2010-2016 Citroën DS3

So good I bought another – I had this car for four years and I was happy enough with it that I traded it on the latest model. For its class, it's roomy and comfortable, with lively performance and excellent build quality. The car had three mechanical issues, all of which were fixed under the (then) 3-year warranty, including a temperature sensor failure, an oil seal failure… Read more

and a timing chain rattle. When it comes to tyre replacement, my advice is to not stint and buy the best you can afford. The last pair I fitted were Pirelli P Zero Nero, which I found to give excellent grip on wet roads, and low noise. Fuel economy is good for the class, but changing up early (as suggested on the dash display) rather than holding onto a low gear too long helps noticeably. The only improvement I would give priority to is to reducing road noise further, but many current cars seem to suffer from this. My trade-in value was a bit less than 40% of the car's purchase price. I'd still have it if I wasn't offered a good deal on a new, and higher-spec DS3, which now comes with a 6-year warranty.

Do NOT buy unless you want a lemon – I have had troubles with my Citroën DS3 sport since 4 months after buying it brand new in 2013. It's broken down multiple times and had to be in the local Citroen repair shop seven times. Throughout this ordeal they kept telling me that everything is ok, yet the car was making strange sounds and blew black smoke. I was not only charged multiple… Read more

times for what should have been covered by the warranty but I also was treated rudely and unprofessionally by the local dealer here in Cairns.

I think they simply hoped for me to get tired of complaining.

The last attempt to fix this car took 3months. They tried to rebuild the motor from scratch and it is still not fixed now. It is out of warranty though now and Citroën Australia is done with trying to help me. So I have had to involve The office of Fair Trading as well as a lawyer and fight my case in court. So please do yourself a favor and buy another car from another company, because Citroën Australia will not help you as they are quite aware that their products are of inferior quality.