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66 | FireFlyz
Car
Review
Did thesuper Frenchflair of theCitroënDS3 leave
ZacharyHo
speechlessor did itmake
himfall on his head and nowmake himthink that he’sMarcel Marceau?
T
he
French carmaker’s
iconic DS (nicknamed
Goddess) is a testament
of France’s industrialistic
willpower to pull the
country out of the ravages
of WorldWar II. It pushed
the boundaries of automotive design
and engineering to another level and
carried such features as hydropneumatic
automatic levelling suspension, power
steering, semi-automatic transmission
that it was regarded as being ahead of its
time. Today, the DS line-up is back, only
this time its awe isn’t so much on the
technical front.
W o r d s & I m a g e s : Z a c h a r y H o
Looks
The DS3 was the first of the modern DS
lot. It’s built as a premium tribute to
that famous DS nameplate, as a Distinct
Series in a Different Spirit from Citroën’s
regular range. Based on the Citroën C3
5-door hatchback, the DS3 was given a
very distinguishing makeover and two
doors fewer.
A new grille with the signature double
chevron integrated, vertical LED day-
time running lights embedded in the
bumper, tail lights with eye-catching
three-dimensional effect, shark-fin-like
B-pillar and a ‘floating’ roof all give the
DS3 a very sharp, bold appearance and
A Different Spirit
make it stand out amongst its rivals.
Power
Bearing 120hp with a maximum torque
of 160Nm, the 1.6-liter naturally aspirated
engine (also found in its cousin’s, Peugeot
208, engine bay) pulls the car to 100km/h
in less than 11 seconds. That kind of
timing doesn’t seem exciting enough to
classify the DS3 as a supermini, but it’s
no stupormini either. The engine is more
than willing to pull the car beyond legal
speeds; it just does it in a more leisurely
manner. Other markets have available a
more powerful turbocharged engine that
turns the DS3 into a brisk little devil so