French car reigns supreme

The Citroen DS3 Sport (pictured) is available in New Zealand, along with the Style. Photo / Ted Baghurst

Britons have ranked Citroen's funky-looking DS3 the best supermini

The Citroen DS3 knocked the Honda Jazz off the top spot to be crowned "king of the superminis".

Citroen's DS3, which is now available in New Zealand, has been ranked Best Supermini in the UK 2013 What Car? JD Power survey.

In its first showing, the Citroen DS3 received an 82.2 per cent satisfaction score - the overall industry average was 77.6 per cent - with a maximum five-star rating awarded by its owners for performance, service and running costs. The high score means Citroen DS3 is ranked fourth in the overall results out of a total 116 models.

Chas Hallett, What Car? editor-in-chief, said: "The Citroen DS3 sitting at fourth place is a great achievement for the French brand, the best-selling DS3 supermini proved to be a joy to own with its funky styling and low running costs."

The Citroen DS3 knocked the Honda Jazz off the top spot to be crowned "king of the superminis", championing other rivals including the Skoda Fabia, Hyundai i20 and Volkswagen Polo.

The Citroen model's design, quality, comfort and enjoyable performance were all referenced as part of the positive owner experience.

The 2013 UK Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study is based on the evaluations of over 16,000 online interviews from UK car owners after an average of up to three years of ownership. The study was fielded in December 2012 and January 2013.

The DS3 is available as a Style or Sport in New Zealand.