1000 mile review - DStyle 99g

[ElRey]

For anyone who interested, here's a review of my experience so far, and a couple of things I've learnt that are particular to the 99g....it's not just a DStyle minus alloys.

Obviously well pleased with the looks and the fuel economy, which has peaked at 83mpg average on one trip, and lowest has been 55. Overall approx 65mpg in mixed driving.

Some niggles: Intermittent juddering when being driven steadily, kind of momentary loss of power/drive. Knocking noises when changing gear, unless done very gently. Ocassional tinny rattle when accelerating...probably vibrating heatshield.
Intermittent sluggishness, which feels like driving around with the handbrake on.

All in all, the car obviously isn't lightning quick, but does pull well when it's performing right....there's just something wrong causing the gear change, pedal balance and general power delivery not to feel quite right, meaning that driving it isn't a breeze. Progress off the mark feels hard going at times and power delivery at the bottom of the gears, especially 2nd seems to dip just after the clutch is released. Been to dealer once, but got the usual 'let it run in and see how you get on with it...probably an EGR problem'.

Minor rattles from glovebox and rear, offside seatbelt reel...easily solved.

Slightly disappointing road manners. Gets upset by bumps when cornering, causing the rear end to skip a bit. Also, doesn't deal with drafts from other vehicles too well, getting blown around a bit. Doesn't like speed humps...front end is quite harsh on the down side of humps.

Unique to the 99g from the standard DStyle HDi, I have found out that the turbo is different to that on the standard 92hp HDi. 99g has a fixed vane turbo, setup to boost at lower revs. Gearing is also altered for economy, and I think this creates a need for more frequent gear changes, the engine doesn't like to labour at the lower end of a gear, requiring a change down. Lastly, ofcourse the wheels are not alloys.

I'll give another review once the dealer has fixed the juddering/gear change issues, which I hope will improve the feel when changing gear and the smoothness of power delivery but all in all, I'd say that unless you can get some good money off the list price of a 99g, the better option is probably the normal DStyle 92hp HDi.

[dayouk]

Interesting read, initially I was going to go for the 99g but thought to get Alloys as standard and lose slightly on economy and small road tax I would go for the normal DStyle 90/92 depending on where you look.
I am looking forward to the car whenever it arrives but bit concerned about all the vibrations and maybe sluggish/gearing on smaller engines :s

[irishRob]

1000 miles, that all! I'm nearly 6000 already!

I've noticed the occasional knock with the gearbox I must admit, although I didn't realise that was where it was coming from. I'm only getting one rattle though and that's the well known dash problem, asides from that, she's grand for me.

[ElRey]

I'm sure the dealer will be able to sort out the niggles my DS3 has been having, which have unfortunately put a bit of a negative slant on my review.

I had the 92hp HDi engine in a C4, and it pulled much better than this one does in the DS3. Just feels like something is holding the power delivery back.

The general lack of torque could be down to the above problem, or be due to the way the 99g is setup. It feels more like a petrol car, especially needing a lot of revs in 2nd gear if I let it slow down, without stopping and then want to move off again...those situations where you don't want to shove it in first gear while still rolling, but the car doesn't want to be in 2nd! Never had this problem with any diesel car before.

The dealer did say that gearchanges can be clunky, personally I won't accept a brand new car making knocking noises whenever I change gear.

Anyone else had problems getting into 3rd and reverse gears?

[Bigfeet]

Must admit that i've was driving a 99G around as a company car and i never suffered with any of the problems you are talking about. I know that the gearbox is long and at lower revs you do need to change down, but i accepted this as part of the car in order to lower the co2. Not had any knocking noises or problems with shifting into 3rd or 2nd. The reverse is a comman Citroen thing and i've see it in loads of citroen over the years from C4 to C5 to Saxo to C2 to berlingo. The ride is firm as it is in all DS3 but agin not had and skipping at the rear, sounds silly but i take it the pressures are correct. At PDI the pressures normally are let down as their are rock hard for transport, this might not have been done!

I've had the glovebox rattle, checked it out and noticed that the fusebox cover was not on right. The little rubber lug was squashed so freed it off and noise went.

I hope that your DS3 settles down and that you can start to really enjoy it, sounds daft but working in the trade for a long time i like to know that people are enjoying their cars and not having issuses, even when they're not my own customers!!

By the way kudos on the MPG, wow! I only managed 68mpg in my one.

[ricostuart]

Ive only clocked about 210miles on my dStyle and noticed a few of the things you mentioned. If the car is going down a shallow incline and its in 3rd gear, i am only barely touching the throttle, there is a judder in the engine power - i can actually watch the rev needle jumping! Going around corners and hitting some bumps really makes the back end skip (even quite slowly!) which will take some serious time to get used to! Mine is definatly fine going over speed bumps tho.
The glovebox rattle (which seems to be a very common issue) was solved by superglueing two extra rubber pads (stolen from an old usb sata drive caddy) onto the point where the existing ones close onto. That solved it instantly. Think my rear speakers are causing some trim to rattle too a little. And lastly I seem to have a loose bolt or somehting in the top of my boot lid. Really annoying that. Just not had time to get it back to the garage. Oh and when my car was built, the leather gator had part of it trapped under the gearknob which has come out now, but left the leather folded and slightly ripped!

Still WAY better than my old 206 tho

[gar074]

I don't get this skittish rear-end stuff - my DSport stays planted round corners in all conditions. Wouldn't have thought that the DStyles would be that different - softer maybe, but v surprised to hear that they are skittish.

[Perry]

Same here, Mine doesnt do anything going round corners, i went round a bend on a road down my way and hit a bump the back of my car lifted up and i felt it go all light and the second it came back down it gripped into the corner again and just shot off . best handling car ive had in a while,

[ElRey]

Interesting replies...some differences of opinion and some similarities.

I filled the fuel tank to the top yesterday, and I have to say that the way it takes bumps on corners improves markedly with extra weight on the rear axle.

Had another bad engine judder episode yesterday...again at a steady 60mph, goes OK for a minute of two, then starts juddering as if the engine's going to cut out. I lift my foot off the accelerator, press it down again and everything is fine. It might not judder for a couple of days afterwards. I haven't noticed the rev counter fluctuating though.

[irishRob]

Yeah, for sure, I haven't experienced this read skid thing either which I must admit, I'd be quite concerned about. You're not taking right angle corners at 70mph are you by any chance?

Just aside from the odd knock in the gear and the front dash rattle, my DS has been a dream so far.

[Gareth]

Just noticed your remark on the rattle probably coming from the exhaust heat shield. I have a thp and it rattles from up grit near the turbo. I can't find for the life of me where it is coming from. Anyone else had this? I will put this in a separate thread too.

[CLIFF_JB]

I love my DS3 to bits but I too have this juddering problem and car is now booked in with Citroen for it's 3rd visit to try and sort it .On the 2nd visit there was a recall for a battery lead which they hoped was going to resolve the issue but it didn't . 90% of the juddering occurs when accelerating up hills ! I too have the 99g HDi DStyle .

[ZACK]

90% of the juddering occurs when accelerating up hills ! I too have the 99g HDi DStyle .

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