Citroen DS3 – the Conigurator

 

As we mentioned earlier on the story on the Citroen GT (GTbyCitroen Concept), Citroen are moving to redefine the perception of the company as a much more up-market option – a Premium Brand. The Citroen GT is one way to go – with a ‘Halo’ car – but the other is by launching more up-market cars. And of course you need a slogan. Just like Audi’s ‘Vorsprung Durch Technik’, Citroen are now bandying around ‘Créative Technologie’. And why not? It worked for Audi.

But yet another part is to involve the car-buying public, so Citroen has launched an on-line configurator for the yet to be released Citroen DS3, their small ‘Luxury’ car that was announced at the Geneva Motor Show as the Citroen DS Inside Concept.

The Citroen DS3 is going to pit Citroen against the likes of the MINI and the Alfa Romeo MiTo. Which are tough acts to take on. The MINI has become a bit too ubiquitous for its own good, but still has a strong following, and as we said when we reviewed the Alfa Romeo MiTo, the MiTo has every chance of becoming the default choice for the involved driver in this sector.

Check out the Citroen DS3 Photo Gallery

But Citroen are in with a chance. The DS3 looks fairly individual (although we’re still not convinced that the historic ‘DS’ badge should be attached to anything other than the best that Citroen can offer) and will offer something different to the competition. It has a chance of reviving some of Citroen’s quirkiness, which stood it in good stead for many a year, and it will doubtless offer a far more supple ride than either the MINI or the Alfa.

So go have a play with the Citroen DS3 Configurator. It’s not the most extensive tool in the world, and concentrates mostly on the exterior, but you can come up with some good (and some awful) combinations.

At least it will give you something to do if today’s sunny weather does the usual and deteriorates in to a wet Bank Holiday weekend.