Standing out in Citroën’s DS3 Racing

There’s no fear of you losing the DS3 Racing in a car park

With its bright orange roof, alloys and wing mirrors and a polite rarrrr, the Citroën DS3 Racing is definitely not for the shy and retiring.

The striking exterior colour is continued inside the cabin in the dash and orange stitching on the massive racing seats, making the interior as unique as the exterior. There’s no way you’ll confuse the DS3 Racing with any other car.

The DS3 Racing has distinct orange alloys

While it looks quite small on the outside, the inside is much larger than you’d expect, with plenty of legroom, both back and front.

The glove compartment on the passenger side is set back into the car rather than protruding like it does in most other cars, increasing the leg room. The boot is also deceptively large.

With a 1.6l petrol engine and 207hp, this little gem is as powerful as it is beautiful. At speed, the engine has a lovely soothing sound to it, almost like a hive of buzzy bees.

The 18 inch sports wheels mean you’re really at one with the road. Handling and acceleration are also excellent – when you’re not on the motorway you always want to be first at the traffic lights to see this car go.

I don’t think any car I have ever driven has attracted as much attention as the DS3 Racing and it really does bring out the competitive spirit of other drivers – I had 10 year old Micras trying to race me at the lights.

Racing seats come as standard in the DS3 Racing

It’s also pretty well equipped with rear parking sensors, automatic headlamps, automatic windscreen wipers, automatic air conditioning, Bluetooth with USB connectivity and an eight-speaker HiFi system as standard.

It comes in two colours – the Orange and Black I was driving and a Polar White with carbon grey roof. The car I was driving also had Citroën’s SOS button, which connects to a call centre in the Netherlands for assistance in an emergency.

There’s very, very little to dislike about the DS3 Racing. It’s not the most economical to run, obviously, and it is very attention seeking (you mightn’t feel the most comfortable in it at a funeral) but other than that there’s very little to find fault with.

In fact, I absolutely loved it, it’s striking to look at and a fun and fantastic drive.

The DS3 Racing is a limited edition, with only 200 in the UK and Ireland. It’s available from €33,340. If you like the shape of it, but would like a more demure look, the DS3 is available from €17,840.

Tech Spec
Engine: 1.6l petrol + turbo
Acceleration: 0-100km/h in 6.5seconds
Top speed: 235km/h
Combined Fuel Consumption: 6.4l/100km
CO2 Emissions: 149g/km
Annual road tax: €330 (Band C)
Transmission: 6-speed manual

For more information visit citroen.ie or Citroën Ireland on Facebook.

A version of this article first appeared in Metro Herald