Sector: Supermini Price: €15,890–€26,340 Fuel: 3.4–5.6l/100km CO2: 87–129g/km

It’s six years since the DS 3 made its first appearance, wearing Citroën badges, and since then 390,000 customers have bought one, with UK buyers heading the list, buying even more than French car buyers. Facelifts tend to come around more quickly than every six years, but it’s worth remembering that the 2008 financial crisis brought PSA to the brink of bankruptcy. If the car was selling like hot cakes, why spend money when there would have been more urgent calls on it?

The facelift brings a revised front and some possibilities for personalisation. Connectivity and driver assist systems are another focus for manufacturers at the moment and the DS 3 is no different. The front grille has been re-worked to incorporate the ‘DS Wings’ and there are LED/xenon headlamps and fog lamps, with LED sequential indicators. Otherwise, DS has left much of the original exterior unaltered, but the personalisation options extend to the roof, body, door mirror housings, continuing inside with the dashboard and gear knob finishes. DS says there are no less than 78 body/roof colour combinations and a choice of four fabric roofs for the cabriolet.

The dashboard incorporates a new 7-inch colour touchscreen. Smartphone users can connect their phones to the infotainment system, which is equipped with Mirror Screen. This is a system that is compatible with Apple CarPlay and MirrorLink for Android phones. DS has also developed a ‘MyDS’ app for both Apple iOS and Android. It is supplied free to remind drivers of their servicing schedule, fuel consumption and parking location.

Front and rear parking sensors are now included, with a reversing camera, incorporating visual guidelines. Manual transmission models get Hill Start Assist. There are new colour and trim options for the interior.

Power options include five petrol and two diesel engines. Three of the petrol engines are equipped with PSA’s 1.1-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engines delivering 82hp, 110hp or 130hp. Two 1.6-litre four-cylinder engines, developing 165hp and 210hp make up the petrol range. Then there are two 1.6-litre diesels producing 100hp or 120hp. 110hp petrol engines are offered with PSA’s latest six-speed automatic transmission. The 100hp diesel offers the lowest emissions and fuel consumption with 87g/km, while the lowest emitting petrol engine is the 110hp petrol engine with 100g/km. The automatic variant offers 105g/km.

It is difficult not to be disappointed by the revised DS 3. The engines are impressive and work well with the car. They also offer good economy potential for both the three-cylinder petrol and diesel variants. The big problem is that DS has set itself up as a premium brand and the car does not convey that in build quality. Both my co-driver and I found the front seats to be uncomfortable in less than 20 miles of driving. It’s hard to see how small Audi, BMW or Mini drivers would be tempted away by the DS3, even with a good line-up of engines. DS has many good ideas, but the fundamentals need to be right first.

Verdict:

DS needs to do more – particularly in terms of build quality – for the DS 3 to win over drivers of premium brands. The engines are the stars here.