It’s a French Rivolution
THE NEW DS9 SALOON IS EXCLUSIVE AND
PERHAPS this time it might work. Selling big French saloons has always been difficult, especially in this country – even the likes of the cool Citroen C6 which was so comfy it was like driving a magic carpet.
Jeremy Clarkson raved about the big Citroen on telly, but even his endorsement failed to turn the trickle of C6s leaving dealers into a torrent. And it wasn’t just Citroen that had trouble shifting its big motors. When did you last see a Peugeot 607? Or a Renault Vel Satis?
Now Citroen is bravely having another go, but this time it has used its DS Automobiles brand for the car. That’s sensible since, despite being a relative newcomer, DS has been successful so far and has already launched the upmarket DS7 SUV. Now maybe its customers are ready to sit nearer the ground in a saloon.
It will certainly help that DS Automobiles has quite modest sales targets for its new DS9.
Jules Tilstone, who runs DS in the UK, says that they’re thinking in the hundreds. I remember the Citroen C6 selling only a few hundred units a year towards the end of its life.
That the DS9 will be a relatively rare sight on our roads will no doubt help its cause. It will also help that the DS9 is an attractive motor and also a rather splendid one to drive.
I like a simple choice of models and the DS9 ticks that one off. There are only two trim levels; one is called Performance Line+ and the other Rivoli+. They’re split into a more sporty offering and a more luxury focused specification, I can leave you to work out which one is which.
Powertrain choice is also very straightforward with either a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine, and the same engine as part of a PHEV powertrain which in DS speak is called E-Tense.
Later this year we’ll get a 360bhp version with four-wheel drive.
We’re driving a Rivoli+ E-Tense. If you’re a classic car fan and know your historic Citroens you’ll remember that both the DS and the SM saloons had headlamps that swivelled as you turned the steering wheel. So do the lights on the DS9. Nice. While we’re talking about older cars, the metal strip that runs down the centre of the DS9’s bonnet looks pleasantly retro.
But it also has the practical advantage of making it easier to place the car on the road. Our test model costs £49,200 without options, of which ours has a good few.
One is called Opera Interior and although it’s a hefty £3,000 I’d have to have it because the Rubis red leather trim, watchstrap-pattern seats, pearl stitching and Alcantara roof headliner look sumptuous and welcoming. Without it the car just wouldn’t have the same feeling of luxury. At least the elegant and analogue BRM clock, which silently shows its face as you turn on the ignition, is standard.
Citroen is making a big thing about comfort and that naturally extends to its posh DS brand. It’s what every manufacturer should be concentrating on, but Citroen has history for this as it made some of the most comfortable riding cars in the world back in the 1960s and 70s.
The new DS9 is supremely comfortable over even our most disgraceful road surfaces.
How much this is helped by the car’s ability to see down the road using a camera – and then automatically adjust the suspension to cope with what’s coming – is hard to tell.
The petrol engine in our test model produces 180bhp and the electric motor 110bhp to give a combined power output of 225bhp. With an 11.9kWh battery this DS9 PHEV has a range of 33-38 miles on electric power only. Take high 20s as a realworld range.
The car has an eight-speed automatic gearbox which helps in the seamless transition from petrol to electric motion.
You are offered a choice of driving modes including Sport. The DS9 is not a particularly fast car and is at its best driven in a relaxed fashion. Sport stiffens the suspension and steering and spoils the whole appeal.
Another option is the Rivoli Lounge Pack which includes a rear lounge armrest, plus heated and massaging rear seats. And there’s a lot of rear legroom in the DS9 even with a tall driver up front.
The new DS9 isn’t as quirky or eccentric as its Citroen forebears, but it’s a fine car all the same.