Citroen DS3 Racing 2015 Review

Citroen, despite its huge investment in the World Rally Championship, has never enjoyed the legendary reputation its fellow Gallic car-makers have when it comes to hot hatches.

Where Renaultsport can trace its go-faster lineage all the way back to weird rear-engined sedans and Peugeot still dines out on the iconic 205 GTi, few remember the fast Citroen Visa, AX or ZX and even fewer the wild, all-wheel drive road legal Group B rally refugee that was the BX 4TC.

The DS3 Racing is Citroen’s attempt to change that and in the process create a genuine rival to the MINI Cooper JCW and Audi S1 and cash in on all that WRC silverware.

Using the regular DS3 DSport as a starting point, the Racing gets its own suspension tune, including stiffer springs, a 15mm lower ride height and bespoke dampers. To help boost grip the track has also been widened by 30mm front and rear.

Boosting stopping power, Citroen has added larger 323mm diameter brake discs (+40mm bigger than the DSport) with four-piston Brembo callipers.

Finally, to add some visual aggression, the Racing engineers have grafted on some wheel-arch extensions, a front splitter, rear diffuser and rubbing strips.

Inside, there’s plenty of faux carbon-fibre and a pair of racy bucket seats.

Under the bonnet there’s the same 152kW/275Nm turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder that powered the last generation of MINI Cooper JCW (Ed: the latest version’s a 2.0-litre engine). To help liberate the extra power over the 121kW 1.6-litre turbo, engineers remapped its ECU, added a freer breathing sports exhaust and turned up the boost.

Against the clock, the small Citroen can hit 100km/h from standstill in 6.5sec and top out at 235km/h… Or it can in the UK, at least — our cars will be slower. Blame our terrible fuel, but Citroen will wind power back on Aussie Racings to 147kW, with a knock-on effect on performance.

Unlike the DSport, Citroen engineers have also created a ‘sports’ mode for the stability control and the system can also be deactivated fully. That’s something you can’t do on regular DS3s.

The Racing has also had its electronic steering recalibrated for sportier responses but, as we leave a gravel carpark in the UK’s Cotswolds for a cheeky pre-launch drive, it still feels overly light and without feel.

Luckily it’s accurate and precise as we accelerate hard into the first sequence of curves. Cornering with little roll, there’s also immense levels of grip served up by the larger 18-inch wheels. Foot flat to the floor exiting a slow bend, the sports mode feature on the stability control does a decent job of disguising the lack of a mechanical differential. Unlike some other brands, neither MINI nor Citroen bother fitting a ‘proper’ LSD — presumably to avoid the added complexity and cost.

Pick up the pace and there is a tendency for the nose to push wide — it’s here you crave a proper diff, which in other cars like the 208 GTi 30 would drag the nose back to the apex. We have few complaints about the DS3’s powerful brakes though, nor its agile and adjustable chassis — which responds well to throttle lifts in tighter bends that sends the tail swinging.

What isn’t appreciated is how the stiffly sprung suspension is upset by the odd bump that risks sending the Racing off course. Others, like the new MINI Cooper JCW, simply do a better job of shrugging off a rough, poorly surfaced roads — but we can’t but help relish in the DS3’s manic, old-school feel and nature.

Our car, loaned to us by Citroen UK, was an ultra-rare Racing Cabrio, of which just 100 were sold and made in right-hand drive for the UK. It’s not known if Australia will get both the hatch and cab, but there’s little trade-off dynamically. In fact, peel that hood back and it actually adds to the experience with the sound of that rasping exhaust note bouncing off stone walls. We’d still avoid it though, since the extra road and highway noise makes it tiring to live with.

In the UK, the biggest problem for the Racing was never its drive, looks, or even Citroen’s lack of hot hatch heritage; it was its price. Today nothing’s changed. With Citroen Australia charging a steep $34K for the regular DS3 DSport, the Racing is at great risk of being priced out of the market Down Under.

The crushing blow for the fast Citroen then won’t be new aftermarket competition from the boys and gals from WAG, nor even the new revitalised MINI Cooper JCW. No, the biggest threat to Citroen’s hottest hatch ever is that the Ford offers you similar thrills and pace with its Fiesta ST, all for just $25,990.

Our first taste of the DS3 Racing was worth the wait, but that may not be the case for its local pricetag.