Those who read my previous update on the DS 3 might recall that the car had grown sickly.
The Robins & Day London West dealership found that a turbocharger electrovalve and air flow meter fault was causing a loss of power. That’s not something you expect of a new car, but to DS’s credit, a courtesy car was provided and new parts were sourced and fitted within a couple of weeks, all under warranty.
With the car back in our hands, I figured the best place to check whether the problem had been rectified was on a circuit, so off we headed to the challenging Bedford Autodrome for a track day.
Sitting in the pitlane, faced with a queue of sports cars, supercars and mega-hatches – including our own Ford Focus RS long-termer, which had also been brought along for the day – I began to wonder if my decision to take to the track so soon after a mechanical issue was a wise one. Please don’t break today, DS, I thought…
About 20 minutes later, with the speedometer needle edging past 130mph along the back straight, I was fairly convinced that the car was back to full fitness. Even the significantly more powerful Focus RS could manage only 7-8mph more at the same point on the track.
The DS’s brakes survived a real pounding at the end of the straight, while its hunkered-down chassis meant the fast left-right that followed was met with satisfying composure – so much so that we’d claw closer to almost any car in front.
Commitment into hairpins was rewarded with useful lift-off oversteer – the sort that tightens your line rather than your butt cheeks. Around the whole lap, only the fastest sports cars could beat our DS.
At the end of the day, I’d completely forgiven it for the earlier problems. Let’s hope it stays that way.
DS 3 PERFORMANCE BLACK THP 210 S&S
Price £22,995 Price as tested £23,345 Economy 26.5mpg Faults Power loss (rectified under warranty) Expenses None
Read our previous reports here
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