DS 3 PureTech 130

FIRST DRIVE Name change and new look signal mid-life update

- Matt Robinson

Running costs 42.8mpg (official) £64 fill-up

Performance 0-62mph/top speed 9.2 seconds/124mph

THE is dead. Sort of. Much like the larger DS 7 Crossback, which ditched the second part of its name after a mid-life refresh, the brand's entrylevel car is now simply known as 'DS 3', but it's not hugely different from the older model.

Most of the facelift's styling tweaks are concentrated at the front. There's a new, larger grille, while the French brand's fresh 'DS Wings' daytime-running-light signature features, albeit in a less dramatic form compared with the DS 4 and DS 7 models. The finishing touch on the exterior comes in the form of new wheel designs.

The DS 3's interior hasn't been played about with much, which means it's still pleasingly different from rival offerings. There's a cluster of diamond-shape buttons surrounding diamond-shape central air vents and two banks of switches - including the electric window controls - with a knurled finish. Not so good is the armrest, which rubs on each front seat when it's retracted.

The dashboard features a new 10.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, flanked by a seven-inch digital driver's display. The new infotainment set-up is an improvement on the previous clunky unit, but it's a pain that so many functions - in particular, the car's climate controls - require its use.