It's been four years since we the creation of a new brand, because of the 60th anniversary of the Citroën DS.
And that's going to be the final time I'm saying 'Citroën', because I'm talking about DS.
It all started with Citroëns, my bad, which received a DS-logo. After that, the first real DS arrived, the DS 7 Crossback,
and now it's time for the second, standalone DS-car: the DS 3 Crossback.
And you could ask yourself, what does DS have to add to the Citroën-range? Citroën already is and has been a little different.
Well, DS is even more different. They've got an unusual design but wild as well. I'd almost call it Asian,
but that's logical, because China is a big market for DS. It's a wild grille with a big logo.
And where other brands in this segment tend to have weird C-pillars, DS has a differently shaped B-pillar.
Of course, we already saw that on the Citroën DS3, but this also has the shark fin.
That gives it an entirely own fascia. And even though it's not new, it's new in this segment. We've already seen it on the Tesla Model S...
and the Jaguar I-Pace, but this also has hidden door handles. At the back as well, an entirely own face with sleek lights.
I like the 3D-design, with a continuous rear light. It's a whole new design.
The B-segment already is a little different, but the DS 3 is crazier than that. Something we've never seen before.
And if you think the exterior is special, just take a look at the interior.
I really think that's important, because that's what you have to look at everyday. Not the exterior.
My mother always used to say 'it's about the inside', whenever she was trying to fix me up with one of the ugly daughters...
of her friends. And I strongly disagreed with her back then, but I've turned around. The interior of a car is incredibly important.
Just look at it. Everything is different. The middle console... It's all been shaped into some sort of diamond-shape.
Look at the vents and control buttons. It has a beautiful gear knob, even though it's Peugeot. Never mind, I didn't say anything.
It still looks good. It has a small, thick steering wheel, which gives you a very sporty feeling.
Also, take a look at the materials on the dashboard. I don't really know what it is, but it's inbetween canard and pearlescent. It's really special.
You're surround by something special really. Just look at the buttons here, on either side of the gear lever.
It looks like brushed aluminium with some sort of structure. Almost like Spyker.
Premium is usually in the small details. In this case, I'm talking about the indicators.
Usually, indicators sound the same in all cars, but in here, it has a different sound.
Just listen to this. I actually enjoy indicating now.
It's almost like you've put a silk sheet over a xylophone and you're hitting it with a clothed stick. Beautiful.
The seating is pretty good for a crossover as well. You're pretty high up, but it doesn't feel that way.
I get the feeling I'm quite close to the road surface, and that's good for the sporty feeling this car is supposed to give you.
You do have to be in the front for that of course. That brings me to one of the biggest drawbacks of this car.
When you get in the back... I mean, I might've seen worse, but more often I've seen better in this segment.
So what segment are we talking about? Well, you'd say it's competing with a Renault Captur or something. Compact crossovers.
But DS says no to the comparison with the Renault Captur. Instead, they want to compete with the Audi Q2 and Mini Countryman.
So who am I not to play along? This is a rival to the Audi Q2 and Mini Countryman. Small, compact, but very luxurious and different...
than other cars. And I do have to say, I like the chassis. That's very important, but why? It's logical for DS, of course,
but more importantly, it's the same chassis as the brand new Peugeot 208 is going to use. Just like the new Opel Corsa.
So you could say this is going to be a chassis we're going to see a lot from now on. So it's nice to know that this is a nice car to drive.
It feels grown up, it feels heavy... In a positive way that is, so not heavy as in lumpy, but that it's a solid car.
And that's a good thing. It doesn't heave a lot, it's a nicely tuned chassis, the steering is pretty direct...
Not too direct, but just right. Everything is powered by a 3-cylinder 1.2-litre engine. That's always the case, and we already know the car.
In this car, you can get it in three power specs: 100, 130 or 155 horsepower. I'm driving the 130-version, the middle one.
And there's nothing to complain about. Very pleasant to drive. It's good for a car like this, it picks up nicely.
It's connected to an 8-speed automatic gearbox which is nice and quick. In the lower revs, it sometimes hesitates a little.
That could be quicker, but it's not slow enough to become annoying, so that's okay. Combined with the chassis, it's a fun and playful car to drive.
So it's exactly what the exterior pretends to be.
So, the premium aspirations of DS. You can see that in their trim levels as well.
The most simple one is the 'Chic', and it comes with a digital instrument cluster as standard.
But it also comes with a manual airconditioning and lots of safety features like active lane assist and road sign recognition.
It's all on here. Of course, you can get other versions too. A SoChic for example, which comes with additional safety features.
It also comes with other handy features like LED-matrix lighting. LED-technology makes sure you never blind other drivers.
You can get it all on this, you only have to pay extra for it.
Lastly, the engines. I already mentioned the petrol engines briefly. They're all 3-cylinder 1.2-litre engines, available in three power levels.
The 100 horsepower-version has a 6-speed manual, the 130 horsepower-version has an 8-speed automatic gearbox as standard,
and the same goes for the 155 horsepower version. Then, you've got two diesels as well.
Both of which are 1.5-litre 4-cylinder engines. You can choose between 100 and 130 horsepower. The lighter version will have...
a manual gearbox as standard whilst the 130 horsepower will come with the 8-speed automatic gearbox as standard.
Also, because we're looking at the future. Because this platform is eligible for it, there's going to be a fully electric version as well: the E-Tense.