The French automakers have a unique tradition of building “Grandes Routières”, distinctive in style, comfort and performance. DS Automobiles takes this custom to new heights in this electronic times and age, putting also their vast experience gained over recent years in E-formula racing into their automobiles.

The result is the E-TENSE 4×4 360. A 4-cylinder 200 horsepower engine and two electric motors, one 110 horsepower (integrated with the gearbox at the front) and the other 113 horsepower (linked to the rear axle), are aided by intelligent four-wheel drive transmission. The 11.9 kWh battery features advanced management to save energy so as to handle different applications, says DS Automobiles.

The result is of course breathtaking performance, not in the least thanks to the ample torque developed by the two electric motors. 0-100 km/h takes only 5.6 seconds, top speed is electronically limited to 250km/h, with the capability of reaching 140 km/h on electric power alone. Total torque, engine and E-motors combined is an impressive 520 Nm.

But there is more than just sophisticated power. It means also that the DS9 is designed to combine the virtues of E-power with combustion power to achieve the environmentally responsible footprint of a modern, electrified high end performance limousine.

At the morning press briefing before we took the cars on the road on a well chosen 148 course around Nice, Christophe Château of Product Communication DS Automobiles explained us a unique feature of the DS9, which put us in the footsteps of the E-formula racing pilots: the “Energy Coach”, an exclusive app installed on the DS9.

Developed with DS Performance and double Formula E champion Jean-Éric Vergne, the DS ENERGY COACH app helps drivers to maximize energy regeneration during deceleration. Scores are shown on the central screen. The trick is to fine tune your pressure on the brake pedal, so that the brakes are not activated and all the kinetic energy is transformed again into E-energy. It takes clever anticipation to achieve this in all traffic situations. The Formula E-drivers have to do this too, to enable them to have sufficient battery power for these last extra fast laps in the final stages of the race…

Your servant decided to have a go at this, and indeed, while being totally unfamiliar with a very mixed course comprising sharp bends on the corniches in the beautiful Estérel, the autoroutes and the city streets in Cannes and Nice, I managed a score of 92 %, meaning that 92 % of the kinetic energy in all my decelerations was transformed into E-energy. By doing this, we still maintained a rather brisk pace, as we had to respect the “moyenne” or average speed because we had to be back at the starting point of the course at 12.00 h to have lunch and attend the second press conference in the afternoon. I had to hurry even slightly more as I had to allow also some time to take some photos you see here.

So the DS9 was driven with verve over the winding roads on the cornices, and here I discovered again how well the comfortable suspension behaves in these conditions. We already applauded in our previous test of the DS9 225 the merits of the DS ACTIVE SCAN SUSPENSION, which scans the road ahead of you to fine tune the suspension to an ideal setting to cope with the road surface irregularities immediately in front of you. You can see a 1 minute You Tube film by DS automobiles on this system with the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE-1MolcvAI

Indeed, remaining stable and predictable as on rails with virtually no body roll in corners, the DS9 remained utterly comfortable.

The DS 9 E-TENSE 4×4 360 uses special front and rear axles with a wider track. The braking system is uprated with four-piston calipers for better power distribution under heavy braking with 380 x 32 mm discs at the front (up by 50 x 2 mm compared with DS 9 E-TENSE 225) and 290 x 12 mm at the rear. 20 inch MUNICH alloys are used and the suspension is lowered.

We could not measure exactly due to time pressure our consumption on the trip, but suffice to say here that after 148 kilometers, only a quarter of the small 41 litre petrol tank was emptied…boiling down probably to a fuel consumption of some 7 litres/100 km, with also a good 15 % of the battery still remaining charged. 

In zero emissions mode, the DS 9 E-TENSE 4×4 360 covers 52 kilometres on the WLTP urban cycle or 47 kilometres on the WLTP combined cycle.

According to the WLTP Cycle, fuel consumption is restricted to 1.8 litre / 100km with homologated CO2 emissions of 41 g/km.

During our trip, we (re)discovered what an excellent GT this car really is, indeed a totally relaxing and an undisturbed joy to drive. The 1598 cm3 engine remains quiet, subdued and refined, aided by the smooth 8 speed automatic transmission. Last but not least we tell you here that the 360 is available in PERFORMANCE LINE + and RIVOLI + specifications.

The DS9 250…

With this car, we rediscovered the DS9 we tested earlier (see our report on https://autoprova.be/2022/01/29/we-drove-the-ds9-e-tense-225-french-elegance-and-panache/) with the total system power now raised to 250 HP. This DS has only front wheel drive, and somewhat lesser performance: 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) in 8.2 seconds, a maximum top speed of 149 mph (240 km/h). But it still remains a superb car, and in daily driving practice, apart from the delightful out-of-corner accelerations of the most powerful 360, driving impressions on the sunny dry road course at the Côte d’Azur were not radically different. Suffice to say that total torque, engine and electric motor combined, is here still some 360 Nm.

According to WLTP, fuel consumption is 1,5 l/100 km, the electric range on its 15.6 kWh (total capacity) battery is up to 61 kilometers on the WLTP combined cycle with an unchanged vehicle weight.

The DNA of DS…

At the lunch, your servant had a very interesting conversation with Alexandre Stricher, (communication Brand and Prototype DS Performance), who applauded me on my achieved results on the ENERGY COACH app. “I wish every owner of the DS9 would adopt your driving style”, he complimented. Our conversation then drifted to the unique styling language which defines DS Automobiles, being a crucial element of their DNA. I remarked that the angular styling touches in the interior and instrumentation layout are reminiscent of the “art deco” styling language and rakish shapes found amongst others in Voisin automobiles.

Alexandre Stricher, (communication Brand and Prototype DS Performance), speaking at the afternoon press conference…

My conversation partner agreed. “A refined, elegant styling language and the use of unique materials and (stitching) patterns is what we are aiming for. We want to differentiate ourselves from the competition as a young, up market brand, combining a sense for refinement in styling and used materials with superb electrified technology,” he told me.

 “But there is more, much more, he said with a smile in his eyes. “What to think of 800 hp? an acceleration of 0 to 100 km/h in less than 2 seconds? 

And during the press conference, he revealed the E-Tense Supercar, of which much more in a separate report…

Last but not least, seen here on the photo above, Dominique Fontignies, PR & Communications director – Stellantis Belux, briefed us about the situation for DS Automobiles on the Belgian market.

We show you here the slide with the sales figures, which speak for themselves…

Stay tuned!

Hans Knol ten Bensel