Recently marketed in France, the DS9 E-Tense is not a complete novelty. It shares the Peugeot 508 PSE platform and is best known for being made in China (with the few diplomatic and commercial hazards that this can cause).
Mainly intended for the Asian market, it will also be sold in France. In France, it aims above all to be a credible alternative to the German staples. Its price, but also its level of equipment attest to this, but is it only realistic to tickle the elite?
A grand tourer to make China dream
The high-end French sedan is not discreet for a penny. Long and imposing, it borrows the stylistic codes of luxury from limousines, which it underlines with this metal strip running through its bonnet.
For the rest, it fully assumes its positioning as a grand tourer with a sober and tapered style. However, its aesthetics may not be consensus, and for good reason, it was designed for the Chinese market above all.
In the passenger compartment: ergonomics to be rethought
It is inside that DS wants to make the difference, because if it is not made in France, the DS9 claims more than anything a French finish. It’s undeniable, everything has been implemented so that the interior exudes comfort and luxury, from the quality of the materials used to the comfort perceived when you put your first buttocks there.
If the main part of the standing is assured, it is quite different for certain ergonomic choices. Indeed, the dashboard of the DS9 and the many buttons it sports are not only of rare complexity, but often badly placed. The car’s start button, for example, requires the driver to reach out.
In reality, it is the entire layout of the center console that is problematic. The power window controls are nicely integrated into this block, but they are impractical. As for that of the driving modes, you have to get it almost on the passenger’s knees.
These slight flaws, which we get used to over time, hide quite badly the fact that the DS9 E-Tense suffers from another flaw: that of using screens that are relatively dated and not very suitable for current high-end standards.
In addition to the size of the central screen whose thick black borders raise eyebrows, it is the definition of the image that leaves something to be desired. On this point, the German competition is far ahead. On our side, we are still struggling to understand why DS did not use the electronics of its DS4, more recent and ultimately more suitable.
The answer probably comes from the fact that the DS9 prioritizes comfort and luxury over everything else. It is probably for this reason also that the technology, which is not very present in the cabin, is mainly used in driving and the sensations it provides.
Differentiating driving technologies
The DS9 not only carries the heavy burden of a mythical name, it also has that of being the most expensive French production vehicle on the market. To justify such runaway prices, it was also necessary to seek out the Germans on driving technologies. And on this point, there is not much to complain about. Three features in particular caught our attention:
- DS Driver attention monitoring
- DS night vision
- DS active scan
The first is a technology for identifying the driver’s alertness level and works thanks to an infrared camera placed above the steering wheel. It monitors gaze orientation, head movements and even blinking to warn the driver of a potentially dangerous level of fatigue.
Night vision is another of the features usually reserved for high-end German sedans that the DS incorporates. This is an infrared camera placed on the front grille, which can detect pedestrians and animals in the middle of the night.
Finally, the DS active scan is based on a camera placed on the front bumper which analyzes the deformations of the road in real time and controls the suspensions accordingly. This feature is very successful and despite our 20-inch rims, the DS9 appeared to us to be very pleasant in terms of filtering road roughness.
DS Energy Coach: another good idea
Finally, the DS9 in its most expensive version, the 360, has another rather interesting feature, the ” energy coach “. Developed with the help of Jean-Eric Vergne, Formula E driver for DS, this is a specific mode which analyzes the braking and recuperation phases, and which helps the driver to optimize them and thus prolong the autonomy of the electric battery.
How it works ? Concretely, the application gives a score from 0 to 100 for each significant braking by the driver. By significant, DS means a brake application lasting more than a second and not a simple progressive deceleration. Thus, small accessory braking does not disturb the overall score.
Finally, this score is accompanied by a fairly classic color code (red, orange, green) which underlines the quality of braking. It is a matter of finding the right proportion on each brake stroke.
The color green obviously corresponds to optimal braking, orange and red being reserved for ill-adjusted brake strokes, which would put the pads to the test more than the engine brake and which would be a source of energy dissipation.
Apart from being particularly fun, the application really gives the keys to well-dosed braking and therefore battery optimization. In this sense, it is a very good idea that would have benefited from being deployed on all versions of the DS9.
Sporty technical sheet, GT behavior
The engine of the DS9 E-Tense 360 is made up of a main thermal engine, that of the 508 PSE which is associated with two small electric motors on the front and rear axles (110 hp and 113 hp).
Both of these are powered by an 11.9 kWh lithium-ion battery. On this point, note that DS has chosen not to equip its top of the range with the 15.6 kWh battery found on the 250 version, a decision that is difficult to understand.
Under these conditions, the announced 50 km of autonomy can only be approached by having a particularly light foot and playing the game of energy recovery to the fullest. In reality, it is better to bet on a range of 40 km.
Finally, if the 360 cumulative hp and the 520 Nm of torque announced allow the 0 to 100 km / h to be reduced in 5.6 seconds (a quite honorable score), it is not the sportiness that is the point. strong of this DS, but the comfort of driving and the capacity of the car to swallow the kilometers without tiring its occupants. As such, the DS behaves more like a GT.
Also see video:
Also see video:
Trial Verdict
The DS9 E-Tense is a car full of paradoxes. Of the entire catalog of the premium brand, it is undoubtedly the one that best embodies the mythical DS brand, a symbol of luxury and French know-how. Although it is a classic plug-in hybrid, its behavior on the road is exemplary and perfectly combines driving pleasure and comfort.
The paradox, the real one, is when you compare the driving performance, the pleasure it provides, to its technological equipment. Indeed, whether on the screens or the OS, the DS9 displays a certain delay.
Generally speaking, this ambitious sedan lacks a somewhat differentiating feature. This “little extra thing” that could make it relevant when compared to a BMW 5 Series or a Mercedes E-Class. The braking assistance application is certainly original, but it cannot claim to have this role of “ killer app “.
Finally, the main advantage of this DS9 is above all to be aware of its limits against the German leaders. In fact, it consciously chooses not to play in the field of performance or embedded technologies.