When we tested the DS3 last August, we were impressed with the sex appeal that it oozed from every subtle curve. Driving around town, the little hatch attracts admiring glances for at the time it was a rare sight on the road.

Granted that the DS3 might actually be visually more appealing than the venerable Mini Cooper but what it lacked (which Mini makes up with in the Cooper S) was chuckability.

Sure the DS3 showed potential with its fun nimble handling in the bends but it lacked the engine capacity to make it a fun hatch. It was afterall based on its less illustrious sibling the C3 and part of that inheritance was the weedy 1.6-litre VTi lump.

Well, considering the French have a knack for coming up with fun little hatches that are right up there with the Mini, the DS3 didn't stay weedy for long. What we have in our hands now ladies and gents is the brand new DS3 1.6 THP fitted with the exact same lump as you get in a Mini Cooper S.

Yes, if you've been hiding under an odd rock somewhere, the lump we're talking about here is the 1.6-litre Prince powerplant that BMW co-developed with the French. By French, I mean the PSA or the Peugeot Citroen Alliance.