The young DS brand is continuing Citroën’s long tradition of state coaches: the DS 9 is the flagship of the noble offshoot, is bursting with opulence and luxury and has a particularly comfortable chassis that reads the road like a book. “Krone” engine editor Stephan Schätzl was on the move in the back seat as well as in the driver’s seat. His impressions here in the video!
He is a stately, elegant, slightly playful figure, the great Frenchman with the many reflections of light. With a wheelbase of 2.90 meters and a length of 4.93, the line between the D and E segments is blurring. But that is quite intentional, after all, the offered luxury has its price, and you are more willing to pay it when you feel like you’re in a class up, they say at DS. And is probably right about that.
Opulent but not bulky
Despite all the opulence, the look appears stretched, the narrow LED daytime running lights give the car something finely drawn. Both the LED headlights, the three elements of which rotate when the headlights are switched on, and the patterned rear lights are eye-catching. A blissful “Hach!” Can escape one when one is aware of the orange lights on the rear edge of the roof, which quote the ancestor of the DS brand, the legendary Deésse, i.e. the Citroën DS. However: What were indicators on the original DS, are only position lights on the DS 9.
Honeycomb patterns that are modeled on the glass pyramid in the courtyard of the Louvre, metal decorations (“Clous de Paris” called guilloché, in the interior and on the bonnet) that are otherwise known from valuable clocks, decorative elements in crystal glass, and a generally slightly pompous appearance in the Interior – no wonder that the expression savoir-vivre, the French art of living, comes up more than once in a conversation with those responsible for DS. The DS 9 is a car for connoisseurs with a love of detail, you want to order a glass of Bordeaux as soon as you get in. Of course, only on the extremely comfortable rear seats (optionally air-conditioned and with massage function), which offer plenty of space and legroom. You just shouldn’t fold down the massive center armrest, otherwise you will quickly feel constricted.
Not quite an ideal driver’s seat
The driver looks at digital instruments and a central twelve-inch touchscreen. As usual with DS, the power window switches are mounted on the center console. You have to get used to it. What you have to get used to is the somewhat unusual seating position: Because of the wide, high center console, the right leg is more upright than the left, you are sitting at an angle, so to speak. Especially because you can’t pull the steering wheel out very far and therefore inevitably have to move closer than you would like when you have grown tall.
Flextime at all times
The DS 9 knows how to glide, thanks to the so-called Active Scan Suspension, which comes as standard: A camera observes the road surface, the adaptive shock absorbers adjust their hardness accordingly. That works really well. Air suspension (or even hydropneumatics as was once the case with the DS) is not provided.
Choice of three plug-in hybrid drives
The DS 9 is offered in Austria exclusively as a plug-in hybrid with the nickname E-Tense. At the market launch there is the basic drive with 225 system horsepower, which is delivered by a 180 hp 1.6-liter four-cylinder petrol engine and a 110-hp electric motor that sits in the eight-speed automatic transmission. According to WLTP, DS promises 55 kilometers of purely electric driving.
This combination accelerates the car from zero to 100 km / h in 8.3 seconds – more is not possible in view of the 1879 kg dead weight (according to DIN, i.e. measured without a driver). For the hybrid drive alone, around 300 kg are estimated in comparison to a conventional one. In any case, you won’t have much fun with the 42-liter petrol tank – unless you charge regularly and drive electrically.
At the beginning of the year, the powerful all-wheel drive with the drive from the Peugeot 508 PSE will follow. Here the gasoline engine makes 200 hp, the electric motor on the front axle is taken over unchanged and a 113 hp electric motor is added to the rear axle, which drives the rear wheels and thus provides all-wheel drive. The system output is 360 hp.
In both cases, the power of the two front engines is transmitted to the front wheels via an eight-speed automatic. The 11.9 kWh battery is fully charged within an hour and 45 minutes using the 7.4 kW on-board charger on the wallbox at home or at a public charging station.
A little later there is another front-wheel drive version with 250 HP system power and a slightly larger battery.
The car built in China is offered in two trim levels. The price list in Austria starts at 53,450 euros (minus e-car subsidies) for the Performance Line +, including Active Scan Suspension, two-zone climate, navigation system, parking sensors, reversing camera, etc. 54,700 are due for “Rivoli +”, with the small surcharge more than is outweighed by equipment. In addition, there are far more equipment options available for the Rivoli + version.
The DS 9 with the 360 hp drive will be available from 64,000 or 65,200 euros. Instead of 19-inch wheels, it stands on 20-inch wheels.
Fahrzit:
A real alternative in business class. You get a lot of French style here, almost opulence – which is only possible with some drawbacks when it comes to the available space. You don’t notice that the DS9 is built in China.
Why?
Very comfortable, not spongy undercarriage
Opulent and attention to detail
Why not?
Not ideal sitting position
Or maybe …
… Audi A4 / A6, BMW 3/5 series, Mercedes C / E class