DS No 8 review

There are many reasons why you’d go shopping in Paris, and going to seek out the luxury flagship stores is by far one of the biggest attractions. You might hear brand names such as Cartier or Louis Vuitton thrown around, and DS would like to think that paying them a visit to splash out on their luxury car could be part of the experience as well.

That particular car is the DS No 8 and it’s far from being classed as old-fashioned luxury. Unlike its DS 9 predecessor, which was available as a plug-in hybrid, the No 8 is an electric car that comes with an attention-grabbing official range of up to 466 miles.

That means it has one of the longest ranges available, and in theory it’s enough to get you from the Champs-Élysées in Paris to the centre of Birmingham with a bit of charge left over.

That could be handy, especially if you want to spend time covering long journeys comfortably soaking up the lavishly appointed interior. But is that actually the case? That’s what we’ll find out in this review as we cover the No 8’s comfort, performance, refinement and equipment to see how it stacks up against rivals.

Before we do that, we need to ask what those rivals are – and the answer might not be the most obvious. DS views the No 8 as a coupé SUV and it's priced between the Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback and Audi Q6 e-tron Sportback but we class it as an electric executive car that takes on the BMW i4 and Volkswagen ID 7.

There are three versions of the DS No 8 to choose from. We’ve yet to try the entry-level FWD 230, with its 227bhp electric motor driving the front wheels to give an official 0-62mph time of 7.7 seconds.

However, we have driven the slightly more powerful Long Range 245 that develops 241bhp, but because it’s lugging around a larger (and heavier) battery, the 0-62mph time remains the same.

How much performance you get depends on the selected drive mode. Eco has the least amount of power and is best suited to cruising rather than for overtaking (when it's a bit lethargic), but in Normal and Sport, there’s plenty of punch for most buyers, even if it doesn’t feel particularly urgent.

The fastest version is the AWD Long Range, producing 345bhp and cutting the 0-62mph time to 5.4 seconds, which is about the same as a BMW i4 eDrive40 and VW ID 7 GTX.

That extra performance comes courtesy of a second motor that drives the rear wheels, meaning this No 8 (like the ID 7 GTX) has four-wheel drive. It certainly feels the most boisterous under acceleration yet it builds up speed smoothly, without shoving you too hard instantly into your seat.

When it comes to how far you can travel on a full charge, the FWD 230 has an official range of up to 326 miles from its 73.7kWh (usable capacity) battery. That’s slightly better than a BMW i4 eDrive 35 (up to 319 miles), but less than a VW ID 7 Pro (379 miles). The Long Range 245 can travel up to 442 miles (beating the 433 miles of an ID 7 Pro S) from its larger 97.2kWh battery, but if you pay for the smaller 19in wheel option, this increases it even further to 466 miles. The AWD Long Range is slightly less, at 411 miles.

The No 8 has been made to be a relaxing, effortless cruiser and its light steering makes driving around town a doddle. However, start building up speed and it’s best to switch into Sport mode. While it still doesn’t offer much of a sense of connection to the front wheels, the additional weight and the natural response of the steering is enough to boost the driver's confidence when turning into bends.

That said, while you can build up a rhythm down a country road at a moderate pace, the No8 doesn’t feel as balanced or as grippy as an i4 or ID 7. Even if you go for a version with adaptive suspension (top-spec Etoile trim with the long-range battery) and stiffen it up in Sport mode, there’s still a bit more body lean than its rivals, despite being relatively well controlled.

Instead, the biggest draw of going for a model with adaptive suspension is its more polished ride. It’s a system that uses a camera to scan the road surface ahead to soften the suspension accordingly to soak up any lumps and bumps. This isolates occupants from the road surface well and provides a calmer ride, especially at high speed.

The ride on the standard suspension is relatively soft and mostly settled, but you can feel it rounding off larger bumps through your seat more. Even so, it’s well controlled and never harsh. Going for the optional smaller 19in wheels could also bring a slight positive effect on the ride (as well as the battery range).

At a cruise there’s minimal road and wind noise (with the latter helped by laminated front and rear side windows) making the No 8 a quiet companion.

Lift off the accelerator pedal and the No 8 will slow down using its regenerative braking system. The braking effect harvests back some energy into the battery and there are three levels of strength to choose from, adjusted by using paddles behind the steering wheel.

There’s an even stronger setting (allowing for one-pedal driving) that can bring the car to a complete standstill without the need to apply the brake pedal. It’s activated by pressing a button on the centre console by the gear selector – something that you don’t get in an ID 7.

Here, the braking effect is quite sudden and can be quite jerky if you lift off the accelerator pedal quickly, especially at low speeds, so it can take some time to get used to modulating your inputs.

Otherwise, the No8’s brake-pedal response is an improvement over many of its Stellantis stablemates (including the closely related Peugeot e-3008) and does a better job of blending the regenerative braking system with the friction brakes. As a result, it’s easy enough to come to a smooth stop in everyday driving, but it can still occasionally result in a grabby response when you’re driving spiritedly.

"Versions with adaptive suspension get an additional drive mode, named Comfort. It’s the most supple setting and I’m glad it doesn’t result in too much wallowing that might make some occupants a bit queasy." – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

It’s easy to get comfortable behind the wheel of the DS No 8 thanks to plenty of adjustment for the seat and steering wheel. While some drivers might wish for the steering column to drop down further, it shouldn’t cause too much grief.

Even entry-level FWD 230 Pallas trim comes with part-electric seat adjustment while the others are fully electric. The only small downside is that while most of the buttons are easily found down the side of the seat, some of the adjustments (such as the seat bolstering) require using the touchscreen, which can be fiddly.

The steering wheel, with its unusual X-shaped spokes arrangement, could take some time to get used to because you might feel obliged to place your hands higher up than normal. However, there are grooves for your hands for driving in a "9 and 3 position" .

You sit higher up from the floor than you do in a BMW i4 and VW ID7, and while that gives you a good view over the dashboard and bonnet, some drivers might find the chunky sloping front pillars can obscure your view out more often than in those rivals – especially the driver’s side one because it’s positioned in close proximity.

The chunky rear pillars also compromise your view over the shoulder, although the rear window isn’t too narrow. Thankfully, you get front, rear and side parking sensors as standard to help out, as well as a rear-view camera.

Top-spec Etoile adds a front camera and a top-down 360-degree view, while the digital rear-view mirror shows a feed from a camera mounted on the roof for when the rear windscreen is obscured by a passenger or luggage.

The 10.25in digital driver’s display is sharp and offers a range of lay-outs, including one for the sat-nav map. It’s taller and more useful than the one in the ID 7, although the i4’s display has the edge with even more lay-outs and configurability. A large head-up display is also standard and displays a large font that’s easy to read.

There aren’t many physical controls on the dashboard, but you do get a row of shortcut keys below the centre air vents for some of the ventilation controls and to take you to the vehicle settings (a long press can also switch off some of your preferred driver-assistance aids).

There’s also a Home button on the centre console and a couple to adjust the volume for the radio, but they feel a bit scattered and can be easy to overlook. 

That does mean you have to adjust the climate-control settings on the 16in infotainment touchscreen, which can be quite fiddly. That said, you have to do the same in the i4 and ID 7.

More positively, the touchscreen looks sharp, has smooth graphics and responds quickly to inputs. The big main menu icons are easy to aim for, although having a rotary dial to scroll through it like you do in the i4 would be easier.

The screen itself is very wide and has been designed to be used by the passenger as well, so they can adjust certain basic functions, such as the audio or activate their seat massage (when fitted). We found the screen can be used by two people at once without affecting response times too much.

The No 8’s interior has plenty of visual appeal, with brightly coloured upholstery lining the seats and upper sections of the doors and dashboard. The soft materials and glossy trim finishers look and feel upmarket, while the fit and finish mostly feels good.  The only thing is, it contrasts quite heavily with the cheaper, scratchy plastics mid-way down on the doors and centre console, so it’s quite evident the material choice isn’t consistent.

The buttons on the steering wheel are nicely damped, although the panel with the shortcut keys on the dash and some the cubby doors do have a bit more flex than those in the i4 and ID 7.

"I much prefer the No 8’s interior design to previous DS cars, which adopted a diamond-shaped theme that looked fussy and confusing - this looks a lot smarter and cohesive while being easier to use." – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

The DS No 8 isn’t quite as long as a VW ID 7 but it’s not far off so there’s still plenty of head, leg and elbow room up front for a pair of six-footers.

Thanks to a two-tier centre console there’s plenty of storage space, with a deep, rectangular cubby under the centre armrest, a tray for your phone (with wireless charging built in) and three cup holders – although the two on the lower tier are harder to reach. There’s another storage tray down there, while the long door bins are easy to access.

It doesn’t feel quite as limo-like as an ID 7 in the rear seats but there’s still a generous amount of leg room, even if you’re 6ft tall. A lack of foot space underneath the front seats means you can’t quite fully stretch out though. Our test cars all had the optional panoramic glass roof, which eats into head room. As a result, outer occupants will brush their heads on the roof lining if they’re an inch or two short of 6ft. 

However, a middle-seat passenger will fare slightly better because there’s a bit more clearance between their head and the panoramic roof. The central hump on the floor is very low so it doesn’t rob them of much foot space.

The rear seats don’t do anything clever. The bench doesn’t slide and the backrest doesn’t recline, but then you won’t find these in other electric executive cars. You’ll need to look at a Kia EV6 for a reclining backrest.

As with the i4, all versions come with a 40/20/40 split-folding rear backrest, which makes the No 8 more versatile than the ID 7. The only slight downside is that there aren’t any levers built into the boot so you can fold them down remotely.

The hatchback boot opening provides easy access, while the boot itself has a long, rectangular load area. The floor isn’t height adjustable, but the storage area underneath is large enough for the charging cables (if not very deep). 

Front-wheel-drive models come with a 620-litre boot capacity (below the parcel shelf), making it significantly larger than an i4’s (470 litres) and an ID 7’s (532 litres). Due to the rear electric motor, the AWD model has a smaller boot, but it’s still a generous 560 litres.

"I found I had to duck my head to get in or out of the back seats, because the roof curves down quite low to the side.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

The DS No 8 has a similar entry-level list price to the BMW i4 and VW ID 7, while the Long Range version is about the same as an ID 7 Pro S. It’s too early to know what level of cash discounts are available, but the No 8 is predicted to lose its value more slowly than those rivals over three years, which could help make monthly PCP costs more attractive.

As with the No 8’s rivals, being an electric car means company car drivers will be attracted by a very low BIK tax rate. It'll be much cheaper to run than any petrol or diesel executive car. And because the No 8 has a similar P11D price to an ID 7, it should cost almost the same per month in salary sacrifice.

With a maximum charging rate of up to 160kW, both batteries take a little less than 30 minutes to charge from 20-80%. That’s not quite as impressive as most rivals that can charge from 10-80% in a similar time, including the i4 and ID 7. A 20-80% charge from a 7kW home EV charger will take around nine hours.

The two FWD versions are available in entry level Pallas trim, which is well equipped. You get 20in alloy wheels, adaptive cruise control, two-zone climate control, ambient lighting, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, keyless entry, rear privacy glass and an EV heat pump (to warm up the interior more efficiently).

Top-spec Etoile is available with both FWD and AWD versions and adds a black roof, a light-up front grille, an integrated neck warmer vent in the front backrests and blue Alcantara interior upholstery.

The DS No 8 hasn’t been crash-tested by safety experts at Euro NCAP yet but all versions come with front, side and curtain airbags, automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-keep assistance and traffic-sign recognition.

DS did not feature in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey so we can't tell you how dependable the No 8 will be. It does come with a three-year, 60,000 mile warranty, which matches the ID 7. The i4 is a little more generous, with unlimited-mileage cover over the same time period. The battery has its own eight-year, 100,000 mile warranty.

“If you want your DS No 8 to stand out even more, I like that you can have a black painted bonnet and roof option on all versions.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

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