BUY, LEASE OR FINANCE A DS 9 FROM OSV - https://bit.ly/3w9qQvS

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.

TIMESTAMPS
00:00​​​​ Introduction
00:45 Background
03:03 Driving Experience
12:47 Design & Build
27:03 Market & Model Range
45:09 Cost of Ownership
51:51 Summary

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, but that doesn't apply to the powertrain offering, which is lifted straight from this car's Peugeot 508 cousin. From launch, DS did offer an un-electrified 'PureTech 225' model, but it isn't expected to be available for long. Nor is the front-driven 'E-TENSE 225' plug-in model we chose for our test; this uses an 11.9kWh battery and will shortly make way for an 'E-TENSE 250' derivative with a battery enlarged to 15.6kWh in size. We'll quote the performance figures for that; 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 355hp. This lowers the rest to 62mph time to just 5.6s en route to a top speed of 155mph, but the usual 38 mile DS 9 driving range figure is unaffected.

Whatever variant in the range you choose, there's the usual PSA 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 Crossback 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.

*CAR REVIEW PLAYLISTS*
► New Car Reviews: https://bit.ly/3myaZiV
► Behind the Wheel: https://bit.ly/35JuUo7
► Highlight Car Reviews: https://bit.ly/35N1Wnx
► Electric Car Reviews: https://bit.ly/2TAqjPK
► Short Car Reviews: https://bit.ly/2HHlJMS
► Hatchback Reviews: https://bit.ly/3mKNAen
► SUV & 4X4 Reviews: https://bit.ly/37Verjt
► Saloon Reviews: https://bit.ly/37QrbrD
► City Car Reviews: https://bit.ly/3jDzBVI
► Estate Car Reviews: https://bit.ly/3kDflog
► Sports Car and Coupe Reviews: https://bit.ly/2TwkzXb
► MPV Reviews: https://bit.ly/3e7114S
► Van Reviews: https://bit.ly/31QWcb4
► Business Car Reviews: https://bit.ly/3kGZncN
► Family Car Reviews: https://bit.ly/3myLaiy

*FOLLOW OSV ON*
► Facebook:   / osvltd  
► Twitter:   / osvmotoringnews  
► Instagram:   / osvltd  

#DS9 #DS9Review #OSVCarReviews