By Gareth Butterfield
You probably don’t need me to tell you any more that DS is the upmarket sister brand to Citroen. It’s like Lexus is to Toyota, or Infiniti is (was) to Nissan. And even if you did need me to tell you, I just did.
The theory is the cars have a very premium feel, with high-quality materials, fresh and lavish design features, and a more desirable identity. Far from being a posh pastiche of Citroen’s French values, they’re a riotous celebration of them.
Enter the new DS 4, which sits in a middle ground in the range, and is arguably the most attractive of the fleet.
In the right colour, it’s actually rather gorgeous, with swanky chrome details, narrow lights, and enough slashes and swoops to keep you drinking in the details for a few minutes.
I’ve been testing the “Pallas” version, which is one of two trim levels, and sits below the “Etoile” – although you wouldn’t know it was effectively a base-spec to look around the interior.
For around £35,000, in the case of the hybrid model I’ve been testing, you get a very generous amount of toys, in a beautifully sculpted cabin, you get a 10″ touchscreen, adaptive cruise control, reversing camera, mood lighting, and keyless entry and start.
There’s a hybrid version, and a plug-in hybrid – the latter costing a little more, obviously, but the hybrid model I tested made good use of its little 1.2-litre petrol engine, and made a 50mpg run rather effortless.
The ride is every bit as good as you’d expect from a car carrying the iconic DS brand, and there’s a trick active suspension system available on top models that scans the road ahead to adjust damping – but it’s honestly quite lovely without it.
Inside there’s plenty of space, a 430-litre boot, and a refreshing array of physical buttons, which blend neatly into the dashboard’s otherwise minimalist design.
Above the standard Stellantis gear selector is a “Smart Touch” screen, which allows you to set up gestures for short cuts and pinch-zoom the map. I didn’t really use it, to be honest. Lexus tried a similar thing once and didn’t make it work, and I didn’t find this a lot better.
On the whole, though, the DS 4 Pallas fulfils its brief rather well.
It might be the base model on paper, but it didn’t feel like one by any means. My test car cost £36,740 with a few choice options, and that makes it a credible rival to some of the German class leaders.
Style, ride quality, and standard spec are its real strengths, but above all it’s just a nice car to sit in. And soaking up the miles in such a lovely cabin leaves you with a smile on your face.
Infiniti might not have made the premium brand thing work in the UK, but DS definitely does. We certainly haven’t seen the last of it yet.
