This quintessentially French company is going back to its roots... not to produce retro cars, but to rediscover its essence, harnessing those qualities in its quest to create thoroughly modern designs.
There's something magical about Paris, even when it's snowing and sleeting. A walk in falling snow to the Tour Eiffel, followed by a chocolat chaud at Trocadero, a visit to Citroën's exquisite C42 showroom on the Champs Elysées and, later, a rare opportunity to view the new art movie, Serge Gainsbourg, vie héroïque, were some of the highlights of two days spent in the French capital.
Of course I wasn't in the City of Light just to explore the sights and soak up some French culture, but to sample the new Citroën DS3. Still, there was just enough time to do a few other things as well. And, come to think of it, although Gainsbourg sang about Ford Mustangs and Harley Davidsons, he and Citroën do have a few things in common. Both he and André Citroën were of Jewish descent, of course. Both were visionaries. And Gainsbourg to music was as controversial and avante garde as some of the Citroën company's designs have been to motoring.
In fact, there's a new breeze of creativity blowing through this French car company which, while deliberately avoiding the temptation to go retro as some of its rivals have done from time to time, is busy reviving the tradition of innovation that was synonymous with the Citroën brand in days gone by...
And the strategy is apparently working: Jean-Louis Chamla, the company's director of International Operations, told me their research shows Citroën, which has bucked the recession in a number of markets, is the most popular car brand among the French youth. And cars such as the DS3 are expected to boost that trend even further.
Certainly young and trendy is C42, which is currently displaying the DS3 in all its glory across seven levels, illuminated in part by natural light streaming in through eight floors of glass, mounted in triangular frames that echo the company's famous double chevron emblem. The Champs Elysées showroom, commissioned by André Citroën back in 1927, has always contrasted with the traditional buildings around it. It has also undergone a number of metamorphoses over the years. For a while, it housed the famous Hippopotamus, a restaurant that attracted the elite of Parisian society. Now it's been completely reworked by talented young female architect Emanuélle Gaurand to showcase Citroën's latest models.
At the very top is a café run by Fauchon, the Parisian house famous for its confectionary and fine teas. And, after une tasse and a few truffes, customers are free to wander down the stairs, viewing and touching the cars - and sitting in them - on slowly rotating turntables (suspended one above the other) that show off the vehicles from every angle. There's a Citroën boutique on the ground floor and, in the basement, you can enter a "boom box" in the shape of a crash helmet and have your eardrums pounded and your vision blurred by the sounds and sights of world rally champ Sébastian Loeb's title-winning C4 in action. At some future date the car is likely to switch to a DS3 as the new model, says M Chamla, will be the basis of the company's next WRC contender.
But why DS3? Project leader Estelle Rouvrais explained that Citroën decided, after embarking on developing a new-generation C3, to also create a "premium" line of cars under the DS name. The DS3, a compact high quality offering, is the first, with DS4 and DS5 models set to follow.
One can't help thinking, of course, that the idea was born out of the fact that PSA Peugeot-Citroën supplies the engines for the latest BMW-built Mini range. Naturally, the DS3 uses (amongst other engines) the same 1,6 normally aspirated petrol and turbo power-units, and executives admit unashamedly that the Mini is its prime target, along with cars such as the Alfa Mito and Fiat 500.
There's also a 1,4-litre and, being France where diesel is king, a range of HDi units as well.
The first thing that strikes you about the DS3 is its style. Not retro, but forward-looking, with its "shark-fin" B-pillars and "floating" roof. And there's a variety of colour variations, topped off by a choice of bright decals on the roof. The large decals are applied in single pieces at the factory, using a technique specially developed for the DS3. They provide not only colour variations, but changes in texture as well.
Inside, the DS3 is roomier than a Mini, and the appointments are of high quality, with the integrity and tactile feel of a premium brand. And - a nice touch this, in a world of seemingly ever more sombre interiors - the facia is colour-coded with the body.
What's it like to drive? I sampled a 1,6 petrol turbo in rush-hour traffic and on a scenic drive in the Versailles area. Seats are supportive and comfy, the steering is quick yet damped in a manner that only the French seem to get right. So it's a sporty, manoeuvrable car very much in the Mini mould. Ride is absorbent. And the 115 kW engine is strong. All round, an inspiring, quality compact car. For more details, read the April issue of CAR magazine...
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