First impressions of the Citroen Faubourg Addict

IT’S certainly true that first impressions are lasting, but it’s also claimed that with time some things can grow on you.

When I first laid eyes on new version of the Citroen DS3, the cute Citroen Faubourg Addict, I thought to myself, two doors, I’m not going to like this and nobody at home is going to like it either.

However, it does grow on you, but not enough for me to ever buy a two-door car. I’m convinced cars get lonely in shopping centres and last week as I carefully opened my door making sure not to scrape the car parked right next to me I got talking to a fellow motorist about two-door cars. He said that a few years back his wife insisted on visiting her sister shortly after they picked up their new two-door car. It was a windy day and when his wife opened her door it almost swung off its hinges and damaged the side of his new car. I’d say the mood wasn’t great on the way home that day!

There is no doubt you have to be very careful when opening the doors in two-door cars and unless you are really careful you are certain to scrape the car next to you when opening the driver’s or passenger’s door.

A few years back Citroen brought back the iconic DS nameplate, which was used from 1955 to 1976. However, the new range of cars bear no resemblance to the older cars and share none of their engineering quirks. DS is pronounced Déesse, which is French for Goddess.

With the rear-tinted windows the first impression I got was that it was a small van. But the test car came in a very attractive

‘whisper-purple,’ and diamond effect alloys, which were really attractive. You also get the DS logo all over the roof, which is very impressive and the logo is also laser engraved on the side mirrors.

This is a very lively supermini and there is plenty power in the 1.6 diesel engine. On the road it very lively and there is no problem cornering at reasonably fast speeds. The front seats are really comfortable and there is room in the back for three people, but headroom for the backseat passengers is not great. With the tinted back windows you could probably hide a small celebrity in the back

The boot is a decent size, but sadly no spare wheel. At the back the sporty effect is continued with double chrome exhaust pipe. There is also stop-start technology.

Yes, it does grow on you, but there is a price to pay for all that styling, e24,145 to be exact. Low emissions mean road tax is only e180 and fuel consumption is low.

So if you have a few euros to spare and would like to sample French style take a test drive. You are certain to get plenty of attention from fellow motorists, but be careful when opening those doors in tight spaces.