Dressed to the 9s
If you’re a classic car fan and know your old Citroens, you’ll remember that both the DS and SM saloons featured headlamps that swivelled as you turned the steering wheel.
Well, the feature is back – the lights swivel on this new DS Automobiles DS9. And while we’re talking about older cars, the metal strip that runs down the centre of the DS9’S bonnet looks pleasantly retro but also has the practical advantage of making it easier to place the car on the road.
I like big luxury French cars but not that many people do. The Citroen C6, which was born in 2005 and died in 2012, sold in very low numbers here and around the rest of the world. Shame, because it was excellent.
The DS9 is its spiritual successor and DS has realistic hopes for sales in the hundreds in this country.
There are only two trim levels: Performance Line+ and Rivoli+.
They’re split into a more sporty offering and a luxury focused specification – I’m sure you can guess which is which. Powertrain choice is also very straightforward, between a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine and the same engine as part of a PHEV set-up, which in DS speak is called E-tense.
We’re driving a Rivoli+ E-tense. There’s also a more powerful 360bhp version with four-wheel drive.
Our test car 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 fabulously sumptuous and welcoming.
Without it the car just wouldn’t have the same feeling of luxury.
Citroen is making a big thing about comfort and that naturally extends to its upmarket DS brand.
It’s what every manufacturer should be concentrating on but Citroen has history for this as it made some of the finest riding cars in the world in the 1960s and 70s.
The C6 was famed for its comfort, too. The new DS9 is supremely comfortable over even the UK’S most disgraceful road surfaces.
The petrol engine in this car produces 180bhp and the electric motor 110bhp to give a usable combined power output of 225bhp. With a 11.9kwh battery, this DS9 PHEV has a range of 33-38 miles on
New DS lets you
stand out from the luxury crowd electric power only. Take high 20s as a real world range and even that is not easy to achieve on a cold day.
Naturally you are offered a choice of driving modes, including Sport.
The DS9 is not a particularly fast car and is at its best driven smoothly and in a relaxed fashion.
Sport stiffens the suspension and steering and spoils the whole appeal of the vehicle. Another option fitted to this car is the Rivoli Lounge Pack, which includes a rear lounge armrest on heated, ventilated and massaging
rear seats. There’s a lot of rear legroom in the DS9 even with a tall driver in the front so the back of the car is a lovely place to travel. It’s pretty special in the front, too, with plenty of elegantly designed and finished switches.
Put the DS9 against its direct rivals from BMW and Mercedes and you’ll find that the German cars are faster and have better electric range. But, hey, everyone’s got one of those.
The DS9 is for those that don’t want what everyone else has got.