Open your mind

REMAINING open-minded is key to understanding the DS 9. Speaking as a Big Citroën sympathiser, even I didn’t know what to make of it initially. First of all, this isn’t actually a Citroën. DS is now a marque in its own right – the luxury French arm of the Stellantis group and an offshoot of Citroën – but, as the flagship, the 9 is surely the next in line to the glorious Citroën C6.

Pretty it ain’t, but the DS 9 does a great job of looking classy, and it has some very nice detailing. The headlights are a work of art, and the C-pillar marker lights and the bonnet’s central chrome strip hark back not-so-subtly to the original Citroën DS.

Based on the architecture of the Peugeot 508, with an extended wheelbase, the DS9 relies on the same petrol/electric hybrid powertrain. This one is the outgoing e-Tense Rivoli with a combined 225bhp output, since replaced by a 250bhp model. There’s also a high-spec 355bhp plug-in hybrid if you need more 19in alloys and chunky tyres.

Furthermore, the 9 employs something called DS Active Scan Suspension to monitor the road ahead for imperfections. At lower speeds around town, it does a great job of isolating the cabin from potholes and ruts. Increase speed and everything remains cushioned but very tightly controlled – making fast yet relaxed progress effortless. You soon realise that the car tends to find its own pace down a road but, as with big Citroëns of old, this is usually quicker than you expect.

It’s almost ten years to the day since I wrote a news story about UK sales of the C6 coming to an end. Just over 1000 had found homes here in seven years. The majority of buyers simply didn’t understand it and it seemed doubtful that we’d ever see another big Citroën again. Yet here is the DS 9. And it’s equally hard to get your head around.

Ten years of progress has seen the large saloon market diminish in favour of large SUVs. DS has set realistic sales targets of ‘hundreds’ in the UK, and it’s not expecting to take significant numbers from Audi A6 or BMW 5-Series buyers. This is a car for those who want something genuinely different, and it’s one that I think really has the potential to get under your skin – if given the chance. I just hope that enough people do.

performance – although this car is absolutely not about that. Comfort and refinement are where DS has set its sights. The special-feeling interior ambience sets the tone: anyone who has driven a 508 might notice similarities in the cabin layout, but much of the switchgear has a unique feel, and the massage seats are spectacularly comfortable. DS has noticeably lifted the quality of materials used throughout, too. How’s the ride? It’s at this point that fellow Citroënistes might get slightly upset, as the DS 9 ostensibly opts for a ‘standard’ spring and damper set-up. However, these are adaptive dampers, which seem to do an outstanding job of giving the DS 9 just the right balance of comfort and composure, helped by modest Above and below DS 9 shares Peugeot 508 architecture but adopts a singular look inside and out; sales are sensibly forecast to be modest.