DS Automobiles unveils new No. 7 SUV

DS Automobiles have unveiled the new DS No. 7 SUV planned to arrive in Ireland for Q1 2027 with price and specs to be revealed closer to launch, writes Trish Whelan. It marks the first time since its creation in June 2014, that DS Automobiles is renewing one of its models. 

The new car will replace the brand’s best-seller, DS 7. The DS No 7. will compete in the premium market in the compact SUV segment. Both electric and hybrid versions will be offered. The fully electric E-TENSE FWD Long Range model delivers up to 740km of WLTP combined-cycle range while the Hybrid 145 versions records emissions starting from just 121g of C02 per km. 

No 7 E-TENSE has three 100 per cent electric powertrains, 230hp for the FWD version, 245hp for the FWD Long Range version, and 350hp for the AWD Long Range version. All have a boost function providing a brief increase in power. 

 No 7 E-TENSE can charge from 20-80 per cent in 27 minutes (31 minutes for the 73.7 kWh battery.

Hybrid powertrains for DS models

New hybrid powertrains are being added to the DS 3 and DS 4 models options in the DS Automobiles division of the Stellantis Group, writes Brian Byrne. The units are claimed to be up to 20pc more fuel efficient than the standard petrol engine offerings.

The self-charging hybrid technology incorporates a 1.2 136hp petrol engine with a 6-speed automatic that has the electric motor integrated. The battery is under the floor, so boot capacity isn't affected.

The hybrids offer improved acceleration in both models, and in use in urban driving can operate in EV mode for more than 50pc of the time.

Irish market availability and pricing will follow. 

Review: DS 4 - Brian Byrne, Irish Car

I finished a recent review of the current DS 7 by saying ‘not there yet’ in terms of being the premium luxury car that DS Automobiles aspires to, writes Brian Byrne. The upcoming DS 9 flagship saloon may well be the one that brings the French brand over the line. In the meantime, though, they're pushing to or maybe even through that boundary with their latest compact car, the new DS 4.

With 14 passenger car brands under its umbrella, from Alfa Romeo to Opel-Vauxhall and including Chrysler and Maserati, the Stellantis Group is now one of the world’s major automotive players. Combining resources is going to be a key part of its viability and with that comes also a need to be skilful at differentiating between models sharing common platforms and powertrains.

The new DS 4 is an example. In core platform, it is equivalent to the Opel Astra, Peugeot 308 and Citroen C4. Four models with the same DNA which have to appeal to different customers in the very competitive compact hatch segment. Given that all will have available the same engines and other technology, it is style preference that’s going to bring to each its targeted customer. Plus the customer experience, a relatively new touchstone for the car trade over a decade or so.

The Opel Astra has a sharp-edged styling with a tilt towards historic Opel models detailing, and there’s a distinct market group out there for this. The Peugeot 308 sheetmetal is softer, geared to the steady middle family buyer of which there is a particularly strong cohort in the French homeland. Citroen’s C4 appeals to those who have always valued that brand’s quirkiness and tradition of comfort. And the DS 4 is aimed at those in the segment who want to feel they are rather more special, who aspire towards something more than the ordinary in everything they acquire. Especially more ordinary that is visible or tangible.

So the DS 4, which I drove over a couple of days very recently, is offering a relative design luxury compared to its related cousins. It is distinction like an expensive watch on the wrist, or a high-end sweater with a subtle but carefully-placed brand tag, or the undeniably luxury scent of a Chanel Grand Extrait.

The visibility of the DS 4 is certainly way beyond its in-house brand cousins. A front face of glittering presence with cut diamond-sharp edges, the very powerful DS logo framed in a constellation of reflections as the grille elements catch the light. The distinctiveness is continued along the profile with especially the roofline bringing the overall style to a very pleasing and uncluttered rear treatment that has the look of a good designer's concept sketch made real.

Inside, within the overall dimensions available as a compact hatchback, there is an upscaled sense of premium. A quality leather look amongst the textures. Etched switchgear to offer more diamond effect. But, unlike the DS 3 smaller sibling, the treatment of controls and instrumentation is coherent and unambiguous.

This is a first drive report, so I'll reserve more detail and commentary until after I've had a full review period with the DS 4. There are five grades, and the car comes with petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid powertrains. There will be a full-electric version next year in a similar policy to that effected in the companion models from the other Stellantis brands.

I drove the 180hp petrol and the 225hp plug-in petrol hybrid, which latter had the added technology of a camera operated suspension system which looks at the oncoming road and adjusts shock absorber settings to provide an extra level of comfort. It does seem to work.

My overall experience over the couple of days was good. The DS 4 in both guises felt a special place to be. Even a premium place. But I'll wait a while to see if the 'are we there yet?' question on luxury gets an affirmative.

PRICE: From €37,295-€54,640. WHAT I LIKED: The feeling that DS is at least almost there. 

New DS 4 on sale in Ireland

The new DS 4 from DS Automobiles has gone on sale in Ireland at a starting price of €36,300, writes Brian Byrne.

Available in five grades, and with petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid powertrains, the C-segment premium car is targeting a buyer who 'wants something different', according to the MD of DS Automobiles Ireland Des Cannon.

A very distinctive and upscale styling outside is matched with an interior that focuses on being beyond ordinary and using rich materials to match.

DS Automobiles is a stand-alone brand targeted at the premium level within the Stellantis Group. They are imported to Ireland by Gowan Distributors, and sold through the newly-opened DS Store in Dublin, located at Gowan Motors on the Navan Road. 

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Review: DS7 - Brian Byrne, Irish Car

DS was initiated to become a premium brand from the PSA Peugeot-Citroen group, which subsequently expanded as Stellantis to include Opel, Fiat, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Maserati, Dodge, and Vauxhall, writes Brian Byrne. I can't help thinking that DS has become fairly lost in all that.

But even if lofty aims of developing a new premium brand haven't succeeded — yet — the DS7 Crossback is a good car in the overall Stellantis space. It should be — it is underpinned by the platform and powertrains already well considered in its equivalents from Peugeot, Citroen, and Opel.

The differences are in detail, the style elements aimed at setting the DS7 apart from its close cousins. Bespoke DS brand trimmings on the outside, notably a distinctive grille and logo with significant use of chrome on front, side and rear. Inside a plush design in the seating and lots of silvered switchgear on the centre console as well as a special dash-top timepiece from French luxury watchmaker BME Chronographes that rotates open when the engine is switched on. The overall sense does reach to a higher level, though DS hasn't yet achieved the same kind of differentiation as, say, Audi from Volkwagen or Lexus from Toyota.

I've reviewed the DS7 before — it has been around since 2017. Not a lot has changed about it yet, but the reason I drove it again recently was because it now has a plug-in hybrid option. As it happened, my driving pattern of that week meant I was able to test this feature close to how PHEVs should be used. 

There's a lot to like about being behind the wheel of the DS7. That level of plush it does have is pleasant. There's a sweep to the dashboard that enhances the sense of space. That analogue BRM timepiece offers a bit of old-school redolent of a gentleman's club. And there's something really smart about the DS logo, which I have liked since they first came up with it.

The information screens have good graphics — I particularly like the small detail of how the digital speedometer shifts from white to blue as the hybrid powertrain flicks in and out of electric driving. The centre console switches take a bit of getting used to, and I'd really like some knobs for climate control, but that's just not the way with this group, most of the time.

The car is sublimely comfortable to drive. It defaults to electric power until the PHEV battery has got down to about 12pc, then it becomes a standard self-charging hybrid. For my time with the car, charging it overnight from my 13A socket outside the front door, I actually drove almost all of the time on the battery, because my journeys were all local. The 50km EV range claimed proved to be absolutely accurate. Indeed, I left the car back with most of the petrol that had been in it when I picked it up. If an owner's week of driving is similar to what mine was, it's where a PHEV will shine ... and if there's a long journey to be done at the weekend, well, it'll still be very thrifty overall.

The primary engine in the DS7 PHEV is the 1.6 petrol originally a joint development by Peugeot-Citroen and BMW, and with the electric motor here there's a total of 225hp available, completely appropriate to the car. The transmission is the 8-speed Aisin automatic, which is a smooth unit and contributes to an overall thrifty fuel consumption.

The driver assist packages are comprehensive. As they should be in a car that tilts towards a premium cachet.

But I found myself feeling much more positive about the DS7 if I ignored any thought about it comparing to the established luxury brands. Somewhere from behind the back seat there's a ghostly French-accented premium designer asking 'Are we there yet?'. Eh, non. Pas encore ...

PRICE: DS7 from €31,045; review car €60,645. WHAT I LIKED: The essential DS7 beyond the notions.