Bad-boy styling sharpens DS3's edge

ROADTEST CITROËN DS3 RACING: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 Citroën. Quirky? Yes. Comfortable? Absolutely. But naughty? Not so much. That 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.

This ‘Racing’ version is made 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 Citroën Rally Sport (which has utterly dominated the World Rally Championship in recent years) and served it up as a grey-and-blinding-orange, €32,000 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 DS3 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 deliveredat the top of the power band, making it more exciting in extremis than that Citroën, 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 0-100km/h 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 235km/h (given space and legality, of course). Yet its fuel consumption is reasonable – a claimed 6.4-litres per 100km (44.1 mpg), 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 quickly 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.

What I particularly like about the DS3 is the way it 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 Naas Road. The DS3’s funky exterior styling, its high-quality cabin and its decent rear space and boot mark it out as a car that gets the true ownership essentials right.

So, 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.

Factfile

ENGINE1,598cc four-cylinder turbodiesel, generating 204bhp @ 6,000rpm and 275Nm of torque @ 2,000rpm

PERFORMANCE

0-100km/h in 6.5 seconds

ECONOMY6.4 L/100km (44.1mpg)

EMISSIONS149g/km (€330 motor tax)

FEATURESThis most expensive version of the DS3 comes with distinctive exterior colours and applique graphics, as well as coloured 18" alloys, uprated brakes and suspension, carbon fibre interior trim, Alcantara sports seats, 6 airbags, ESP, cruise control, speed limiter, rain sensing wipers, Bluetooth and rear parking sensors.

PRICE€32,990

RIVALS

RenaultSport Clio 200€POA (special order only) (€1,129 motor tax);

Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works€34,480 (€481 motor tax),

Volkswagen Golf GTI, €34,340 (motor tax €481)

OUR RATING6/10