more or less expecting all the other attributes that i've described in the preceding paragraphs, but not this degree of steering-assistance. yes, to an aficionado of the marque, one reflexively looks past the lightness and revels instead in the confidence imparted from the precision; but to someone new to Citroën - yet approaching the DS3 as a viable alternative to the Mini - i can't help but wonder if this trait - more so even than the mere count of four forward gears in the drivetrain - would present the greater perceptual barrier for the car's targeted clientele to overcome.
for those who do, they will be rewarded with ownership of a car which is well suited to the cut-and-thrust nature of much driving in Singapore, and of a car which is able to ferry one's friends for a hard-night's partying while yet making an exuberantly confident statement about its owner's sense of bon viveur.
DS3 being prepped for its Singapore debut!
