We were brought to the flagship DS Automobiles showroom in Dublin and given a tour of not only their latest vehicle the DS 4 but also given a better understanding as to who and what DS Automobiles represents. The showroom is an impressive starting point with creative and luxurious design and that specific scent that comes with shopping for high end luxury goods. And the new DS4 holds true to that first impression, it has a luxury feel and you no longer see any parts from their sister companies in the cabin.
The new DS 4 is pitted against BMW’s X2, Cupra’s Formentor and the Lexus UX. It comes in two trim levels and models in the range include a Plug-in Hybrid E-TENSE 225, Petrol PureTech 130 Automatic, PureTech 180 Automatic, PureTech 225 Automatic and a Diesel BlueHDi 130 Auto.
The hybrid version has a 12.4kWh battery feeding a 108bhp electric motor, which takes care of low speeds mostly. DS claims it will be able to take you up to 60 Kilometres. The battery will take one hour and 55 minutes to charge using a 7kW home wallbox or seven hours using a slow charge three-pin plug.
The DS 4 has a distinctive look and is guaranteed to turn more heads mores so than the competition, some of that might be related to finding out the make / manufacturer of the car itself. The latest version of the platform has been updated with new components, new touchscreen system that looks good and responds smartly and the chassis has been designed to accommodate a large battery in the floor. The body is spacious and the window edge starts above the passengers shoulders to give a cocoon like feel to the cabin. Sliding rear seats and the variable boot floor are clever features which add to passenger comfort and the cabin materials give off a wonderful premium scent.
The EAT8 eight-speed auto transmission is smooth and likes to keep things comfortable in most modes. With a total of 224bhp, the E-Tense 225 is the fastest DS 4 on paper. The 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine produces 178bhp and 221 lb ft and is the same unit as the Puretech 180 but it has a 107bhp, 236 lb ft electric motor. The switch between electric power and petrol is quite subtle, and the central screen lets you easily manage the EV mode or hybrid mode, when to charge the battery or set it to maintain its charge.
The infotainment comes in the form of a 10.0in central touchscreen and there’s a 7” digital gauge cluster. Higher trim levels get a head-up display projected onto the windscreen and this is done in a way so as not to distract the driver too much. The gauges can be configured by cycling through selections and layouts on the gauge cluster and head-up display via the column stalks. Graphics are bright and clear, navigating some menus and selecting functions could be simplified. The DS Smart Touch pad on the transmission tunnel for shortcut options that includes anything from your home destination, favourite radio station, a most called number or even heated seat controls. You can configure the home screen to display both sat-nav and air-con controls and if you want you can still use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
The configurable shortcuts on the touchpad are handy, but some physical buttons would still be great to have on the dash. Smart Touch, down where you’d find an iDrive controller or similar. This acts as a handwriting pad and map-zoom control. More significantly, you can use it to assign six shortcuts, each accessed by a swipe – up, down or the diagonals. You assign them to favourite destinations, radio stations or phone numbers, or particular displays and settings. We’d have one for the all-round cameras for quick activation approaching width restrictors and car park ramps.
Some of the nicer options to have are black leather upholstery (all interiors are pretty dark) alongside matrix LED headlights with high beam assist with the ‘Dynamic Bending’ cornering function. There’s also all-round parking sensors, a reversing camera, AEB, semi-autonomous adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist and rear cross traffic alert.
The centre console is laid out quite well, the touchpad is responsive, there’s a convenient place for your phone and they’ve hidden the cup holders which is nice from a design perspective but limits the size of the cups you can use. There’s a row of physical buttons for climate control, but unfortunately they don’t adjust the temperature or fan speed.Passenger space is average in the rear, you can fit two adults comfortably but any more would be a tight journey. The raised seating position does help create a little more space under the front seat backs and headroom is limited.
The DS 4 is clearly intended to stand out with its quirky design, it’s an alternative choice to most Autobahn cruisers and relaxed in its delivery of B road fun.