From a 2015 Corvette Stingray to a 2015 DS3....whats the verdict so far.......

[YdnaT]

Hi everyone Im new on her and just bought myself a 2015 DS3 DSport Plus Blue HDI (a mouthful in itself).

My previous car was a 2015 Corvette Stingray C7 LT3 with 465 bhp so quite a bit of difference in performance and economy but how about fun and ownership.

Well Ive always liked the DS3 ever since they came out and tried to convince my son to buy one but he liked the Golfs and BMW's more but actually upgraded his Pug 107 to a Mercedes CLS500.

Anyway, Ive just got back to the UK from working in Texas were fuel is cheap so needed a small car which was economical and fun and the DS3 fits the bill perfectly. I really enjoy driving it and look forward to zipping about in it as ideal for UK roads.

Thoughts so far:
Good bits:
Just how much fun it is to drive - its a hoot
I love the styling especially the winking indicators and LED lights.
The build quality appears to be good
The seats are really comfy and I like the leather interior.
Boot space is good for such a small car.
Economy is outstanding
The stop start I thought would be so annoying but it starts instantaneously so not an issue and dont switch it off now.
The steering wheel controls are great
I really like the folding mirrors too.
Cheap insurance (Just 150 fully comp) but I am an old fart.
I think value for money as a 2nd hand car these are great value however Ive seen quite a few pre-registered ones for bargain prices and had I have seen them earlier would have got one of those.

Niggles:
The gearbox feels a bit notchy and the clutch bites quite high up (they all do that said Mr Salesman)
I wish I had gone for the 7" screen with reversing camera as these are just soooooo handy
The thermostat seems to have failed as it now doesn't get past 1/4 heat and the blower isn't that warm. It doesn't get warm enough for the stop/start to function. Apparently they dont sell the thermostat alone but the whole housing which is a pain and total waste of money.
The footwell is a little cramped compared to other cars and often hit the footrest when depressing the clutch.
No cup holders and lack of storage........ no excuses here citroen
A knocking noise when setting off first thing in the morning and turning the wheels full lock. Its like the tyres are skipping across the surface. I see a few people have had this but nobody I can find has said what the issue actually was.
Not the best sound system (even though its got the dash mounted extra speaker but acceptable.
Mine has Silver Alloys and Ive realised there are much nicer alternatives so that is going to cost me ;-)

So overall - Its not a Corvette that's for sure but my plan to ship it back was changed when I realised it would be wasted on the UK pot holed, congested roads and at 196 mph top end my license wouldn't last long. I really miss the reversing camera the Corvette hadbut these are an option on the new ones. The seats are so comy but not available heated and leather on a winter morning needs a heated seat. Also the insert in the steering wheel is so cold on a winters morning.

I'm still very impressed with it and will see how Citroen deal with the thermostat and steering issue (hopefully both minor points)

So there we have it.

Oh and Im really pleased that I havnt seen any driving round with those big fat exhausts that sound awful and normally fitted to Corsa's or Subarus...... that would stop me from owning one if they had that image.

Have Fun AndyT

[WTF]

Welcome!!

And thank you for the write up!!

Re niggles, here is some replies on some of the points.

Niggles:
I wish I had gone for the 7" screen with reversing camera as these are just soooooo handy
Snap - next one!

The thermostat seems to have failed as it now doesn't get past 1/4 heat and the blower isn't that warm. It doesn't get warm enough for the stop/start to function. Apparently they dont sell the thermostat alone but the whole housing which is a pain and total waste of money.
Maybe a fuse - or a fan replacement needed? - http://www.ds3club.co.uk/showthread.php?15928-No-fan You still have warranty, so could bob it back a dealershio for them to look at

No cup holders and lack of storage........ no excuses here citroen
We knooooow But I just have a bottle of water in the door - the fatter one with a sports cap.

A knocking noise when setting off first thing in the morning and turning the wheels full lock. Its like the tyres are skipping across the surface. I see a few people have had this but nobody I can find has said what the issue actually was.
Mine does this, and Jimbob had simialr - I'll do some looking for the thread!

Mine has Silver Alloys and Ive realised there are much nicer alternatives so that is going to cost me ;-)
And here begins your shopping list!

[WTF]

Hmmm, grindy noise on full lock seems to be something else, sounds dreadful though.

This was the thread I was thinking about - but Jimbob's was whilst going along.
http://www.ds3club.co.uk/showthread....aunching-sound!

[Andres]

The thermostat seems to have failed as it now doesn't get past 1/4 heat and the blower isn't that warm. It doesn't get warm enough for the stop/start to function. Apparently they dont sell the thermostat alone but the whole housing which is a pain and total waste of money.
Maybe a fuse - or a fan replacement needed? - http://www.ds3club.co.uk/showthread.php?15928-No-fan You still have warranty, so could bob it back a dealershio for them to look at

(again, my english is not perfect but here I go...)

Pay special attention to this kind of issue!! Mine started showing that behaviour and I relied on the temp gauge hoping the engine were never hot enough but it was a totally fake reading! (on the gauge). About 5500 miles later one of the pistons said bye bye (cracked on the bottom!).

What we (my mechanic and me) discovered after repairing (and a lot of reading by myself) is... (again, I'll try to do my best explaining):

The thermostat housing (where also is located the coolant temperature probe) provides a signal to the ECU, who decides when to connect or disconnect the electrical water pump (remember that the pump on those engines works on demand, it doesn't remain pumping like in a common engine). The ECU only shows CEL if the signal is lost, but if it receives signal, can't determine if it's accurate. What happened in my case is that the probe were broken, but still providing signal (a fake one), so the ECU never shown CEL but also never indicated the true coolant temp on gauge.
So why the piston cracked?
Because in absense of pump (remember it rarely worked, commanded by the blind ECU) the engine raised temperature again and again, day by day on those 5500 miles, because of high temp it started misfiring and bye bye piston!!


So, people, when you note ANY problem on the temp gauge, get your DS checked inmediately!

[BenS]

Welcome Quite the switch there!

The gearbox feels a bit notchy and the clutch bites quite high up (they all do that said Mr Salesman)

The gearbox is very loose and floppy on all of them, but the clutch shouldn't be super high.

Mine is because the scammers I bought it off swore nothing was wrong and after much pestering they put a new one in which I swear is made of potato. I drove a friend of my dad's 2014 DSport HDi and the clutch engaged instantly when releasing. Nearly stalled the bugger as I wasn't expecting it! Not sure if it varies from car to car or if it depends on previous drivers.

[BenS]

Mine started showing that behaviour and I relied on the temp gauge hoping the engine were never hot enough but it was a totally fake reading! (on the gauge). About 5500 miles later one of the pistons said bye bye (cracked on the bottom!).

So, people, when you note ANY problem on the temp gauge, get your DS checked inmediately!

Piston failure was more common on the THP, much less likely on an HDi, but I agree - get it checked.

Could be a temp sensor fault if the warning light starts to come on even though it's reading cold. There's a recall on some cars for it.

[YdnaT]

Thank you everyone for all your replies, very handy information. I hadnt realised that the fuel pump was not mechanically driven and worked on a temperature sender which would explain why the thermostat housing comes as a unit and the thermostat is not available on its own.
It does get up to temperature if I take it on the motorway for a mile or so and controls at mid point as expected its just round town it doesnt move past about 20%. The blower fan works okay and blows warmish air but not hot air. Im still tempted to think that the thermostat is open all the time and not letting the coolant get up to temperature as this is consistant with only warm air coming through the blower. Once the needle goes up to mid scale it blows hot air.
Its under warranty for 12 months with Citroen so I will let them have a look at it.

Regarding the steering judder its only when moving off for the first bit after being parked a while and doesnt sound healthy at all so will get them to look at this as well.

Thanks again everyone :-)

AndyT

[Andres]

Thank you everyone for all your replies, very handy information. I hadnt realised that the fuel pump was not mechanically driven and worked on a temperature sender which would explain why the thermostat housing comes as a unit and the thermostat is not available on its own.
It does get up to temperature if I take it on the motorway for a mile or so and controls at mid point as expected its just round town it doesnt move past about 20%. The blower fan works okay and blows warmish air but not hot air. Im still tempted to think that the thermostat is open all the time and not letting the coolant get up to temperature as this is consistant with only warm air coming through the blower. Once the needle goes up to mid scale it blows hot air.
Its under warranty for 12 months with Citroen so I will let them have a look at it.

Regarding the steering judder its only when moving off for the first bit after being parked a while and doesnt sound healthy at all so will get them to look at this as well.

Thanks again everyone :-)

AndyT

The real problem there is that without the right temperature signal, the coolant pump will not work, so your DS may be overheating and nothing responses to that temperature rising (nor the coolant pump, neither the cooling fan, because the ECU does not assume the temperature is high due the wrong temperature signal received).

I strongly recommend you to replace the thermostat housing. It comes with the thermostat and the temperature sender. Even if the thermostat remains open (that's what oneself may think reading the temperature gauge), the cooling pump doesn't work on that condition.

[YdnaT]

Andres, thank you for your reply. I will take it to the Citroen main dealer as it is under warranty and let them have a look at it and hopefully they will replace the whole Thermostat and housing.

On another issue can you send over some of this coffee, my Columbian friend brought me some back from Bogota and its the best I ever tasted but cant buy it here ;-)

[DaveB]

It does get up to temperature if I take it on the motorway for a mile or so and controls at mid point as expected its just round town it doesnt move past about 20%.

That points to a faulty thermostat.