Road Test: Citroen DS3 Racing

Price as tested: €30,495

+ Fun, high quality, gorgeous
– Bit pricey, other than that not much
= Other may be purist but the DS3 is more fun

In a motoring world where convention is king (“I’ll have that in silver please, with black upholstery” is the phrase most often heard in Irish dealerships) it is refreshing, like zesty mineral water on a hot day, to drive something a bit naughty.

And naughty is not often a word that you would apply to Citroen. Quirky? Yes. Comfortable? Absolutely. But naughty? Not so much. That kind of changed when the little DS3 hatch was introduced. Take the chassis and engines from a C3, add a healthy measure of the kind of appealing styling and sporty driving experience that has made the Mini such a storming success, garnish with a sprinkle of the DS badge magic, shake over ice and pour... It’s been a storming success in Europe (albeit much, much less so in Ireland) and is a sharp-edged competitor to the Anglo-German hatch.

The Racing is all of the same ingredients, with about a quart of Wasabi added to the mixture. It takes the 150bhp DSport model as its basis, cranks the (BMW-sourced) 1.6-litre petrol turbo engine up to 204bhp, adds a chassis tweaked and balanced by the sorcerers at Citroen Rally Sport (which has utterly dominated the World Rally Championship in recent years) and served it up as a grey-and-blinding-orange, €32k playzone.

There are few things better in life than a quick, well-balanced hot hatch and the DS3 Racing is certainly not going to upset that assertion. It gives you all the performance you could reasonably ask for, unless you are a track-day junkie, yet it remains practical, spacious and comfortable enough for everyday driving.

Aside from the damage to your retinas that the paintjob will cause, the most abiding memory you will take from driving the Racing is the performance of its engine. And oddly enough, not because it is savagely powerful but because it seems so unassuming.

That’s a strange thing to say about a hopped-up turbo job, but it’s true. There is so little turbo lag and the power is delivered so linearly that you start to doubt, just a little that it really has its advertised power output. Its other significant rival, the RenaultSport Clio 200, has a similar grunt figure but it’s all delivered, in one mad dash, at the top of the power band, making it more exciting in extremis than that Citroen, but maddening and frustrating at all other times. The Racing, with its diesel-like low-down shove, is much more accessible, and yes, I consider that a good thing.

It’ll still do the 0-100kmh dash in 6.5secs (hardly blistering I know, but it feels pretty rapid in a car this compact) and will run on to a top speed of 235kmh (given space and legality, of course). Yet its fuel consumption is reasonable claimed 6.4-litres per 100km, which you should be able to match, or at least get close to, in real world driving.

It’s the chassis, rather surprisingly, that feels unruly and naughty. Normally, cars tweaked by motorsport departments are set up for cold, clinical apex-annihilation. Racers want cars that go as quick as possible, even if the quickest way sometimes looks and feels the slowest. The DS3 Racing, rather pleasingly, eschews this for a more on-the-edge feel. It’s not really anywhere near the limits of its abilities on the public road, it just likes to make you think that it is. It does this through steering that feels a touch ragged, with a nibble of torque steer at the edges, and handling that washes surprisingly quickly into understeer. Now, technically, this is not good, but it is enjoyable as you feel as if you’re really pressing on when in reality, you’re actually just cruising. A classic case of being better by appearing worse.

What I particularly like about the DS3 (in all its forms) is the way it really nails the static quality side of things. Renault’s hot Clio is all business-like plain plastics and underwhelming styling, preferring you to concentrate on the chassis and engine. Which is fine if you’re lapping the Nurburgring, but not so good if you’re stuck in traffic on the Wellpark Road, casting around the cabin for something nice to look at. The DS3’s funky exterior styling, its high-quality cabin (yes, in a Citroen) and its decent rear space and boot mark it out as a car that gets the true ownership essentials right.

So, it’s not a paragon of hot hatch handling, or even grunt for that matter. A Mini Cooper S Works offers (slightly) more power, a RenaultSport Clio has sharper steering and handling and, frankly, a VW Golf GTI has the lot licked for all-round appeal. But, like an engagingly naughty child, the DS3 Racing’s character shines through, and in a world of grey cars, that is truly something to be happy about.


Facts & Figures

Citroen DS3 Racing
Price as tested: €32,990
Range price: €17,490 to €32,990
Capacity: 1,598cc
Power: 204bhp
Torque: 275Nm
Top speed: 220kmh
0-100kmh: 6.5sec
Economy: 5.4l-100km (44.1mpg)
CO2 emissions: 149g/km
VRT Band: C. €330 road tax
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star; 87% adult, 71% child, 35% pedestrian, 83% safety assist