DS 9 (2021 - 2025) used car model guide

The letters 'DS' came originally from the French word 'deesse' - 'goddess' - a fitting description for the iconic 1955 Citroen model this marque derives itself from. The DS 9 won't be fondly remembered in quite the same way because there's nothing in its design that will stop you in the street or be considered particularly ground-breaking. But it's different, be-jewelled with delicious detailing and undeniably elegant.
Particularly in profile, where taut lines run from the headlights to the tail lamps above the flush-fitting door handles, emphasising the fact that this swept-back saloon is longer than it first appears, 4.93m in length. There's a two-tone black roof - and of course big wheels, either 19 or 20-inches in size.
The real theatre though is at the front, where the parametric grille with its outer chromed 'DS Wings' adopts a three-dimensional diamond effect and is flanked by LED headlamps with 'guillocharge' light housings seemingly fashioned from scaly lizard skin. The pièce de resistance is the 'Clous de Paris' sabre, a chromed central bonnet embellisher that you'll either find elegant or pretentious, depending on your style perspective.
There's just as much going on at the rear. The chiselled lights resume the three-dimensional scaly theme and are underlined by lateral chrome sabres supposed to reference great French coachbuilders of the 1930s.
Behind the wheel, this DS delivers its boldest flourishes. If you like Teutonic simplicity and clarity of form, you won't like it at all. What's served up here is a glorious antidote to all that, a celebration, the designers hope, of everything that's cutting-edge in French fashion. It's hard to know what to look at first. Curiously bevelled 'Guillochage'-patterned buttons parade down either side of the phallically-fashioned gearstick; the centre vents that surround the unconventionally-square starter button have pearled accents; double-stitched Alcantara panels flow from either door across a fascia book-ended at either corner by strangely shaped vertical vents; and an haute couture analogue clock from French chronologist BRM pirouettes out of the top of the dash at start-up.
The 12.3-inch Digital Instrument Cluster screen you view through the thick-rimmed wheel is different too, configurable in a number of ways to show the information most useful to you, including a large navigation map. Everything else you'll need to know resides on the 12-inch HD centre touch-sensitive display, which unfortunately has been burdened with all the climate control functions, but compensates with a row of useful lower short-cut buttons and is your access point to the excellent 14-speaker FOCAL Electric Hi-Fi system upgrade. In some areas, the ergonomics have been sacrificed on the altar of fashion, but you get exquisitely stitched seats plumply upholstered in Alcantara or two kinds of full leather. And there's plenty of cabin storage on offer.
In the rear, it really doesn't feel any more spacious than a Passat-sized medium model like that Peugeot 508. This impression isn't helped by the swept-back roof line, which means headroom isn't especially generous, particularly if you've opted for a version with the optional sunroof. Nor does it help that there's not much space to slide your feet beneath the seat in front. At least the transmission tunnel's relatively low, so a third centrally-positioned adult could be squeezed in at a pinch - but it would be a pinch because the cabin feels rather narrow. Still, enjoy the luxury: even on the base model, you're surrounded by stitched Alcantara, which extends not only into the doors but also across the rear parcel shelf; if you've gone for a car fitted with the FOCAL Electra Hi-Fi upgrade, that'll be liberally adorned with various speakers. Overall, as at the front, it all feels very nice indeed.
Let's finish by considering the boot. Here at last, the dimensions of this car actually deliver in terms of space. In fact, it's got bar far the largest boot capacity of any plug-in model in the full-Executive segment from this era - 510-litres (which, if you're interested, is 23-litres more than the 508 model this car's based upon). DS includes a rear ski hatch; and the rear bench split-folds 60:40 for those days when you simply can't resist the allure of flat-pack furniture.

You'll need to buy carefully but the use of common Peugeot and Citroen parts means that reliability shouldn't be any worse than models from those brands. Excessive tyre wear has been reported by some owners. And there have been various instances of electric glitches, especially with the infotainment system (central screen freezing and failure), so check that all the functions work as they should.
With the petrol E-TENSE PHEV drivetrain, there have been charging and electrical issues, sometimes requiring 12V battery replacement or causing 'Energy Fault' messages. We've heard of rear suspension noise, cabin rattles and squeaks and random triggering of the alarm. Otherwise, it's just the usual things. Check the alloys for scratches, the interior for child damage and require a fully-stamped service history.

(approx based on a 2022 DS 9 E-Tense - Ex Vat) An oil filter is in the £5-£12 bracket. An air filter is in the £8-£15 bracket. A water pump is in the £28-£69 bracket. A radiator is in the £58-£166 bracket. A front brake pad set sits in the £25-£58 bracket; rears will sit in the £16-£68 bracket. A pair of front brake discs sit in the £30-£65 bracket. An alternator is in the £343-£575 bracket.

A slice of French savoir-faire was being promised here. A car you could imagine speeding to a moonlight assignation along a tree-lined Route Nationale. Sure enough, this is a full-sized Executive saloon with a very Different Spirit. But not very different engineering. Here, in reality, is the Plug-in hybrid version of Peugeot's 508 dressed for a cruise along the Champs-Élysees. Or maybe for a night at the Paris Opera Garnier. All the engineering that matters here - primarily a 1.6-litre PHEV petrol powertrain with up to 250hp - was carried over from that car, even though a considerably lengthier body sits upon its already-stretched EMP2 platform.
But that shouldn't necessarily matter if the end chocolatier confection is properly premium and delicately dressed with a frisson of the kind of luxurious comfort at the wheel that distinguished Gallic limos of the Fifties and Sixties. It's not of course in a DS 9: there's not enough that's different under the skin from humbler Stellantis Group models for that. But there are things you might really like. Refinement, aided by the acoustic glass, is class-leading - really silent, which is a good start. Ride quality is also brilliantly judged, supple without being wafty. And that's in a car lacking the clever 'DS Active Scan' suspension, which uses a forward-facing camera to prepare the dampers for forthcoming bumps.
Initially a non-PHEV PureTech 225 engine was sold in this car, alongside the E-TENSE PHEV powertrain in front-driven and 4x4 forms. For the 2023 model year, the PureTech 225 model was discontinued and the E-TENSE variant given a slight powertrain upgrade with a slightly larger battery.
DS promised an all-electric driving range for the front-driven E-TENSE of up to 38 miles from the '250' model's 15.6kWh battery - a figure also replicated by the top 'E-TENSE' model, the '4x4 360' version, which adds an extra electric motor on the rear axle. The '250' model's efficiency figures stack up too, a combined cycle fuel figure of 256.8mpg and a CO2 best of 26g/km.
When the car's connected to a typical garage wallbox, its 7.4kW on board charger allows a 0-100% charge to be completed in two hours and 23 minutes (better than the four and a half hour period that would be required from a domestic plug). A public rapid charger improves that time to around an hour and 45 minutes.

Those prepared to invest in a DS 9 will, like the car itself, be fairly unconventional. In that respect at least, it's accurately reflective of its Citroen DS Fifties predecessor. Unlike that car, this one wasn't really ground-breaking. But if it had succeeded in making headway in its German brand-dominated segment, it certainly would have been.
That was never going to happen, but there are still reasons why the right kind of customer might really like what's on offer here. Refinement is class leading, equipment levels are generous and there's a special feel to the overall design, inside and out, that you might not get in a car twice as expensive as this one.
Yes, it's easy to be cynical about a contender that claims to be unique but borrows so much from volume brand engineering. But then, you could say that to some extent of just about any Executive contender these days. The DS 9 does at least clothe its familiar mechanicals with an assured slice of Gallic flair. It doesn't match its key German rivals in terms of drive dynamics; and it also trails them in terms of build quality and running cost efficiency. In compensation though, it offers a far greater sense of uniqueness and luxury.
For many, that won't be enough. But for the discerning few prepared to invest in what DS calls 'a Different Spirit', a different form of badge equity, this DS 9 will offer a refreshing change from the Executive norm.