Large luxurious French saloons have never really found much of a ready market here but this car, the DS 9, could still be significant for its Gallic maker. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Review

French maker DS is these days part of the 'premium pool' of Stellantis Group brands, along with Alfa Romeo and Lancia. Which means it must have a proper large sector premium product - and this is it, the DS 9. It's sized in between the mid-sized and large executive saloons you might be thinking of and claims to be a true successor to innovative Gallic luxury saloons of the past. There's proof of proper premium brand status here.

Background

Back in the Sixties, 'DS' stood for executive sector luxury with a then-Citroen-badged model featuring avant garde looks and cutting-edge technology. More than half a century later, there is at last a true successor to that car in this model, the DS 9. DS is, these days, a brand in its own right and its products borrow heavily from technology already used in existing Peugeot and Citroen products, but there's unique innovation too in justification of the historical parallels here. The whole point of forming the DS brand in the first place was to give what used to be called the PSA Group (now Stellantis) the chance to build and sell larger full-executive models that these days, people simply wouldn't choose if they had Peugeot or Citroen badges. This car's importance right now lies not in sales numbers - this model will be a rare sight on our roads - but in the credibility it should give DS as a proper premium brand, rather than a purveyor of tarted-up versions of volume models. So, expectations here are high. Can this car meet them?

Driving Experience

Lots about this DS 9 feels quite unique and Stellantis has decided that going forward, it should exclusively come with E-TENSE plug-in Hybrid powertrains. There's a choice of two, with nearly all customers likely to opt for the more affordable E-TENSE 250 version, which features a 200hp PureTech four-cylinder engine, accompanied by a 110hp electric motor powered by a 15.6kWh battery which can take the car up to 46 WLTP-rated miles on a charge. The DS 9 E-TENSE 250 manages rest to 62mph in 8.1s and a maximum speed of 149mph - or 84mph in full-electric drive. Your other DS 9 option is the flagship 'E-TENSE 4x4 360' model, which gets an extra motor on the rear axle, creating an All-Wheel Drive powertrain - and a more powerful one. That extra motor, along with an upgrade in tuning for the 1.6-litre engine to 200hp, delivers an output boosted to 360hp, that total contributed to by the two motors; the one on the rear axle generates 113hp, while the front one (integrated into the auto gearbox) contributes 110hp. The DS 9 E-TENSE 4x4 360 manages the rest to 62mph time to just 5.6s en route to a top speed of 155mph and 39 miles can be covered under battery power alone. Whatever variant in the range you choose, there's the usual Stellantis Group EAT8 8-speed transmission. And there are things you might really like. Refinement, aided by the acoustic glass, is class-leading - really silent, which is a good start. Ride quality is also brilliantly judged, supple without being wafty. And that's in a test car lacking the clever 'DS Active Scan' suspension, which uses a forward-facing camera to prepare the dampers for forthcoming bumps. This is in short, a full-sized Executive saloon with a very Different Spirit.

Design and Build

Though this DS 9 will most directly compete with cars like Audi's A4 and BMW's 3 Series, it's a little larger than saloons of that kind, being 4.93m long and 1.85m wide. It sits on the same stretched version of the EMP2 platform used by the DS 7 mid-sized SUV - and the Peugeot 508. There's slightly less of a 'Fastback' element to the sweeping silhouette than there is with the 508 - and a great deal more front end presence thanks to a large, diamond mesh chrome-effect grille. This is flanked by chrome headlamp detailing and vertical LED daytime running lights. In a nod to the original Sixties DS, there's also a bit of clever headlamps technology too, in the form of 'DS Active Vision' headlights, which have five separate automatic modes. Another reference to that earlier car comes in the form of unique 'comet-style' indicators at the top of the C-pillars. A chrome strip runs down the centre of the bonnet to the windscreen. Inside, DS hopes to confirm this car's premium status with signature touches like a Nappa leather-stitched dashboard, 'watch strap'-style quilted leather upholstery, leather door handles and an alcantara headliner. A recent update has seen the introduction of the brand's latest 'DS IRIS' multimedia system with it's 12-inch centre screen. This features an interface that can be completely configured and personalised, and is aided by IRIS natural voice recognition. The high-resolution touchscreen displays a menu made up of widgets to access all functions including 3D connected navigation, air conditioning, digital audio sources and all trip data. The rear seats (like those at the front) can have heating, ventilation and massage functions and the fold-down centre armrest can be used as a control panel and a device charging bay. Plus, with a 2.9m wheelbase, there's a reasonable amount of room to stretch out. Out back, there's a class-leadingly-large 510-litre boot.

Market and Model

It's estimated that this DS 9 will account for just 0.02% of UK new car sales, so if you want rarity, you've got it right here. You'll be almost guaranteed that no one else in your office car park will have one. Customers are only offered a saloon body style; there's no estate available. Still interested? Well if so, you'll next need to know that the brand hasn't been shy with its pricing, evidenced by the fact that at the time of this test in Spring 2023, the version likely to account for most UK sales, this 'Rivoli+' E-TENSE 250 Plug-in variant, cost £56,000. This car's PHEV engine and 11.9kWh battery combination, we were told at the time of writing, would shortly be replaced by an upgraded E-TENSE 250 Plug-in powertrain with a larger 15.6kWh battery. 'Rivoli+' is the more affordable of the two spec levels being offered; for £8,600 more, you can stretch to top 'Opera' trim. This range-topping spec includes technology such as DS ACTIVE SCAN SUSPENSION camera-controlled damping, the Extended Safety Pack with DS DRIVE ASSIST level 2 semi-autonomous driving, DS DRIVER ATTENTION MONITORING and DS NIGHT VISION. Comfort-focused features are also included as standard such as the FOCAL Electra sound system, plus a sunroof, a power boot lid, a heated windscreen and an alarm. 'Opera'-spec also cossets rear seat passenger with the brand's opulent 'DS Lounge Pack', which includes a Premium Leather rear centre armrest, Lounge head restraints for the outer seats, a courtesy button to move the front passenger seat forwards from the rear seats, extended dual-zone automatic air conditioning and heated, massaging and cooled outer rear seats. The 'Opera' trim level is offered with watchstrap design Nappa Leather upholstery in two distinct colours: OPERA RED and OPERA BASALT BLACK.

Cost of Ownership

All this car's full-Executive segment Plug-in rivals use larger-capacity petrol engines than the 1.6-litre unit featuring in this DS 9. With that in mind, it'd be a disappointment if this car's efficiency figures weren't class-competitive - as, by and large, they are. The key figure with any PHEV is the CO2 reading, because that of course is what your Benefit-in-Kind tax is going to be based upon. The DS 9 E-TENSE 250 with its 15.6kWh PHEV battery manages a 22g/km figure (it's a best of 35g/km for the faster E-TENSE 4x4 360 model). For fuel saving, the all-electric driving range figure is equally important, rated at up to 46 miles for the DS 9 E-TENSE 250 variant. The combined cycle fuel figure for the DS 9 E-TENSE 250 is 235.4mpg (it's 188.3mpg for the E-TENSE 4x4 360). Not that these kinds of three-figure fuel readings mean anything of course - you'll never achieve anything close to them and we can't imagine how the WLTP cycle testers ever did. Real time readings will probably be somewhere close to those of a conventional unelectrified diesel. But the important thing is that the government believes the all-round efficiency stats, hence the applicable 8% low BiK tax rate (or 12% for the 360 model).

Summary

It's easy to be cynical about a car that claims to be unique but borrows so much from volume brand engineering. But then, you could say that to some extent of just about any executive contender these days. The DS 9 does at least clothe its familiar mechanicals with an assured slice of Gallic flair. It won't match its key German rivals in terms of drive dynamics (or predicted residual value) but it offers more cabin space and a far greater sense of uniqueness and luxury. For many, that won't be enough. But for the discerning few prepared to invest in what DS calls 'a Different Spirit', a new form of badge equity, this DS 9, will offer a refreshing change from the executive norm.