Long-term test: DS No4 Hybrid Etoile Nappa

My family holiday to Cornwall gave me a chance to thoroughly evaluate the DS No4 on a range of roads. It successfully passed this test, but also highlighted a few minor niggles, such as a rattling dash and the jerky braking. More worrying was the digital screens going blank, although I’m hoping a simple software update will prevent a repeat.

The DS No4 faced its first holiday trip recently when my family and I visited my twin brother in Cornwall, and I’m glad to say it performed really well on the whole. The French sense of style does make the car a pleasant place to spend time on long journeys.

The cabin is more luxurious than other Stellantis products based on the same platform. I think the Nappa leather seats look great and offer good support; they’re even heated, although I’m hoping that feature won’t be needed until later in the year. Normally I’m not a fan of brown interiors, but the DS pulls it off and there are some lovely details in the cabin. I’m glad the piano-black plastics seem to be avoiding scratches so far, too.

So with roughly six hours of driving and more than 300 miles on motorways and Cornish lanes, the DS would get a good real-world test and meant any issues would come to the fore. Hence the white coat and stethoscope I’m wearing in the picture.

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Although the cabin is one of the DS’s strongest parts, somewhere around the head-up display or digital dials is a squeaky, loose bit of trim. It’s not always obvious, but on certain roads you get that unmistakable sound of plastic rubbing against plastic. Several staff members have driven the DS and each one has tried to pinpoint the cause, but to no avail. I’m sure a trip to a dealer will provide an easy fix, so as soon as I get time I’ll book the No4 in.

While it’s there I’ll ask the garage to check for software updates, because during the Cornish trip a glitch saw all the screens and dials go blank. I was relieved that things rebooted within seconds and had no effect on the driveability, but it was disconcerting, especially since I was in the M5’s fast lane.

We encountered a variety of roads on our holiday and I found the DS No4 capable on most of them, but it excelled on motorways. Due to the way the hybrid system works, power is delivered smoothly and quickly. The car cruises quietly and has plenty of extra power to accelerate when overtaking. 

In addition, just one tank of petrol got us to Cornwall and around the county for two days, only needing a refill before we set off home. While the ride is suited to motorway cruising, it handles twistier routes well and is good to use as a photography tracking car.

My only minor complaint with the DS’s powertrain is a slight jolt when I slow down to a stop, which feels like a change from regen to friction braking. I reckon it’s a characteristic I’ll adjust to, though. If you read my last report, you’ll know that the lane-assist tech can be a bit lively. Thankfully I’ve found the shortcut switch that turns the system off, and I’m glad to say that there’s much less beeping now.

Despite these small issues, the DS No4 is still a really appealing car. I think the design is bold and the front is unique, with just enough illumination. The headlights and side lights work really well to separate it from other vehicles in the Stellantis group. The rear styling is not as effective, but overall it’s good to see a different take on family-based cars.

Overall, the package is almost complete, and if the minor issues I’ve detailed can be dealt with, I’m sure the No4 will help increase DS sales. I hope so, because it’s a brand that would be missed if it wasn’t here, simply for its ability to be different.

The DS No4 has mostly impressed me so far, but its lane-assist system is really testing my patience

The DS No4 has already covered hundreds of miles and my only complaint so far is the lane-assist system, which warns “Make sure you stay in lane” even when I’m in the centre of a lane on a motorway.

On a drive back from Yorkshire it beeped for at least 10 minutes, and changing lanes while indicating had no effect. The only way to stop it is to go into a sub-menu on the touchscreen. Hopefully it’s just an over-active sensor and it can be fixed.

Will stylish hatch work as a photographer’s wheels?

I’m really intrigued to get to know my new long-term test car. The DS No4 is the latest upmarket hatchback from the French firm, and with the old DS nameplate being a play on the French word for goddess, it’s got to be good, right?

As you can see, the No4 has already been called upon for photography duties with our Mazda versus Tesla twin test, and I have to say it’s making a good impression.

Under the skin, the No4 features the same EMP2 platform as many other Stellantis models, including the Peugeot 5008 I ran last year. The DS has the same hybrid system, too, but with so many marques – from Citroen to Vauxhall – using this ruing gear, DS really needed to do something different for its hatch to stand out, especially when you consider its £41,250 price, including options. That puts the No4 in a very exclusive club, and it’s actually more expensive than the larger Mazda and Tesla electric cars on the twin-test.

Thankfully, first impressions count for a lot, and visually the No4 goes some way to justify its elevated price. Our car is painted in Pearl Crystal with a Perla Nera Black roof and features 19-inch Sapporo alloys. Adding to the look are dramatic daytime ruing lights that zig-zag across the nose, while in my eyes the exterior’s angular design has hints of Audi about it, but with lots of extra bling. 

I’m not wholly convinced by the ‘DS AUTOMOBILES No4’ lettering across the bootlid – especially when rival brands such as BYD have realised that less is more – but overall the DS is an appealing car to look at.

The interior is nicely finished, too, with subtle brown diamond-cut Nappa leather and lots of shiny piano-black plastic. I’ve found that the latter always looks good in other cars I’ve run, only for it to be ruined by scratches, so we’ll see how the DS’s trim fares. 

There are lots of metal-effect flourishes in the cabin, too, with the recurring diamond theme offering an art-deco approach to style that is unique to the DS brand. The No4 certainly feels more like a premium product than other Stellantis hatchbacks.

Swapping from a Nissan Qashqai SUV to a French hatch isn’t the most obvious move for a photographer who travels long distances, because my camera gear takes up a lot of room. However, a bit of forward plaing means that the DS is able to meet my requirements, while the bigger draw is the fact it’s a petrol hybrid, so it’s better suited to my needs than an electric model or a plug-in hybrid. Indeed, our first shoot with the Mazda and Tesla involved a trip from Essex to Leicestershire and back in a day; it was a trip I wouldn’t have relished in an EV.

At the moment the DS covers all the obvious needs to be a good long-term test car. The ride is soft and the hybrid system is responsive while returning good economy. Once you get used to the layout of the switches (the window controls are high on the driver’s door and the armrest is only a thin sliver of material, for example), the interior works well and gives off a luxury vibe. 

The seats are supportive, too, while the boot is big enough to swallow most of my photography gear and the cabin has plenty of storage for various coffee cups and sandwiches from petrol stations.

*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.

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