Our cars: Citroen DS3 - February

Citroën DS3 1.6 THP 150 DSport
Mileage 5830
Before new year's eve, I hadn’t done more than a 50-mile stint in my DS3. That all changed on the 31st, when I set off on a 560-mile round trip to the Lake District.

Preparations didn’t go according to plan. A day before I was due to set off, the Citroën’s windscreen washers stopped squirting. Assuming the washer bottle was empty, I topped it up with screenwash and gave the wiper stalk another tug.

Still nothing. I eventually traced the problem to a blown fuse, and once it was swapped for a fresh one the pump kicked back into action.

Panic over, I set off with a boot full of belated Christmas presents. If I’m honest, I wasn’t looking forward to such a long motorway journey in a small hot hatch,
but the Citroën coped better than I expected. The decent driving position and supportive seats kept away any lower back pain, which is something I often suffer from on long journeys.

The DS3 was also a fair cruiser, helped by its six-speed gearbox and cruise control. However, it was let down by an unsettled ride, which didn’t cope well with rutted surfaces. Plenty of tyre noise made its way into the cabin, too, and average fuel economy for the trip of 34mpg (the official average is 42.2mpg) wasn’t brilliant, either.

Will.nightingale@whatcar.com