Performance & drive
What it’s like to drive, and how quiet it is
A range of free-revving petrol engines and strong diesels is available, all of which provide the DS 3 with a good turn of pace. Even the smallest units – three-cylinder petrols with either 80 or 109bhp – make the DS 3 usefully nippy around town, although the lesser engine runs out of oomph at higher speed.
A four-cylinder, 118bhp 1.6 petrol provides impressive acceleration and decent all-round flexibility, while the turbocharged 161bhp THP model is warm-hatch quick. The two 1.6 HDi diesel engines – in either 91 or 118bhp form – also feel strong and suit the DS 3’s dynamic character well.
