Citroen Goes after Premium Buyers with New DS Line

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed)
Feb 11th 2009 at 6:02PM

More and more European automakers are entering the premium hatchback market. Once the sole purview of the Mini Cooper, Alfa Romeo has entered the fray with the MiTo, and now French automaker Citroen has announced a new premium line to revive the classic DS nameplate.

The first example is scheduled to take its curtain call at the upcoming Geneva Auto Salon next month in the form of the DS3 Inside concept. With retro design elements and avant-garde lines, the DS3 is based on the existing Citroen C3 but with a more premium flavor. A larger DS4 is expected to arrive in a couple of years, and an even higher-end DS5 to follow after that. Although Citroen doesn't market in North America, European customers may find the new DS models an appealing premium alternative to BMW's Minis.

Gallery: Citroen DS3 Inside concept