The New DS4 - French Style With German Engineering

By Phil Bradley

DS Automobiles was first established as a sub-brand of Citroen in 2009. The brand was introduced to lean on the design heritage of the Citroen DS, built between 1955 and 1975. It launched with the hugely successful Citroen DS3 model, which ended up becoming one of the best selling compact cars in Europe. DS later became it's own standalone brand in 2015, focusing on producing luxury vehicles, and now falls under the umbrella of the Stellantis Corporation.

Up to now, the stylish French brand have 3 models in their lineup, the small, DS3 Crossback, larger DS7 Crossback and the luxury saloon car, the DS9. Now, DS are adding a fourth model to the range, the mid-sized DS4, and perhaps the best looking of the lot. If Louis Vuitton produced cars, then the DS4 would be it. Designed with French styling, but built in Germany, the DS4 will give most of it's German competitors a run for their money.

The new model will be able from November with both petrol, diesel and even plug-in hybrid powertrains. DS have vowed to only produce electric or hybrid vehicles from 2025, so we can expect a fully-electric variant in the future too. The most powerful model is the hybrid, with 225HP, but all models receive an 8-speed automatic gearbox as standard. There will be three main variants of the DS4 on offer. The standard DS4, the Cross, which gives the car a more rugged feel, with roof bars, aluminium diffuser and side protection skirts. The final Performance Line model adds a black pack, 19" wheels, along with Alcantara and even some forged carbon fibre on the inside.

Visually, the front of the DS4 is striking, yet chic. The huge mesh front grille is made to look even bigger by the slim matrix headlights, to which each has a petruding day time running light that runs from the headlight to the bottom of the car, each with 49 individual LEDs that make for a very distinctive view of the car when it's in your rear view mirror. The Performance Line get's it's own bonnet badge, whilst the standard DS4 and Cross models get the DS logo.

The roof line from the side slopes at the rear to give a SUV coupe feel, but doesn't sacrifice headroom for it's passengers, more on that later. As mentioned before, the Cross trim line gets side protection skirts to make it feel higher off the ground, but both the Performance Line and Cross get unique 19" wheels. The door handles give an extra luxury feel, that are flush with the car's bodywork when locked, and extend out when they are being used, a nice feature and not something you'd expect on a French car. Clearly some of that new French styling that DS are using now.

Moving to the rear of the new DS4 and what are potentially the best feature of the exterior are those tail lights. The sculpted lights contain the same mesh shapes that are featured in the grille at the front of the car, and really give the car elegance and identity. You'd be forgiven for missing the two exhaust exits that are neatly integrated into the rear bumper. Remove the DS badge, and when looking at the exterior, you could be mistaken for thinking the DS4 is made by a German competitor. DS have really excelled themselves with the design of this car.

Move inside, and the luxury feel continues, except now it's met with a wealth of new technology too. DS have gone for a minimalist feel, but unlike other manufacturers, they haven't made the mistake of putting everything onto a single touch screen. Instead, DS have been clever in integrating everything to make it look like they don't exist. The electric window controls are integrated into the door onto a luxurious, wooden ash finish. The door handles are hidden away in the centre of the door, but not so much that you are unable to find them. The climate control controls are finished in the same finish as the dashboard, so they both blend into one. Depending on your trim line, you get a range of different seats, from sportier looking ones in the Performance Line, to bigger and comfier ones in the Cross. The Performance Line also gets a forged carbon insert in the steering wheel, which I thought was a rather nice touch.

The DS4 uses the new DS Iris system for infotainment. This system is like Tony Stark's Jarvis meeting Amazon Alexa. The system is made up of a central touch screen, which can be operated with your voice (like Alexa), by the steering wheel or through touching too. It's relatively easy to navigate and you can even configure your favourite screens so that driver's aren't spending time looking for functions when driving. The centre console has done away with a gear stick, and the drive selector is instead a stylish gear selector wheel. Above this, is the DS Smart Touch system. A little touch pad that follows your finger as another method of controlling the infotainment system. This was a lot easier to use than I first thought, and can even react to you drawing in the touch pad to change the radio station or navigate to a destination.

Another nice feature of the DS4 interior is the head up display. Yes, it shows the driver the speed as you would expect, but also is large enough to show a wealth of other information, like your navigation route and radio station, meaning the driver never has to move their eyes from in front of them.

The new DS4 takes the medium SUV Coupe right to it's German competitors, and arguably beats them. Not only in the new technology, but there's so much that comes as standard on the DS4 that is a paid optional extra on other vehicles. Features like parking sensors and a rear view camera are luxuries that both come as standard. Adding this to it's technology packed interior, and stylish exterior, plus the fact that DS are producing these in Germany. DS told me that 75% of their car buyers are new to the brand, and it's little wonder when the models are as good as the new DS4. I love the personality of the brand. It's no longer just about car sales, it's about looking after customers and appealing to their interests too. DS' 'Only You' programme offers owners tickets to fashion events and Formula E grandstand tickets. All within the ethos of the DS Brand, and let's not forget, DS Automobiles have two Formula E Championships under their belt too.

They say this experience is transferred over to the handling of the car. I didn't get the chance to drive the new model, but if it drives anything like it looks, then we can expect to see many of these on the road when customers begin to transition over to this brand when the DS4 lands in November. A great job by DS Automobiles, and I can't wait to see what they have in store for the future.