New Citroen DS3, DS4, DS5 Review
Published Date: 31st May 2013
Citroen recently celebrated three years since it launched the first DS line vehicle, the stylish Citroen DS3. Since the launch the DS Line has proved very successful with over 300,000 Citroen DS models sold worldwide to date.
The DS Line Citroen cars share a number of common features, including a unique, bold look with strong lines, the DS Diamond badge and a premium quality. The leather interior used in the new Citroen DS 5 model for example is of the same quality you’d find in a Bentley and the interior aluminium trimmings are not inferior quality ‘look-a-like’ material, plastic for example but genuine aluminium and supplied by the same company that supply Aston Martin.
The Citroen DS3
The smallest of the DS models is the Citroen DS3, it may be a small car but is is huge on style and quality for the money, it has a classy interior and every trim-level is extremely well equipped.
From the outside you get an extremely eye-catching small car and if you’re looking for something that stands out even more (the standard DS3s are very nice on the eye) you might want to check out the head-turning Special Edition Citroen DS3 Red model (pictured right) which features some lovely visual touches, it is a stunning small car. There is also the DS3 Cabriolet if you fancy cruising with the roof down!
The engine line-up is strong with lots of options that should suit just about everybody, there a diesel e-HDi 115 Airdream that offers a good trade-off between performance and efficiency, it covers 0-62mph in 9.7 seconds yet official figures show a fuel economy of 74mpg (combined) with CO2 emissions of 99k/gm. If you prefer something a bit nippier you could go for the petrol THP 155 engine that goes from 0-62mph in 7.3 seconds with a fuel economy of 47mpg (combined) and CO2 emissions of 135g/km.
The Citroen DS4
The DS Line continues with Citroen DS4 which can be best describes as Coupe featuring familiar DS Line traits, sculpting and looks and excellent levels of equipment and the premium DS Line interior.
As with the DS3 there’s a good selection of engines on offer in petrol and turbo diesel guises. The E-HDi diesel offers the best fuel economy (64mpg combined) and lowest CO2 emissions (114g/km) but might be a little sluggish for some people’s taste so you might want to look at the at the HDi 135 or HDi 160 options. The top end petrol units offer good performance that would put the DS4 in the hot hatch category with the THP 200 models capable of doing 0-62mph in 8.4 seconds and offering a top speed of 146mph.
The Citroen DS5
The biggest of the DS Line is the Citroen DS5 luxury hatchback, again it brings an eye-catching and unique exterior look and quality interior packed with buttons and tech, some of the interior features and design would not look out of place in a sci-fi movie! The DS5 comes in three trim levels the DSign, DStyle and DSport and as you'd expect from an executive car even the entry-level model is very well equipped with tech, safety features and styling enhancements.
Engine models are little more limited with the DS5 models but you do get the option of a Hybrid, there’s a petrol THP 200 option (0-62 mph in 8.5 seconds, CO2 emissions of 155 g/km and combined fuel economy of 42mpg). The diesel offerings are a HDi 160 (with 6 speed manual or automatic transmission) and an e-HDi 115 option which may be a little sluggish for some. The HDi 160 manual is likely to be a popular option offering very good performance (0-62mph in 8.5 seconds) whilst still managing to deliver a combined fuel economy of 57mpg and CO2 emissions of 129g/km.