Photo: DS Automobiles
The revival of the brand started out strong with the DS3, a very creative supermini, but faltered with the DS4 and DS5. Now the French automaker is hoping crossovers will fix everything but is repeating its old mistakes.
The DS5 was fine as a car, spacious and interesting. But we remember looking at the sticker in the window and saying "As much as a well equipped BMW 3 Series? They will never get away with that." And now they are doing it again with the small DS3 Crossback.
The model is a 5-door crossover that's supposed to compete with the MINI Countryman and Audi Q2. It has the design and the price tag, but not the heritage. Just take this Ultra Prestige edition that came with via the UK press office - lots of chrome, bold golden paint, large wheels and plenty of features. You'd like to put that in your driveway, but what about the cost?
The DS3 Crossback Ultra Prestige starts from £ 30,955.00 OTR, which gets you the PureTech 130 automatic, which is a fancy way of saying a 1.2-liter turbo. There's also a more powerful 155 PS version of that engine for £ 32,455, which once again puts it in BMW territory.
The old DS3 hatchback worked because there were no other premium superminis besides the MINI. And it had the 1.6-liter turbo engine, which had lots of power but wasn't the most efficient thing ever. The good thing is that Peugeot has apparently fixed some things and is coming out on top in reliability ratings.
So you have fewer things to worry when buying the new DS3. Or maybe you'll lease it and have nothing to worry at all. Regardless, we think DS is making the mistake of thinking buyers can be split into groups. I can listen to death metal and drive a Golf GTI, live on the outskirts and still love the Abarth 500. The best to make a car is to try and appeal to everybody, not target specific demographics.
The model is a 5-door crossover that's supposed to compete with the MINI Countryman and Audi Q2. It has the design and the price tag, but not the heritage. Just take this Ultra Prestige edition that came with via the UK press office - lots of chrome, bold golden paint, large wheels and plenty of features. You'd like to put that in your driveway, but what about the cost?
The DS3 Crossback Ultra Prestige starts from £ 30,955.00 OTR, which gets you the PureTech 130 automatic, which is a fancy way of saying a 1.2-liter turbo. There's also a more powerful 155 PS version of that engine for £ 32,455, which once again puts it in BMW territory.
The old DS3 hatchback worked because there were no other premium superminis besides the MINI. And it had the 1.6-liter turbo engine, which had lots of power but wasn't the most efficient thing ever. The good thing is that Peugeot has apparently fixed some things and is coming out on top in reliability ratings.
So you have fewer things to worry when buying the new DS3. Or maybe you'll lease it and have nothing to worry at all. Regardless, we think DS is making the mistake of thinking buyers can be split into groups. I can listen to death metal and drive a Golf GTI, live on the outskirts and still love the Abarth 500. The best to make a car is to try and appeal to everybody, not target specific demographics.
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