Driving report: DS 3 E-Tense
Chic city dweller
THE DS 3 E-Tense takes 30 minutes to charge to 80%
© press-inform – the press office
The fully electric version is the Parisian answer to the mobility needs of chic city dwellers. The French manufacturer raves about its compact DS 3 E-Tense. Now there is a facelift for the Stromer.
DS Automobiles can’t quite get rid of the reputation of being Citroën’s premium brand. The company has long since cut its cord from the parent brand and is launching one independent model after the other. The DS 3, for example, was the second car that the French launched on the market in 2019 after the DS 7 Crossback. Now comes the first facelift of the compact car.
Particularly interesting: the electric version E-Tense. As usual, the Stromer is not exactly cheap in the new version either. In the basic version, 40,540 euros are due, if you treat yourself to the “Opera” version, it will be 51,590. A veritable model with size and luxury can also be found in the combustion engine world. And even with DS, the petrol version of the DS 3, which is almost as powerful, is a whopping 10,000 euros cheaper with the same equipment.
What changes with the facelift on the DS 3? Not the dimensions. With a length of 4.12 meters, a width of 1.80 meters and a height of 1.53 meters, it is still classified as a compact SUV. In the front there are new Matrix LED headlights, the daytime running lights now consist of two vertical light strips on the left and right instead of one. The widened vehicle grille is optionally available in black and without any chrome. The door handles are sunk into the body and extend automatically as soon as you approach with the car key. There are also two new body colors, but otherwise: visually largely the same as the old one. Even the strange body guidance at the front of the rear doors has been retained.
Inside, the diamond dominates the design. Diamond pattern all around – from the border of the controls on the center tunnel, the quilted pattern of the comfortable seats to the combined ventilation and control unit in the middle of the dashboard. All of this is well processed and looks valuable and noble – but it’s only plastic if you knock it off more closely. But: It all fits together stylistically. There is plenty of space in the front, but it gets rather tight in the back for longer distances. But that’s no different with the competition. With 350 to 1,050 liters, the trunk is in the usual range. Annoying: The seat belts cannot be adjusted in height on the B-pillar.
As you can see, as a purely electric car, the E-Tense still has a lot of legacies from the world of petrol engines to carry around with it: a large radiator grille is no longer needed because there is no internal combustion engine to cool. And the wide cardan tunnel is also more of a relic.
The noise insulation has to be mentioned explicitly. Above all, thicker discs and sheet metal at the front should leave the noise of the world outside. With an electric car, that’s not a big problem anyway, since there’s no engine crawling around under the front hood. But wind and road noise are also kept within limits.
As has long been the case with electric vehicles, it is a pleasure to be on the road. The engine power was increased to 115 kW / 156 hp during the facelift. Without shifting gears, you can get going with full torque (260 Nm) from a standing start. The electric DS 3 goes from zero to 100 km/h in 9.1 seconds. This is not a top value among the Stromern – but completely ok in everyday traffic, for example when overtaking or merging on the motorway. At a top speed of 150 km/h it’s over. DS specifies the range according to WLTP as 405 kilometers – in reality you should expect 300+ kilometers. After all, the DS 3 is frugal when it comes to consumption: the on-board computer showed 17 kWh per 100 kilometers after a rather brisk drive. The average value is 15 kWh. According to DS, the 54 kWh lithium-ion battery in the vehicle floor can be pumped up to 80 percent again within half an hour at a fast charging station.
Otherwise, the electric DS 3 is quite passable to drive. The batteries installed below ensure a low center of gravity. In the higher recuperation level, driving purely using the accelerator pedal is at least possible to a limited extent. If you take the gas off, the DS 3 brakes significantly – but not to a standstill. The steering is too spongy even in sport mode. And when cornering at high speed, the DS 3 E-Tense has a slight urge towards the outside of the corner. He’s not a curve robber but rather what a solid driving style. Oh yes: The market launch in Germany is planned for mid-February 2023, and it has been possible to order since September.