WITH DS now operating as a stand-alone luxury sub-brand within the Citroen group, there is a promise of exciting times ahead for the fledgling French car company.

One thing however, the current range of highly-successful DS3, DS4 and DS5 models will remain for the time being, while new models, such as SUVs and luxury saloons - possibly along with a few surprises on the way - will be added to the line-up.

This means a bright future for the DS3, which was designed to take on the likes of the Fiat 500, MINI Cooper and Alfa MiTo, but with Citroen using their own mix of modern styling rather than going down the retro road.

What Citroen created was a cracking little gem of a compact hatch which oozed personality with angles and curves in places where you certainly would not expect them.

Sexy, sporty, sophisticated and superbly put together, the trendy hatchback's cracking good looks started with the bold shark fin door pillar and floating roof. This continued down to its sculped front end complete with LED daylight running lights.

The little Citroen also came with one of the best interiors around. The instruments were easy to read and the black high gloss facia contrasting with the silver-backed instruments gave it a really up-market finish.

Better still, however, the DS3 made an excellent drivers' car, its sporty credentials giving it a firm, yet comfortable, ride.

The steering was well weighted and noise levels were remarkably low for a car of its kind and out and about it quickly showed it could handle itself on the open road as well as when nipping in and out of busy city traffic.

For a small hatch, it proved relatively spacious inside, although as a three-door it's fairly tight in the back. Nevertheless boot space, at 285 litres, put a lot of the car's competitors to shame.

The majority of DS3s you see on the road sport a flashy two-tone paint finish and with Citroen offering plenty of vibrant colours from which to mix and match, along with a host of interior finishes, you'll be pretty hard pressed to find two cars that are exactly the same.

There was also a wide range of alloy wheel designs to choose from. Add to that a host of engine choices and three distinct specification levels and the number of permatations for individuality became pretty much endless.

At launch in 2010, Citroen offered a 94bhp 1.4-litre petrol engine and a larger 1.6-litre unit delivering either 118 or 154bhp. A 1.6-litre diesel producing 88bhp or 108bhp made up the range.

Later, an e-HDi 90 Airdream oilburner, which broke through the 100g/km CO2 banding, was added to the range.

An all-new version is on the way and is to be badged the DS 3 but the models bearing the Citroen chevrons are still highly desirable.

For used car buyers that means there's a pretty good choice out there, but take a tip and look out for one in DStyle Plus trim, which comes with central locking, cruise control, electric front windows, air-conditioning, LED running lights and tinted rear windows.

Expect to pay between £6,160 to £7,990 for a 2012 1.6 -litre VTi 16V petrol DStyle Plus on a 62-plate with 40,000 miles on the clock. A similar aged diesel 1.6 e-HDi Airdream will be a little more expensive, coming in at between £6,730 and £8,735.

Move on to a 2013 year model on a 63-plate with around 30,000 miles and you will have to pay between £7,020 and £8,935 for the petrol model and between £7,535 and £9,590 for the oilburning Airdream.