DS 9 to be released with 3 PHEV variants

With the new DS 9, the PSA brand DS Automobiles has presented its top model, for which three PHEV variants are planned. However, only one version of the plug-in drive is to be available for the market launch, the other two are to follow “with a certain time lag”.

+ + Kindly see our update below + +

The DS 9 is a 4.93-meter luxury saloon, and currently, only the two SUV models DS 3 Crossback and DS 7 Crossback are available from the PSA brand – the latter also as a PHEV, while the DS 3 Crossback will soon be available as a fully electric car.

Back to the DS 9: The PHEV is called E-Tense (which is also used for the BEV in the DS 3 Crossback). Since the sedan is also based on the EMP2 platform from the PSA group, the basic layout of the hybrid drive is already familiar from other models, but in the DS 9, these have partly slightly different performance data.

The version available for market launch comes with the 165 kW plug-in hybrid drive (familiar from the Peugeot 508 Hybrid, Opel Grandland X Hybrid or the Citroën C5 Aircross Hybrid). This combines a gasoline engine with an 80 kW electric drive and a battery with a capacity of 11.9 kWh, which should enable a purely electric range of between 40 and 50 kilometres in the WLTP cycle. The maximum speed in electric mode is 135 km/h.

With “some time lag”, the range will be extended by two additional E-Tense drive systems: a front-wheel-drive with 184 kW and “increased range” and a 264 kW version with four-wheel drive, which is achieved by an additional electric motor on the rear axle. In China, the 184 kW version is already available for market launch. DS does not give further details about the more powerful front-wheel-drive version and the four-wheel-drive model in the announcement – in the previous PHEV models based on EMP2, the four-wheel-drive version with two electric motors produces 220 kW.

Regardless of the power output, according to DS, the plug-in hybrids should always start in electric mode “to maximise efficiency”. There is also a hybrid mode that selects the respective drive source itself, as well as a sport mode for maximum performance – in this mode, the response of the transmission, steering and suspension will also be more sporty. There will also be an ‘e-save’ function, which will be used in various stages to “retain a certain range in zero-emission mode for selected sections of the route, for example in the city centre”.

The charger in the DS 9 E-Tense is designed as a single-phase charger, independent of the drive power, which means a maximum charging power of 7.4 kW. At an appropriate wallbox or public charging station, the battery should be fully charged in 1:30 hours. DS does not mention a charging time or battery capacity for the announced “increased range” model.

As the brand’s top model, the DS 9 is also available with a whole range of assistance systems – the “Drive Assist”, for example, enables semi-autonomous driving to Level 2, and a night vision camera and other systems are also intended to increase safety.

In addition to the underlying PSA technology, the design was particularly important at DS. “For a saloon, poise is an essential quality,” says Béatrice Foucher, CEO DS Automobiles. “We created DS 9 to surprise and be demonstrative.”

DS has not yet published an exact date for the market launch or prices for the German market.

Update 22 February 2022:

Almost exactly two years after the first announcement of the three PHEV variants in the DS9, the third variant is now also available to order. After the E-Tense 225 version with 165 kW or 225 hp output, which has been available for some time, and the E-Tense 4×4 360 with two e-motors and a system output of 265 kW (360 hp), the E-Tense 250, the model with the longest range, now follows. A new 15.6 kWh battery (instead of 11.9 kWh) enables a range of up to 61 kilometres according to the combined WLTP cycle. The system power is 183 kW (250 hp). Prices for the DS 9 E-Tense 250 in Germany start at 53,810 euros before subsidies.

For Germany, only the E-Tense 250 is new, for outside of Germany, both the E-Tense 250 and the E-Tense 4×4 360

Prices in France have been revealed: prices for the DS 9 E-tense 4×4 360 Performance line + start at 67,500 euros, while the DS 9 E-tense 4×4 360 Rivoli + will be going for around 70,400 euros. Also new in France is the DS 9 E-tense 250 Performance line + which will go for 58,000 euros and the DS 9 E-Tense 250 Rivoli + will have prices starting around 60,900 euros.

With reporting by Sebastian Schaal, Germany.

autocar.co.uk, dsautomobiles.com, update: stellantis.com (Update IV)