LENSPEED

It took us only four years to pile on a six-digit mileage, and yes, that comes as no surprise because the DS3 has always been the preferred family car of choice, even when we had the VW MkV R32. Comparatively, it’s more efficient, lighter and arguably more fun thanks to the 6-speed stick shifter.

The ownership experience wasn’t entirely smooth sailing to begin with.. a couple of hiccups with the battery and one major incident involving the high pressure fuel valve led us to call for the tow truck three times in total. It was during those “dark days” where we felt that the DS3 has serious reliability issues. But once we got it sorted, it proved to be a decent hauler – it hasn’t skipped a heartbeat for one full year. Pretty impressive!

The 100,000km servicing included an engine oil, brake oil and gearbox oil change, over and above a rotor swop and air filter change next week. The experience these four years has been bittersweet so far, but I’m leaning towards a greater liking for the car, especially when the running costs are not extravagant. It consistently managed 14.5km/l on a full tank (600km for 41 litres).

We’ll report back in for more updates!