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Featured car - The hottest of hot hatch tests, part 1 (Series 17, Episode 2)
The hottest of hot hatch tests, part 1 (Series 17, Episode 2)
Richard, James and Jeremy find a little principality called Monaco, and there’s a little event brewing…
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The hottest of hot hatch tests, part 2 (Series 17, Episode 2)
Richard, James and Jeremy find a little principality called Monaco, and there’s a little event brewing…
Watch video -
James May on the Citroen DS3
The Citroen DS was a true French goddess, so how divine (or Gallic, for that matter) is the new DS3? Le Capitain Lentement investigates...
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Citroen DS3R driven
After three very fast hatches on Sunday’s Top Gear, here’s another hot challenger...
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Shanghai 2011: new Citroen DS5
Third ‘DS’ badged five-door hatch makes Chinese show debut and aims for the Germans…
Read about the new Citroen -
2010 Top Gear Awards: Small Car of the Year
'The DS3 is the car that will lift Citroen right out of the Happy Shopper Basket of Doom'
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Citroen DS3 R3 rally car: driven
TopGear goes rallying in the racing version of Citroen’s shark-finned hot hatch, narrowly avoids trees and large ditches…
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Citroen reveals new DS3 WRC car
Say goodbye to the C4 and hello to the DS3: meet Seb Loeb’s new Exocet rally missile
Read about the Citroen DS3 WRC car for 2011 -
Citroen DS4 revealed
Posh version of the C4 breaks cover ahead of next month’s Paris motor show
Read about the new Citroen DS4 -
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It then means you can enter FIA rally events the world over, as well as more local ones like the Ulster Rally, and compete alongside the likes of Loeb and Latvala.
Not that Seb or Jari-Matti are there when we drive the DS3 R3 on a mini-stage in Northern Ireland. Good job, given how embarrassingly slow I am. But, talentless rally driver aside, the DS3 R3 is a great car in which to learn the skills of rallying.
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But it’s only on the initial part of the bend – at all the other points, you can really feel the back end moving around, and the steering is so light and fast that it’s easy to react to it. It’s great the way the DS3 seems to pivot around you. You’re at the centre of its universe.
All this makes the Citroen feel like a proper rally car. I was lucky enough to drive Loeb’s WRC car last year, and although that feels a lot more sophisticated in the way it rides and handles, all the major touch points in the DS3 R3 and the WRC car are surprisingly similar.
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There’s just about enough power there to make the car enjoyable, but equally it’s not got enough poke that it’ll correct any mistakes. You can’t make a hash of the corner and expect the engine to drag you out of trouble. It’s about conserving speed in this car, and that’s a crucial skill. That’s an easy task, though, because the DS3 R3 has such brilliant balance. By the time I get behind the wheel of the Citroen, the tarmac stage is covered in lots of loose chippings, which means you get understeer as you plough into a corner.
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This car meets R3 regulations, so it has a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine with 210bhp, a paddle-shift gearbox, clever engine mapping that is changeable depending on what surface you’re on, and an all-new multi-function dash. But it’s also based on the DS3 road car, which means you can wander into your local Citroen dealer, buy a standard DS3, order the Euro 62,000 conversion kit from Citroen France, then spend about 500 man hours converting the road car into the rally car. What could be easier?
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DS3 goes rallying
Citroen creates racing version of its shark-finned hot hatch. Do you fancy yourself as a MiniSeb?
Read about the Citroen DS3 RS rally car -
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New Citroen C4: first look
New Citroen C4: cool tech showcased in Citroen’s updated hatch. No word on Transformer capabilities though.
Read the first details about the new Citroen C4. -
Geneva show: Citroen Survolt concept
All-electric track special could reach production in single make race
Read about the Survolt
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