Citroen DS3 Cabrio DSport THP 155 …
The more I drive it, the more I like the Citroen DS3, and this latest Cabrio version merely reinforces that opinion. It’s a good looking, roomy, comfortable, good handling little car, only it’s not so little. The rather sleek styling and proportions do a good job of disguising the physical dimensions. It’s just under 4 metres long and 1.7 metres wide, but since there’s little hanging out the back and a snub nose up front, that means bags of room inside.
And that surely is the only complaint, the small boot. Or to be more accurate the small bootlid. Because this is the Cabrio, with its full length roller shutter roof, it doesn’t have a proper hatchback tailgate. That means you have to ‘post’ your luggage through the ‘letterbox’ at the rear. Once inside there is a fair amount of room, it’s just the size of the bootlid that is the problem.
That makes it awkward for the weekly shop, and although it has slightly more room than the ‘carry-on luggage’ size checker thingy at the British Airways counter, just don’t chance your arm with a full-size Ibitha-bound two week suitcase. Alternatively, roll the roof back and shove the cases in the back seat and leave the chaperone at home.
The only other thing I didn’t like was the all-black colour. This is one of those cars that suit a two-tone look, especially with that fin shaped ‘B’ pillar detail between the side windows. It really needs a strong colour to complement the grille, side windows and rear window surround.
Otherwise this was an excellent runabout with enough poke to keep you entertained by its 155 bhp four-pot petrol burner and a six speed ‘box to keep the thing on the boil.
As a fan of open top cars, it provided an odd feeling at times, driving along with the roof down. That was because the side windows, frames and roof line were still there. The bonus here is that the roof can be opened at speeds up to 75 mph, although I didn’t try it. The manufacturer saying one thing and me doing it usually invokes ‘Sod’s Law’ and I was feart that it would get stuck. So I chose to open and close it while at rest.
However, this ease of use is down to the fact that the fabric roof slides along runners, where the luggage roof rails would run on a normal tin-top, so it’s a rather more robust affair than traditional perambulator fold-backs. The other bonus is that the car is quieter than a traditional rag top with the roof up, and less draughty with it down.
Unless you’re an elbows out the window driver enjoying the masochistic rush of air lashing your scalp to provide that authentic eczema look, then this will appeal to those of us with a more modest and healthy appreciation of fresh air. It also affords a little more privacy for the less ostentatious, so attention seekers may be dissuaded unless they want to arrive at functions with hairdos intact.
But it’s the sheer drivability of the DS3 that makes it so attractive. With an 8 second sprint to 60 time, it feels quicker than the figures suggest, and the revs rise fast enough in each gear to keep the entertainment factor high.
If you like it, and don’t really want to spend nearly 20 thousand pounds, then save yourself four and half grand and opt for the 3 cylinder, 82 bhp version which offers just as much fresh air and is nearly as much fun to drive with its delightful, perky little 3 cylinder unit. It’s a bit like an opened can of Irn Bru, same taste but lost some of its fizz.
And no, it’s not a hairdresser’s car. Why should they have all the fun?