The Citroen DS5 – Flying First Class

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I came across this article recently that talked about the needless necessities of women putting on make-up to make themselves feel good. The article highlights the appeal of women who don’t wear make up and why the male gender should date such a woman who doesn’t need make up to feel beautiful. As this was a Facebook sharing, a couple of mutual friends (yours truly included) got into a discussion and I put forward that although men generally don’t spend as much time in front of the mirror trying to make himself look good, we do take measures such as shaving, showering and trimming our nose hairs to make a good impression.

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But the point is, beauty and confidence comes from within. It’s not something someone else can give to you and while the occasional praise do make you feel good, no one in the world can make you feel more awesome than yourself. Surrounding yourself with people who are positively like-minded helps – driving a car that turns heads with envy is even better. And this is where the Citroën DS5 comes in.

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Design

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In case you’ve not noticed, the entire DS range come in hatchback form and it’s no different with the DS5 which makes it one of the rarest D-segment player in this form. As if that wasn’t attention-grabbing enough, Citroën added chrome-finished sabre that stretches from the front headlamps to the side mirrors and a distinctively delicious LED light signature. The final result is an amalgam of metal, bling and a whole lot of sex appeal.

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The entire side profile is seen as nothing short of an aeronautical marvel; you get a cockpit roof that slopes backwards and ends with rear wing that’s surprisingly barely conspicuous given that Citroën spared no expense at getting the other parts of the car to look flamboyant. Measuring 4,530mm in length, 1,871mm in width and 1,539mm in height with a wheelbase of 2,727mm, the DS5 isn’t exactly a small car and among all the other D segments around, this is arguably the one with the most road presence, whether on the move or parked.

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It may look like glass but tapping on it reveals otherwise. The back quarter of the roof and sides at the C pillars are acrylics.

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Who says diamond is a girl’s best friend? We think it looks good here too; 18″ alloy Canaveral wheels with black gloss diamond-effect

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The rear is as striking as the front with its 3D-like LED tail lights. Unlike the front and sides, the chrome bits are kept to a minimum and limited to the bottom of the rear as exhaust pipes. What may not be common knowledge is the left exhaust is a dud; deeper in the right side, visible only if you stare into it is where a regular twin pipe.

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The final outcome is a well-balanced rear that’s elegantly simple, dynamic yet subtle.

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Performance

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Pop the hood and you’ll see a familiar engine layout; the ubiquitous 1.6litre Prince twin scroll turbocharged engine doing 156hp @ 6,000rpm and providing 240Nm of torque from 1,400rpm onwards, the same engine found in almost every single other turbo-equipped Peugeot and the  Citroën DS4.

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This is a shame because in other parts of the world, the DS5 comes with a 200hp petrol turbo twin-scroll as found in the 208GTI/RCZ manual, turbo diesel engines or the internationally acclaimed diesel-electric Hybrid4 which uses the turbodiesel to power the front and electric motors to power the rear wheels. Paying a premium for an engine that’s common has its pros and cons; spare parts sourcing and troubleshooting becomes simpler. But there will be some who’d be turned off by the fact that the engine, being probably the most expensive part of the vehicle is technologically no different from other regular makes. And the performance of the engine in the DS5 isn’t as punchy as some of the others.

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Leisurely is the best way to describe the way the DS5 accelerates as zero to hundred on the DS5 is achieved in 9.7 seconds. The acceleration is linear and the engine’s lack of urgency suits people who prefers to cruise rather than sprint. Citroën claims the DS5 return 7.3litres/100km of fuel economy in an mixed driving cycle of urban and rural.

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Ride and Handling

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Did you know that the DS5 is the only model that did not take its platform from the equivalent Citroën base model? The DS3 is from the C3, DS4 from C4 but to create a 5-door hatchback DS5 would render the C5’s platform to be less ideal. In the end, the Peugeot 3008 platform was chosen as the base and for the suspension system, you get MacPherson for the front and flexible transverse beam for the rear.

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The ride is comfort oriented and in most cases adequate for average speed cornering. Like its engine characteristic, the suspension setting aims at cosset the driver and passengers into a state of lull, of making you enjoying the journey as much as arriving at the destination. While in most cases the steering conveys enough sense of road feel, you can feel the weight of the car shift quite a fair bit. The car feels heavy, which adds to the sense of stability but at the expense of agility. No, there are better cars to drive on B roads but if its highway cruising, noise and vibration is kept to a minimal, in true continental fashion.

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For transmission, the 6-speed Aisin automatic gearbox is, quite naturally paired to the engine and behaves pretty much like any Peugeot; not the fastest gearboxes around but does its job adequately. Stomping the accelerator would cause the gears to spin till 6,000rpm which isn’t a good thing to do as the vehicle would be out of its optimum torque level. Manual shifting and keeping it between 3,000rpm to 4,000rpm would be ideal.

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Helm response is good; not as sharp as some German hatchbacks out there but adequate and the added weight (with the 18″ wheels) does translate to more feel. But remember, this car isn’t designed for the hot racer and if you do drive like one, you’d soon discover it has a tendency to understeer and depending on the roads you’re driving on, the balance of the vehicle can be easily upset and throw you out of rhythm. Taking it nice and slow, allowing you (and others standing outside with envy)  to enjoy the scenery would bring out the best in the DS5.

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The most immediate gripe one may have with the DS5 is the relatively low position of the rear mirror. As you can see from the picture above, it compromises the front left view quite a fair bit and if you’re driving straight, this doesn’t pose much of an issue. The worry is when you’re turning left and planning to go faster. I’ve found on more than 1 occasion that the blocked area can hide a motorcyclist and if you head was still looking right when turning, you could very well run into him. Therefore, extra care is best exercised when driving in crowded roads. One a positive note, it has a quarter front glass at the A pillar the size of a whale. Makes spotting small furry animals by the side of the road easier and take measures to avoid them.

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Cabin Convenience

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If you’re attracted by the outside, the insides set your senses on fire. It’s got lots of buttons, it’s got lots of dials and if I were to say the obvious like entire layout is like an aircraft cockpit, I’d probably get flamed by other journo friends with the tag #SoSaidTheAutomotiveReviewer. But really, every time when you step into the cabin it’s an occasion.

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The fine leather in bracelet confection design, the soft dashboard and the way everything is placed in such a manner that if you’re able to deftly navigate through all the various functions of the car without missing a beat, you’re bound to impress whoever that’s coming aboard, if they aren’t already in awe over the interiors, that is.

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The leather wrapped telescopic and tilt steering with chrome inserts design is lovely, way better than the DS4’s steering which looked like it gorged one too many donuts. Sadly, no paddle shifters here.

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After reviewing the DS4, I was kinda hoping to see the multi-colored meters but none here. To be honest, the meter here is probably the least creative of anything found in the cabin. The multi function display will provide various driving information such as current fuel consumption, average fuel consumption, distance travelled, average speed and distance to empty.

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Keyless entry and Start/Stop comes part and parcel with the DS5. No need to disturb your pose by rummaging through your trousers or handbag for keys.

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Retro analog clock … you know you’re in something special if they have this.

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Let’s see …. 4 dials, one controls the volume, one controls the fan speed, two controls the dual zone climate control system

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The headunit is not a touchscreen but comes with GPS navigation which I find marginally useful because the user interface isn’t very user friendly and the Points of Interest found in the system is limited. You would also need to spell the address according to how the address is coded into the system and this could be a problem as our streets here can start with Jalan or Lorong (and that’s not counting the short form abbreviations)

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Inputting address is done using the toggle controller which you can rotate to select or move the toggle up or down. And, as you can see in the picture above, it gets frustrating when you can’t spell the place you need to go as other alphabets are not highlighted (which goes to show how limited the number of places the inbuilt GPS is). Stick with Waze … at least you’d know where the police roadblocks are.

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Taking its queue from a certain German luxury car maker, the center console has buttons accessing headunit related functions arranged neatly and it’s just a matter of acclimatising to where they are. Power window switches are also found in the center stack instead of the inner door handles. The electronic parking brake will auto disengage when you are on the go.

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The center armrest compartment is huge and is two tiered; the shallower top for receipts, access cards, candy, mobile phones, etc and this is also where you’ll find a USB and AUX port while below it is the deeper crevice that actually extends towards the center stack. You could hide lots of stuffs in there, like bottles of water (because it’s ventilated) or small kittens (because it’s ventilated and has bottles of water you put in earlier)

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The DS5 has not one, nor two but three roofs. Yup, there’s three individual roller motors up there allows you better control over who gets the sun more. Sadly, none of them opens up on top but to be able to let more natural light in is such always a pleasure. Some complained about the glass roof generating more heat; I didn’t find it an issue.

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Yes, more aviation-inspired elements; this time on the roof where you’ll find switches controlling the colored head up display, roof controls and overhead storage compartments.

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Fully electric chair for both front and the driver gets memory seats. The driver’s seat also has a massage function which sees the lumbar support gently prodding your lower back with various intensity and height to relax the muscles there. Feels great after driving long distances with it.

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What I particularly appreciate is the thigh support which, for a car of this price is a first. The center cushion can be extended forward or back via a pedal below it and for people with long legs, it’s an absolute heaven to be able to rest your thighs completely. The only other chair that offers as much comfort and support would be dental chairs.

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With all the design flair going on with the DS5, you can’t avoid making a few – practical compromises. For one, check out the 800ml bottle I placed. That’s a cup holder but it can’t accommodate even small bottles due to the position of the door speakers. Citroën probably designed it for espresso cups.

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The rear seats carries the bracelet motif and for most part is comfortable. Legroom for people taller than 170cm would be a slight issue but generally everything is nice and dandy here.

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Like the front, the power window controls are found in the center and there’s a 12V power socket for rear passengers to use, making this vehicle having a total of 2 sockets and 1 USB.

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With a boot space of 468litres with the rear seats up, it may not be the best in the D-segment and the large Denon subwoofer you see at the side takes up a significant portion of the space. The good thing is, the shape of the boot remains squarish and this makes loading large luggage bags easier. Personally, I find the space to be adequate. This is after all, a hatchback so don’t expect sedan sized boots.

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Safety

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The thing about Citroën and Peugeot nowadays, you might find some differing specs when it comes to model type but safety among the higher range models are the same. You get:-

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• ABS
• EBD
• EBA
• ESP
• Front airbags
• Side airbags
• Curtain airbags (total of 6 airbags)
• Front parking sensors
• Rear parking sensors
• Automatic rain sensor
• 5-star EuroNCAP and ANCAP rating
• eMyWay with rear-view camera
• Reverse tilt side mirror
• Parking space gap measurement

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Specifications

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Exterior

• Dynamic Xenon headlamps
• Cockpit roof
• LED Daytime Running Lights
• Front fog lamps with cornering function
• 18″ alloy wheels Canaveral with black gloss diamond-effect

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Interior

• Color HUD (head up display)
• Arkamys audio processing with Denon Hi-Fi
• Automatic dual zone air-conditioning
• Electric front seat with memory
• Variable power assisted steering, tilt and telescopic, multifunctional
• Cruise control with speed limiter
• Front and rear electric windows with “one touch” operation and anti-pinch
• Acoustic laminated front windscreen
• Driver seat with electric lumbar & massage function
• Multi function on-board trip computer (current fuel consumption, average fuel consumption, distance travelled, average speed and distance to empty)
• Illuminated and ventilated center storage compartment
• Electronic key with push start
• Electronic parking brake
• Full leather seat with bracelet confection

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Ownership and Maintenance

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The Citroën DS5 is now locally assembled and comes with a price tag of RM188,888 (down from RM195k when first introduced in CBU form) and comes with 5-years unlimited mileage warranty.

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Should you get one? Most definitely if style and image is your thing. The DS5 represents an excellent option for those seeking to stand out in a crowd without having to break into a bank and buying a sports car. Frankly, I can think of no other competitor for the DS5. There is simply no other vehicle, whether being stationary or on the go that has the visual appeal of it, both inside and out. And it is differentiated enough from it’s smaller siblings such as the DS3 and DS4 that no one can simply call it as just a bigger DS. I have always been in favor of linear power delivery engines and the unit in the DS5 is one such model where the word ‘turbo’ is always flashed in your innards whenever you floor the pedal. So not only does it appeal to the ‘uncle’ inside me in the way it drives, it made me feel younger with all the appreciative glances coming my way. I felt like a kid going to school with a brand new, flashy pencil box – and to some of us, only the size of our toys change as we age.

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