So, after the DS7 facelift the oldest car in the DS lineup is the DS3 Crossback. So what did DS do. Well they gave it a facelift and a name change.
Exterior – Front
Lets start with the front styling. To start with we get this new grill with a different mesh pattern and chrome surround. Connected to the grill is a new set of headlights which look loads smarter than before. What has dispersed is the chrome part of the grill below the headlight. Lower down we get a new set of LED Daytime Running Lights that look very similar to the DS4 which makes this car look much smarter and less curvy. Moving lower down we get a redesigned central air vent and some different side vents. Overall the design is a lot more grown up and suits the car much better than before.
Exterior – Side
Moving round to the side there are no changes. What you do get is the same popout door handles and the little kink like the previous gen DS3. we do get some new wheel designs though which are quite nice.
Exterior – Rear
Moving round to the back there are no visible changes. To be honest I am fine with this as e get a modern design still with these thin LED taillights that are connected with a bar. We also get an ok bumper that is not too in your face. The look from behind suits this car and it don’t need changing. Lets have a look at the new battery and engine line-up.
Car and engine specs and price
For the battery options DS have given the electric version a big upgrade. To start with you get a 54 kWh battery pack. This is 4 kWh bigger. You also get a bigger motor with 152 bhp. The old one was 134 bhp. Because of these changes the range has also increased from 200 miles to 250 miles. This makes the car much more usable and less like a second car. Engine options are the common 1.2 litre pureTECH range. This means you get the 1.2 PureTECH 100. this means you get 98 bhp. This is available in a 6 speed manual. Next up is the same engine but it comes in 128 bhp guise. This is only available in an 8 speed automatic.
Interior – Design
So getting inside and you wont notice any changes as most of them are software based. The infotainment system has got a big upgrade. It is now the next generation infotainment system like what you would find on the DS7 Facelift and the DS4. this is a proper wide-screen system unlike before and it is much quicker and it has a voice assistant system integrated into it. The only other change for the DS3 is that it has new steering wheel controls. The rest of the cabin is unchanged apart for some new materials. This means we still get the diamond setup like before and a nice premium sense which I do like but the design is not going to be for everyone's taste which is a shame there are some cheap plastics though.
Practicality
Getting into the rear of the DS3 don’t be surprised that the rear legroom space is the same as before. This means that legroom is going to be tight for 6 footers but headroom is just about ok. Because it is a small car you also don’t get any creature comforts like an arm rest or heated rear seats or even rear air vents.
Boot Size
So opening the boot you are welcomed with 350 litres of space with the seats up. This is about the same compared to its other rivals.
Summary
So in summary just like the DS7 the DS3 is a much improved car whilst keeping its main characteristic. The DS3 is a unique car from the Stellantis range and if you want French luxury with a quirky style in a small package then this is the car for you.
Exterior 5/5
Interior 4/5
Practicality 4/5
Total 13/15
Model | DS3 Opera E-Tense |
Engine | 1 Electric Motor 154 bhp, 0-62 = 9 Secs |
Trnasmission | Automatic |
Price | £42,700 |
On Sale | Now |
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