It's always slightly difficult commentating on pictures of a car's cabin, because press shots always flatter even the most sparse and/or cheap interior design efforts. However, Citroen has long made bold claims about just how good the new DS is going to be when it finally hits showrooms in March 2010.
Officially called the DS3, Citroen's C3-based 'MINI killer' is the first of a range of DS-badged cars that will allegedly herald a new era of quality and desirability for Citroen, and will be sold alongside the 'regular' cars in various shapes and sizes. The three-door DS3 is slightly bigger than a MINI, but offers tangibly more rear passenger and boot space.
So, this cabin then. We must admit it looks promising, with its gloss black dash tower, contrasting fascia (no doubt soft-touch), central colour monitor and flat-bottomed steering wheel. Citroen claims the pictures we're looking at here are very close to the production car too, so if we had to guess what might get the chop for next March we'd say the steering wheel, the complicated grooves on the dash top and the two-tone leather seats.
Ditto some of the accenting on the exterior. The basic shape is set, but don't expect details like chrome rubbing strips and big polished rims to make it on your 'VT' version. And you'll pay handsomely for the white roof and mirror caps. Damn you, MINI.
Mark Nichol - 29 May 2009