The DS 3 was launched in 2009 as a rather effective rival for the Mini and Fiat 500.
Citroën quickly followed that up with the DS 4 and DS 5. Both were based on older-generation PSA Peugeot Citroën platforms and suffered for it.
When the DS brand was officially spun-off as a stand-alone company last year within the PSA combine, it looked a bit confused and hastily executed.
However, DS accounted for 508,000 sales up to August 2015 and the future looks a lot better organised. By 2020, there will be six DS models on sale and five of them will be all-new.
DS has a long way to go, but with PSA’s excellent EMP2 platform to play with and an impressive engine line-up, it might yet manage to carve out a profitable niche.
Indeed, DS claims the recently facelifted 5 has prompted 75% of buyers to opt for the top two trim levels. It’s this kind of uptake of showroom options (and therefore high-end margins) that really makes a premium brand.
I understand that future models will have money and effort expended on their interiors and exteriors, rather than hard-fought investment cash being used to get into a Germanic technology war.
A luscious all-leather interior might appeal to many customers who care nothing about the specification of the rear axle.
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Its been mentioned that DS
Idiots
People harp on about 'every Citroen should have a hydronic suspension' and yet when they were using these suspensions, everyone moaned about them being too floaty.
The DS3 actually does feel a cut above its Citroen equivalent and many rivals in that class (including the Fiesta) and Citroen aren't doing discounts at the level they once were. DS certainly aren't. I mean come on, VW do discounts and deals. It's nothing exclusive to Citroen.
If you look at what they're doing with the Cactus, that's the future for the Citroen brand. They're selling well and doing something genuinely different, no matter how many times you moan about the air bumps and pop out windows.
DS isn't perfect but they're just getting their ducks in line. The 3's engine lineup is genuinely very good.
DS has to actually be better.
But these new DSs are not better in so many ways from past Citroens. They have more leather on the inside but they neither ride and/or handle as well as the now thirty year old BX, which was aimed at a lower price point. Until they fix their engineering the 'upmarket' DS is just a cynical lie, Citroen are charging more for less. Dishonesty is not rewarded in the long term in competitive markets with informed buyers. That's why Lancia, Rover or Saab are no longer here. But if you get it right as Mercedes Benz's former 1950s budget brand, Audi, has shown, the rewards are great.