Name: New DS 4 models and Specifications
Brand: DS

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1.2 HYBRID 136

We've yet to try the only diesel engine in the DS 4 range, but it might be worth considering if you do a lot of motorway miles given that it officially averages more than 60mpg.

1.5 BlueHDi

The 1.6 E-Tense plug-in hybrid is definitely the DS 4 to have if you’re a company car driver aiming to keep benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax payments low. It's also a lively performer and was able to travel for 24 miles purely on electric power in our hands.

1.6 Plug-in Hybrid 225

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Etoile Nappa

Pallas

Hatchback

DS has only existed as a standalone manufacturer since 2015&nbsp;(prior to that the badge was used on upmarket&nbsp;Citroëns), but it is now the premium brand in the Stellantis group, which also includes&nbsp;Citroën, Peugeot and Vauxhall.

The first DS models were essentially rebadged Citroëns, but more recently its cars are now standalone models in their own right. Yet under the skin, they're still very closely related.

Its models are&nbsp;influenced by the French fashion industry and are designed&nbsp;to take on the ubiquitous offerings of Audi, BMW and Mercedes.

DS 4

1.6 Plug-in Hybrid 225 Etoile Nappa 5dr EAT8

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1.5 BlueHDi Pallas 5dr EAT8

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1.5 BlueHDi Etoile 5dr EAT8

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1.2 HYBRID 136 Etoile Nappa 5dr e-DSC

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1.5 BlueHDi Etoile Nappa 5dr EAT8

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1.6 Plug-in Hybrid 225 Pallas 5dr EAT8

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1.6 Plug-in Hybrid 225 Etoile 5dr EAT8

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Introduction

Performance & drive

Interior

Passenger & boot space

Costs & verdict

Whether you're buying outright or&nbsp;on <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/buying/personal-contract-purchase-pcp-explained-car-finance-guide/n19714">PCP finance</a>, the entry-level DS 4 is a bit cheaper than the equivalent Audi Q3 or Cupra Formentor. That said, both of those rivals get built-in sat nav as standard, unlike the DS 4, and both are expected to hold their value better

For drivers with a keen eye on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/class/company-cars">company car tax</a> payments, the E-Tense 225 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) will hold&nbsp;most appeal due to its low official CO2 emissions. Unfortunately, it's official range of 39 miles falls just short of the 40-mile threshold needed to put it in the same tax band as the best rivals.

High-mileage drivers might prefer the Blue HDi 130 diesel, which returns more than 60mpg, although&nbsp;even the non-hybrid petrol engine&nbsp;managed around 45mpg during our testing.

Stick with the cheapest&nbsp;trim – called&nbsp;Performance Line –&nbsp;and the list of standard equipment includes keyless entry and start, automatic wipers, power-folding door mirrors,&nbsp;lane keeping assist and cruise control. We think Performance Line+ is worth the extra, though, because it&nbsp;upgrades the latter to an adaptive cruise control system that keeps you a set distance from the car in front, plus it adds&nbsp;Alcantara interior trim, tinted rear windows and&nbsp;larger (19in) alloy wheels.

Rivoli swaps the Alcantara for leather and brings additional driver aids, including a rear cross traffic alert system. Esprit de Voyage really ups the luxury, with features like heated, ventilated and massaging front seats that are electrically adjustable, as well as a powered tailgate and acoustic side glass. And range-topping&nbsp;Opera cars have all this, plus&nbsp;a 360-degree parking camera, wireless phone charging and Active Scan Suspension, which is said to detect bumps in the road ahead of time. It's just a pity these higher-end trims are so pricey.

<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/ds">DS</a> did not feature in the 2022&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/2022-what-car-reliability-survey/n23397">What Car? Reliability Survey</a>, but parent company Citroën placed a fairly good 11th out of 32 car makers in the brands section. Every DS 4 comes with a three-year warranty, matching what most&nbsp;rivals offer. And the E-Tense version gets an eight-year or 100,000-mile warranty on its drive battery.

The DS 4 scored four stars for safety when it was tested by <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/the-safest-cars-on-sale-today/n19724">Euro NCAP</a>&nbsp;in 2022, but if you add the optional Safety Pack Plus, it gets&nbsp;five NCAP stars. Without the pack, you get automatic emergency braking (<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/what-is-aeb-and-how-does-it-work/n3283">AEB</a>)&nbsp;and lane-keeping assistance. With it, you get upgraded AEB that works at up to 85mph, plus the rear cross-traffic alert system that's otherwise reserved for high-end models.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter&nbsp;<a href="https://pages.haymarket.com/whatcar/wcar-form.html">here</a>

The DS 4's entry-level 129bhp Puretech 130 petrol engine is fine&nbsp;if you do most of your driving around town. However, it does struggle a bit on faster roads, particularly when you're trying to get up to speed in the first place.

There's also a 129bhp Blue HDi 130 diesel, but it's&nbsp;the&nbsp;221bhp E-Tense <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/plug-in-hybrid-cars/n22743">plug-in hybrid</a>&nbsp;(PHEV) model that's the liveliest performer of all. This responds&nbsp;pretty much instantly to accelerator inputs, thanks to the electric boost that it has at its disposal. And while it's ultimately&nbsp;not as fast as the rival Q3 TFSIe,&nbsp;X2 xDrive25e or&nbsp;Formentor eHybrid&nbsp;245, a&nbsp;7.7sec 0-62mph time means it still has all the pace you're likely to need.

As a bonus, the E-Tense was able to travel for 24 miles purely on electric power in our hands – about the same distance as the Q3 and Formentor PHEVs.

The DS 4's standard eight-speed automatic gearbox is slick enough on the way up through the gears, but it can be&nbsp;jerky on the way back down, making it difficult to slow down smoothly. It’s at its weakest when you’re in stop-start traffic.

The grabby brakes in the E-Tense&nbsp;don't help matters, while the&nbsp;1.2 petrol's stop-start system is too abrupt,&nbsp;shunting occupants forward as though the engine has stalled.

More positively, the DS 4's comfort-orientated&nbsp;suspension set-up makes it one of the smoothest riding&nbsp;family SUVs around, enabling it to float over most bumps and potholes. That’s especially true in town; at higher speeds, on uneven roads, the&nbsp;softness can leave you feeling like you're&nbsp;swaying from&nbsp;side to side.

The ride in the Formentor&nbsp;isn’t as cushy, but it does give you a more settled feel at speed. What's more, it's more controlled through&nbsp;bends – there's significant body lean in the DS 4&nbsp; – and&nbsp;both the Formentor and the Q3 have meatier steering that&nbsp;helps the driver feel more engaged.

You hear a&nbsp;bit of road rumble on motorways in the DS 4,&nbsp;but you're well isolated from&nbsp;wind and engine noise.

Fuel 

Gearbox

0-62 MPH

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1.5 Blue HDi 130

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OUR PICK

1.6 E-Tense

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While France is&nbsp;famous for producing some of the world's fanciest food, the perception of its cars has long been more croque monsieur than haute cuisine. But since&nbsp;splitting from Citroën, DS Automobiles has been on a mission to change that with models like this&nbsp;DS 4.

You might remember the&nbsp;DS 4 name from when it was attached to a hatchback&nbsp;that still had&nbsp;a&nbsp;double-chevron badge on its bonnet; frankly, that version&nbsp;was a half-hearted and disappointing thing that couldn’t really hold a candle to the competition.

This latest model, though, has a much stronger identity, with distinctive – almost concept car-like – lines and an interior that makes a real statement (as we'll explain later).&nbsp;

Categorising the latest DS 4 can be difficult because it&nbsp;has its finger in several tartes. We think its&nbsp;most natural rivals are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/best-family-suvs-2022/n17116">family SUVs</a>&nbsp;such as the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/audi/q3/4x4/review/n43">Audi Q3</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volvo/xc40/estate/review/n119">Volvo XC40</a>,&nbsp;but&nbsp;you might also be considering the sleeker <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/bmw/x2/hatchback/review/n121">BMW X2</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/cupra/formentor/estate/review/n22100">Cupra Formentor</a> coupé SUVs.

So, is the DS 4 a worthy alternative? Well, in this review we’re going to look at how it stacks up in a range of important areas, including&nbsp;comfort, practicality, economy and safety.

And remember, once&nbsp;you've decided which model is right for you, you can make sure you don't pay over the odds for it by checking out the discounts available through our free <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/new-car-deals">New Car Buying&nbsp;service</a>. It's a great place to find the best&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/new-car-deals/category/family-suv">family SUV&nbsp;deals</a>.

The DS 4's interior really puts on a show, and the design generates a greater sense of occasion than you’ll feel when you’re sitting in the Audi Q3 or the&nbsp;BMW X2. It's also very uncluttered, with the few buttons that do exist, such as the window switches on the driver’s door and the physical controls for the air conditioning, blending seamlessly into the design.

Everything in the DS 4&nbsp;feels solidly put together – in fact, some&nbsp;materials even eclipse those in the Q3, especially the soft-touch dashboard top and the leather that adorns other surfaces you touch a lot, including the steering wheel. It can’t quite match the classiest family SUV out there (the Volvo XC40), but it’s still excellent.&nbsp;

All DS 4s get manually adjustable lumbar support as standard (electric lumbar adjustment isn’t an option), but even with this in the maximum setting, the standard seats aren’t particularly supportive and allow you to sink into the seat base like a cheap sofa. That, combined with the low-set seating position, means it takes quite a bit of fiddling with the seat height and steering wheel to get them in line and feel totally comfortable.

A 7.0in digital instrument cluster is standard on all versions and displays key information clearly and precisely. On all trim levels except entry-level Performance Line, it is supported by a large head-up display that projects your speed onto the windscreen&nbsp;and can be configured to show sat-nav directions as well.

The DS 4’s 10.0in infotainment touchscreen has reasonable clarity, but it takes a while to respond to inputs and the icons are rather small, which makes them tricky to hit on the move. The large&nbsp;number of sub-menus can make&nbsp;it difficult to find the function you want, too.

A&nbsp;second, smaller touchscreen (again, only&nbsp;Performance Line trim&nbsp;misses out on this) just in front of the armrest allows you to shortcut to different applications, but in reality, we found it more distracting than simply using the main screen. It's nowhere near as user-friendly as&nbsp;the iDrive rotary controller you get with most BMWs, including the X2.

A DAB radio, wireless&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/owning/what-is-apple-carplay/n1193">Apple CarPlay</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/owning/what-is-android-auto/n1194">Android Auto</a>&nbsp;smartphone mirroring, and Bluetooth connectivity are standard across the DS 4 range, but Performance Line models do without built-in sat-nav, and the standard six-speaker audio system isn’t the punchiest around.

You’ll have no issues with forward&nbsp;visibility, due to thin windscreen&nbsp;pillars that make&nbsp;it easy to see out at junctions, and bright&nbsp;LED headlights which are fitted as&nbsp;standard to&nbsp;all versions. Rear visibility isn’t quite as good because of the large rear pillars that restrict the view&nbsp;when you look over your shoulder. Fortunately, all versions get front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera to help with manoeuvring in tight spaces.

Offers a cushy ride and&nbsp;impressive interior quality, but the best family SUVs are more practical and better to drive.

There's lots of leg and shoulder room in the front of the DS 4. However, it's best to avoid the&nbsp;optional sunroof&nbsp;if you're tall, because this&nbsp;reduces head room&nbsp;noticeably.

Despite the minimalist dashboard design, you’ll find plenty of storage spaces, including a covered cubby&nbsp;that contains a pair of cupholders, a USB port and a place for your phone. There's also a small recess in front of the armrest for your keys and a deep bin inside the armrest itself. The door pockets aren’t the largest, but you’ll still be able to fit a small drinks bottle&nbsp;in there.&nbsp;

Sadly, rear space isn’t that&nbsp;generous;&nbsp;six-footers will wish they had more knee room. There is a good amount of space under the front seats for their feet, which alleviates&nbsp;the issue a little, but head room is disappointing,&nbsp;especially if the optional sunroof is fitted.&nbsp;

If you’re planning to load&nbsp;longer items into the boot, you can&nbsp;pass them between two rear passengers, thanks to a handy ski hatch.&nbsp;Plus, all versions come with 60/40 split-folding rear seatbacks, so you can extend the luggage&nbsp;area.

The&nbsp;Audi Q3 and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/kia/sportage/4x4/review/n17352">Kia Sportage</a>&nbsp;offer greater versatility, however, thanks to 40/20/40 split-folding rear seats. And both of those rivals give you more boot space than the&nbsp;DS 4’s 430 litres.

As with the Q3 TFSIe and Formentor eHybrid, you’ll lose some luggage&nbsp;space if you opt for the&nbsp;plug-in hybrid DS 4, with capacity dropping to 390 litres.&nbsp;That’s only a little more than you get in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/ford/focus/hatchback/review/n37">Ford Focus</a>&nbsp;hatchback.

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The DS 4's cushy ride and high-quality interior help it stand out from better known family SUVs. However, the best of these are more practical – particularly in the back – and better to drive.

<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Running costs that won’t break the bank </li> <li>Generous kit</li> <li>Pokey engine and tidy handling</li> <li>Spacious interior</li> <li>Boot big enough to cope with family life</li></ul>

The car-buying public has fallen in love with small SUVs, or crossovers as they’re often called, with thousands turning away from conventional hatchbacks in favour of something that rides that little bit higher.

Small SUV

<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Usefully long electric-only range</li> <li>Exceedingly frugal</li> <li>Cheap company car tax rates</li> <li>Smooth switching between electric and petrol power</li></ul>

If you're not ready to commit to a fully electric vehicle&nbsp;but have the capacity to charge your car at home or at work, a plug-in hybrid could be the perfect compromise. Electric batteries paired with a petrol or diesel&nbsp;engine means you'll never be left short of charge&nbsp;but can capitalise on cheap running costs, thanks to a surprisingly long electric-only range.

There's plenty of choice, too, whether you're after a sporty saloon like the BMW 3 Series, the 330e variant of which providing up to 36 miles of electric-only driving on a full charge, or a large load-lugging large SUV, including the Volvo XC90 T8, which claims an extraordinary&nbsp;113mpg.

Throw in competent handling and driving prowess, despite the added weight of the electric batteries, and a plug-in hybrid&nbsp;makes a compelling case for frugal buyers.&nbsp;

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