2022 DS 9 E-Tense Opéra

Nein danke For all its Gallic charm, the DS 9 doesn’t do enough to break Britain’s German habit.

It’s when I sit in the back seats that the DS 9 makes most sense. It’s blissful. There’s heaps of knee room and lovely seats in this 4.9-metre saloon. Iconoclastic chauffeur companies take note. Here you get the most benefit from the calm ambience, the comfort-orientated suspension and the high level of cabin tech.

It’s pretty agreeable up front, too – pleasing to the eye and the touch. Our plug-in hybrid – which has an 11.9kWh lithium-ion battery that can supply up to 34 miles of zero-emissions driving – pulls away in Electric mode, and when the 1.6-litre petrol four joins in it doesn’t make much noise below motorway speeds.

For a long, heavy, front-wheel-drive car, the DS 9 hauls itself competently through corners, with progressive bodyroll and sufficient front-end grip. The steering is nicely linear and pleasantly weighted, if largely uncommunicative. The brake pedal’s initial bite feels a little marshmallowy, and can be snatchy in traffic queues, which leads to some pitching.

We get three versions of the DS 9: a 222bhp turbocharged four-cylinder petrol, and two plug-in hybrids, this one with 222bhp or a 355bhp all-wheel-driver. The range structure is nice and simple too: Performance Line+ costs from £40,615, its sporty features including alcantara-trimmed seats, aluminium pedals and a matt black front grille. The alternative is Rivoli+ (from £44,715), which majors on luxury and technology. It includes leather seats with a massage and cooling function, manoeuvring camera with a 360˚ field of vision and Level 2 driver assistance to stop, start and keep you in lane in highway traffic.

Aside from the 222bhp petrol Performance Line+, all cars get DS Active Scan Suspension. A camera scans the road so the AI brain can instantly stiffen or slacken the damping force to optimise occupant comfort.

The 9 is the best DS yet. It delivers on comfort, refinement and fuel economy, and undercuts BMW’s 530e by about £6000. It’ll likely cost you more per month on a monthly rental, though, hampered by DS’s lower residual values. But if you fall for its design, this endearing limo is the Chrysler 300C for our times, Parisian-style.

First verdict The sort of big, comfortable, semi-posh car that always sells badly in Britain, but it’s very well executed

PLUS Calm, comfortable and well equipped

MINUS Can’t match a Merc or BMW for dynamism or residuals

THE FIRST HOUR

1 minute It’s an elegant design, nicely finished 2 minutes Inside, it’s the usual DS mix of classy and Gauche 16 minutes It’s in no hurry to accelerate. Best at wafting 24 minutes Clever suspension soaks up bumps without bringing too much bodyroll 54 minutes Nice. But the Peugeot 508 PHEV, based on the same chassis, is more appealing

Sloped window doesn’t cramp space for rear passengers

PRICE £49,200 (222bhp PHEV, Rivoli+)POWERTRAIN 11.9kWh battery, 1598cc turbo four-cyl, e-motor, eight-speed auto, front-drivePERFORMANCEMAX POWER 222bhp @ 6000rpm,MAX TORQUE 221lb ft @ 6000rpm,8.3sec 0-62mph,MAX SPEED 149mphWEIGHT 1839kgON SALE NowEFFICIENCY 176.6mpg,33g/km CO2