Fifth Gear Car of the Year 2010

Citroen DS3 Fifth Gear Small Car of the Year

We recently reported on Top Gear’s 2010 Car of the Year Awards which saw our very own favourite small car of the year – the Citroen DS3 – taking the honours from TG. But it hasn’t stopped there for the DS3.

Fifth Gear has now declared the Citroen DS3 to be their favourite small car of the year too. Do we see a pattern emerging? Could it be that those who don’t have an agenda, and are simply voting for the best car, choose the DS3?

Those who would disparage us petrolheads don’t understand that it isn’t necessarily the most expensive and quickest cars that win our hearts. It’s those with character and enjoyment running through their every fibre. Those that give back joy in the drive. Cars with a soul.

We’ve driven some expensive and remarkably swift metal this year, much of which we’d give garage room to in a heartbeat. But none has made us smile quite so much as the relatively modest DS3. We had the top of the range Citreon DS3 DSport, but even that came in at a modest £15,900. And it averaged almost 40mpg in ‘Review’ mode. The perfect small car.

Fifth Gear’s other two awards were for Family Car of the Year for the Skoda Superb Estate (no, we don’t agree. And nor do we agree that flirting with giving the award to the Nissan LEAF was right either) and the Fast Car of the Year was the Ferrari 458 Italia. Which we do agree with. Despite Ferrari not sending us one to play with yet (although we did grab a drive from a friendly owner – enough to start to know how special the 458 is).

Still, getting two out of three awards right isn’t bad.

By Cars UK