The DS No 8 signals the start of a new era at the French brand in which it will pursue a fresh approach to how it designs, engineers and markets its cars.
A high-riding fastback in the mould of the Peugeot 408 and e-3008, the new flagship arrives at an important time for struggling DS. The French firm is looking to rebuild sales after a 25% drop to 35,000 units in Europe during 2024 – and to hit crucial profitability targets by 2031 or risk being axed by parent Stellantis.
While STLA-based cars from sibling brands Peugeot and Vauxhall have been launched with electric and combustion options, the No 8 will be EV-only, in line with the French brand's plan to phase out ICE power for its next-gen line-up.
Inspired by the Aero Sport Lounge concept from 2020, albeit significantly toned down for production, the No 8 is the first model to adopt DS’s new naming strategy, which is similar to that of French fashion house Chanel, which sells the No 5 and No 19 perfumes. This naming convention will be employed for future DS models such as the successor to the DS 3 as part of a complete naming rebrand.
The No 8 is underpinned by the STLA Medium platform, which has been reworked in a bid to meet the car’s target of class-leading aerodynamic performance. “In the past, we did a nice design and after [worked out] how to make this design efficient, but on this car it was a different process: we started with aero,” design chief Thierry Métroz told Autocar.
“From the beginning, when we sketched the car, we discussed with the aerodynamics people – ‘if you put the edge at this place, it’s better for aerodynamics; you don’t need to have this’ – and we really designed the car and the spec around the aerodynamics,” he said.
To that end, the No 8 employs several wind-cheating design devices. The most prominent of those is its rakish roofline, which is 6cm lower than that on the Peugeot 3008. The result is a drag coefficient of 0.24 – better than the 0.26 of rival Polestar 4 and just slightly behind the Tesla Model Y’s benchmark 0.23. So although the longest-legged version of the No 8 uses the same 97.2kWh (usable capacity) battery as the e-3008 Long Range, it can travel 31 miles farther per charge: DS claims a total of 466 miles.
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But that front facia lighting graphi, either side of the 'DS' logo, looks strangely unfinished and has poor visual integration with the rest of the design.
At first, I thought it was an incomplete attempt at imitation chromework....
And those steering wheel spokes are located precisely in the "10 to 2" position the hands are supposed to be holding the wheel at!
I think it's a great looking effort, both inside and out.
Though not a touchscreen fan, this has my preferred setup with a landscape format screen sat with a low profile below the windscreen scuttle, very tidy.
Wow! That is a GREAT looking large hatch/wagon. Stunning interior, too, if not as practical as it could be. Too bad they won't sell any :-(