The new DS 3 Crossback luxury SUV is now available to order in the UK with prices starting from just over £21,500. Taking on the Volvo XC40 and Mazda CX-3, the French brand’s second SUV takes styling cues from the much-loved DS 3 hatchback but majors on premium features.
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On the outside, the car gets the now-trademark DS grille, flush-fitting door handles and a strip of vertical LED daytime running lights. Further back, the ‘shark fin’ B-pillar from the DS 3 has been carried over, while the two-tone roof seen in these images is also inherited from the smaller three-door car.
If the exterior is vaguely familiar, though, the cabin is something of a departure from the norm. DS is using diamond graphics as part of its branding, and the 3 Crossback’s dash is dominated by a trio of diamond-shaped button clusters over two diamond-shaped air vents. Higher up is a wide touchscreen infotainment system, while the centre console is broadly similar to that of the larger DS 7 Crossback.
The basic £21,550 asking price will buy you the Elegance version, which comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, air conditioning and a seven-inch touchscreen. It gets keyless start and rear parking sensors as standard, too.
Spending an extra £1,400, however, will get you the Performance Line model, which brings black styling touches, LED tail lights and aluminium sports pedals to the party.
If you’ve got £24,950 to play with, on the other hand, you could have the Prestige version. That buys you climate control, a larger 10-inch touchscreen and leather seats, not to mention the automatic windscreen wipers or the front parking sensors.
Going even higher up the range to the £30,950 Ultra Prestige model will up the ante even further, adding 18-inch alloys, keyless entry and a reversing camera, plus a head-up display and more premium leather on the seats.
And at launch, customers will also get the chance to buy the ‘La Premiere’ model, which is a limited-edition version featuring wireless charging, headlights with a self-dipping function and a more all-encompassing suite of safety gadgets.
For now, customers are limited to a choice of three petrol engines and one diesel, although a fully electric E-Tense model is due to arrive later this year.
The cheapest unit is the 100 bhp PureTech 100 1.2-litre petrol, which comes with a six-speed manual gearbox. Available on all but the Ultra Prestige and La Premiere models, DS says it’s capable of between 46 and 52 mpg, with carbon dioxide emissions of between 105 and 113 g/km.
For a little extra outlay, you can have the PureTech 130, which uses the same basic engine but ups the power to 129 bhp and fits an eight-speed automatic transmission. It’s the only engine available on every model in the range, and it’ll manage something in the region of 42 to 47 mpg.
The most powerful engine on offer, meanwhile, is the PureTech 155 unit. Like the other two petrol engines, it’s a 1.2-litre, three-cylinder turbocharged unit, but it sends 153 bhp through its automatic gearbox. That means it’s the fastest model in the range, but it does come with a slight economy penalty compared with the PureTech 130.
If you want economy, however, the BlueHDi 100 diesel engine is the one to go for. It’s a 1.5-litre engine with 101 bhp, and it’ll return up to 62.7 mpg with CO2 emissions of as little as 97 g/km.
Gallery: DS 3 Crossback (2019)
