DO you ever stand, silently fuming, in the queue at a coffee shop while someone in front agonises over precisely what they want in their hot drink?

Once upon a time the cup would have been filled with something called 'coffee'. The plot would be thickened - but not by much - with a single supplementary question: 'black or white?'

Job done, you would take the cup and saucer (or mug if you were lucky) to a table, sit down and drink it.

Not today; Americano, cappuccino, mocha or espresso are only the start. To which must be added flavourings (caramel or vanilla, perhaps?) and the number of shots. Or decaf, or the size (big, huge or small swimming pool?).

Which brings us, in a roundabout way, to the car featured here. It's the sort of machine you can easily imagine being driven by someone with very particular tastes in coffee.

It's the smallest of three DS offerings (the others being DS4 and DS5, with more to come) which are upmarket spin offs from the Citroen range in a bold attempt to give the company a posher, more stylish edge.

In fact, all the current DS machines began life with Citroen badges and we'll have to wait awhile to see a pure DS. In the meantime, how does the DS 3 shape up in the battle to win the hearts of today's aspirational coffee drinker?

Things start well with the shape. As a Citroen it was a winner on looks, with a modern approach to a stylish urban runabout that bravely declined to look back to a proven winner (MINI and Fiat 500, we're talking about you). Full marks for that.

Then, inside we find a cockpit that works hard to keep the distinctive feel of the outside, with a smart looking dashboard finished in pretend carbon fibre weave supplemented in the test car by £800 worth of leather pack that lends an Audi-like aura.

But back to the coffee shop. Half the fun of choosing a car like the DS 3 (or MINI or Fiat 500 or Vauxhall Adam) is the time you'll spend on line or at the dealership working out precisely how you want your dream on wheels to look.

Decisions, decisions... perhaps the ruby red metallic with moondust grey roof, chrome door mirrors and side rubbing strips and the grey diamond cut alloy wheels?

Not convinced? Then try adding zebra roof graphics and matching carpet mats. Or on a more practical level, there's a decent sat nav for £500 and useful reversing camera at £200. And don't forget the colour you fancy for the ignition key.

You get the point; here is a car many owners will treat more as fashion accessory in an urban setting than something to be enjoyed as a piece of engineering. And good luck to them.

But for those who yearn for something interesting to happen when the (colour coded) key is turned in the ignition, there's a good story to tell in the car tested here.

Shared with some older MINIs, the turbocharged engine gives the DS 3 a real helping of performance, with an over-eager throttle making it feel almost hypersensitive until your right foot learns some manners. The clear dash readout showed 47mpg average on test; a good result for a car that likes to press on a bit.

It's as little flier that keeps flying as corners approach, when a moderately jerky low speed rides pays off with fine body control that eggs you on to enjoy the drive.