MINI may have started the trend for ‘personalising’ cars but Citroen seems determined to take it to new heights of dottiness writes Peter Carroll.

It sent a DS3 for me to test which not only had a polka dot roof but matching polka dot floor mats too.

Throw in the twinkly LED front lights, brash styling, along with the two-tone colour scheme, and you have a car that clearly isn’t for shrinking violets.

• See more pictures of the DS3 in our picture gallery to your right

Mind you, it could have been worse: a zebra print roof option is offered too.

Citroen is hoping customers will spend anything up to £1,500 on these personalisation features.

But the thing is, the DS3 doesn’t really need such fripperies – it looks stylish enough in its natural ‘unadorned’ state.

At its launch earlier this year there were a few things that I didn’t quite ‘get’ about the new car.

It has an angular look, while recent designs from the French firm have been steadfastly curvy.

It is supposed to be ‘anti retro’ yet takes its name from Citroen’s classic DS of the 1950s – and it uses iconic figures like John Lennon and Marilyn Monroe in its advertising.

It was only when I was accosted outside a shop by a middle-aged woman demanding that I show her the boot that the penny finally dropped: the DS3 really is a desirable piece of kit and people are gagging to buy them.

The lady wanted to see if her labrador would fit in the car and, after a quick glance inside, walked off satisfied that there was indeed ‘plenty of room’ in the back.

But there’s a lot more to the Citroen than just a spacious boot.

It offers a winning blend of style and substance and, with prices starting as low as £11,700, it’s pretty good value too.

The car sits on the same platform as the C3 but is a more confident performer on the road.

There’s more weight to the steering and it handles in a sharper fashion – at the expense, it has to be said, of some ride quality. The car can ‘jiggle’ over poor surfaces.

The interior has the same ‘designer’ quality as the exterior, with lots of neat stylistic flourishes.

Build quality looks good too: the rear view mirror is a far chunkier affair than than in other small Citroens, for example.

The driving position is slightly raised, which will suit shorter people, as will the location of the footrest.

The test model was the flagship petrol car: the 1.6 THP 150PS D Sport, which costs £15,900 to put on the road.

Mine came with outstandingly comfortable leather seats, parking sensors and satellite navigation, which together add
£1,950 to the price – and that’s before you decide whether or not you want a polka dot or zebra-patterned roof.

The 1.6 is the familiar petrol engine that has served a range of BMW and Peugeot cars, as well as other Citroen models.

It loves to rev and pulls the DS3 like a train, thanks in part to the car’s low kerb weight of well under 1.2 tonnes.

While Citroen, to its credit, does not promote the DS3 as a hot hatch – it nevertheless boasts performance which would shame many a sporting contender.

The car can hit 60mph in just over seven seconds and has a top speed of over 130mph.

Its most obvious rival is the MINI Cooper S which is slightly quicker but smaller and more expensive.

Alternatively, for fans of Italian cars, the Fiat 500 Abarth and Alfa Mito are also worth considering.

But the DS3 is a worthy rival to anything in its class. It looks good, goes well, and goes about its business
in an elegant manner.

Nor does it do anything to dampen speculation that the forthcoming DS3 Racing – undeniably a sports model – will turn out to be a real belter.

With or without polka dots…