Citroen DS3 hits 200,000

The upmarket Citroen C3 – the very appealing Citroen DS3 – has hit the 200,000 production mark this week, a little over 2 years from launch.

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We will hold our collective hands up and confess that Citroen’s decision to revive the DS moniker to stick on a range of tarted up prosaic Citroen cars was something we derided. Sacrilege, we called it.

But we had to do a complete volte face when we finally had the new Citroen DS3 in for review – it’s an absolute cracker. In fact, so impressed were we with the DS3, we thought it probably the best car we’d had in during 2010, something Top Gear ended up agreeing with us on when they made it their car of 2010.

From its funky and individual exterior to its equally funky and hugely appealing cabin, the DS3 managed to be both contemporary and true to the quirky heritage of Citroen at the same time. No easy task and one, we admit, we thought Citroen would screw up.

But they didn’t, and their reward for being brave – both with the decision to revive the DS moniker and with the DS3’s styling – has reaped its reward for Citroen with sales of the DS3 hitting 200,000, not much over two years on from launch.

And the 200,oooth DS3 that rolled off the production line in Poissy is heading for a customer in Spain, neatly proving there’s at least one person left in Spain that can afford a new car, and that the French can build cars people want.

In the intervening time the DS3 has garnered the aforementioned gong from Top Gear and a similar award from Diesel Car in 2011, together with a host of other accolades and almost no brickbats. On the way it’s spawned umpteen limited editions, the DS3 Racing and it’s also been out  WRC Rallying. We’ve also now have the equally convincing DS3 Cabrio to help push sales along in 2013.

We couldn’t be more pleased to say we were wrong about the revival of the DS moniker. Well done, Citroen.

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