Citroen DS3 Red Edition

The Citroen DS3 Red removes the complexity of choosing personalisation options and adds more kit for less money. However, it doesn’t work out that much cheaper than choosing your own spec – unless you really like red.

Fancy a Citroen DS3? Like the colour red? Then the special-edition DS3 Red could be right up your street. There are no mechanical changes to the standard car, so the newcomer handles as sweetly as ever thanks to its firm sports suspension.

However, on the Red you can have the body colour in either white or, for an extra £480, pearlescent black, and both come with a garish red band running around the front grille and through the Citroen chevrons. Less full-on are the red mirror caps and roof, plus the cool new 3D LED tail-lights which now feature on all DS3s.

The DS3 Red is available in mid-spec DStyle trim, with a choice of 120bhp petrol or 90bhp diesel engines, or as the top-spec DSport version tested here. This can be specified with the 115bhp diesel, upgraded from the previous 110bhp, or the responsive 155bhp 1.6-litre petrol model we drove.

The Red DStyle comes with 16-inch alloys as standard; the DSport gets 17-inch white or black rims. All have a small red Citroen logo in their centres.

The new look is smart, and as 90 per cent of DS3s are specced with a two-tone paint and roof combination anyway, the only thing that seems over the top is the red trim on the grille.

Inside, an eye-catching red strip runs across the dash and around the door handles. The DS3 DStyle Red includes the Connect Signature pack, which adds an upgraded stereo, extra speakers plus Bluetooth and USB connectivity.

Meanwhile, the DSport Red features the City Signature pack, with auto lights and wipers, automatic air-con, rear parking sensors, electric mirrors and mood lighting.

You can add all the options to the standard £17,050 DS3 DSport for £1,150. The DS3 Red starts from £17,780, so you can potentially save £420 – just as long as you like the colour red.