Is French better than German. Read on to find out.
Car and engine specs and price
So, the engine range is very simple. There are 2 engines. The first one is a 1.6 litre turbo petrol that makes 222 BHP and the next one is a 1.6 litre turbo petrol plug in hybrid model. This engine has 178 BHP and has an electric motor which has 108 BHP to make 286 BHP. This gives the car an electric only range of 34 miles. The range topping model is another 1.6 litre turbo petrol plug in hybrid motor but instead of 1 motor this one has 2 to make it 4 wheel drive. This gives it 355 BHP. All of these engines use an 8 speed automatic gearbox. The price of the DS9 starts at £40,165.
Exterior – Front
So for me the design at the front is not one of the best designs that DS has done but it is definitely not as bad as the DS 3 Crossback. the headlights look like they mean business which I like a lot but the way the grill is shaped, for me is not shaped enough as it needs to be more angular like the rest of the car. Also I don’t like the way the chrome on the grill goes into the headlights and down below on the side vents. The day time running lights again are not good but they are not bad. Lower down the central air vent is fine but the side vents look a bit small and I think what DS should have done is connect the LED day time running lights up as air vents.
Exterior – Side
Along the side it is very striking. We have a sharp crease from the headlights all the way to the taillights. We also have flush door handles and chrome window surrounds. We also have a lower crease which I like.
Exterior – Rear
So the design at the back is very striking again. You have a spoiler on the boot lid. You also have a chrome strip on the boot but unlike your normal cars with a chrome strip this splits up and surrounds the taillights and goes all the way to the end of the bumper. This makes the car look very striking at the back which I like. Lower down on the bumper we have fake exhaust surrounds but if you look through them we can see the actual exhausts.
Interior – Design
On the inside this is where it shines. Everywhere you look there is leather. Yes it may not be the best quality leather you can get but it shore makes the interior look very premium. So lets start with what's in front of the driver. The instrument cluster is easy to read but for me is not that customisable like what you get in the Audi A6 rival. The steering wheel is again nice but it is not as good as the Audi’s. In the centre console we have a big infotainment system which is 10 inches in size. It is easy to use but like other PSA infotainment systems the actual screen size is not 10 inches. You have 2 borders on each side of the infotainment system that only show climate control. So, if you are in the navigation system you cant use the whole 10 inches but what's in the middle and for me that is a big shame. You do have some physical button which is nice but climate control is on the infotainment system. Just above that you have some nice classy air vents, a central mounted clock and your start stop button. Below the screen you have your window switches and your gear shifter as well as some storage.
Practicality
So sitting in the back, there is loads of legroom for a 6 footer as you would expect but, if the front seat is in its lowest position then there is no room to put your feet under the seat so you have to sit with your legs close to your chest. Headroom is OK for a saloon type shape.
Boot Size
So the boot size with the seats up is 510 litres. The seats do fold but as one unit so there is no 60, 40 or 40, 20, 40.
Summary
So, in summary then the DS9 is the French alternative of the BMW 5 Series and Audi A6 that I think people wont buy. The DS name is not as popular as Audi or BMW so I think it will struggle to sell because of this. The overall car is also not as good as the German alternatives so I would even have to say go for the BMW or Audi.
Exterior 3.5/5
Interior 3.5/5
Practicality 3/5
Total 10/15
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