DS No.4 E-Tense Etoile



DS Automobiles' renewed offensive, kick-started by the recently launched and all-new No.8, continues with the next model to get the corporate name change. However, this time it's not a clean-sheet creation and instead a heavily facelifted version of the DS 4, now known as the DS No.4.

The bigger news is that an all-electric model has been added to the fold and takes the E-Tense badge from the old plug-in hybrid (PHEV, although that part-electric version is also in the refreshed line-up along with a regular hybrid), so is this zero-emission French luxury item enough to tempt you out of an Audi A3 or BMW 1 Series? Or, perhaps more to the point, the related Peugeot 408?

Test Car Specifications

Model: 2025 DS No.4 E-Tense Etoile
Price: No.4 range from £32,200, E-Tense Etoile as tested from £41,860
Motor: 156kW front-mounted electric motor
Battery: 58.3kWh net lithium-ion NMC
Transmission: single-speed reduction-gear automatic, front-wheel drive
Power: 213hp (Sport mode)
Torque: 343Nm (Sport mode)
Emissions: 0g/km
Range: up to 278 miles (c.4.7 miles/kWh)
0-62mph: 7.1 seconds
Top speed: 100mph
Boot space: 390 litres rear seats up, 1,260 litres rear seats down
Kerb weight: 1,867kg

Styling

All DS has done in the transition from 4 to No.4 is, really, to give the car a new face. It has a cleaner grille and a new light signature that extends into the middle of the vehicle, where there's a light-up 'DS' emblem. It might not sound much, but it does give the No.4 some added presence compared to its predecessor, while around the sides the chrome content has been scaled back and, on the bootlid, the huge 'DS Automobiles' lettering first seen on the No.8 makes its debut here. Body colours at launch number five in total and are all fairly sedate monochromatic affairs, while 19- and 20-inch alloys can be found in the arches. About the only thing that visually identifies the EV model from its stablemates is a very small 'E-Tense' plaque underneath the No.4 on its tailgate.

Interior

High-quality fixtures and fittings were never a problem for the DS 4, and they're also not for the No.4. The best news in here is the addition of a much better 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, replacing the underwhelming old seven-inch item, and this lifts the ambience inside much more than you might imagine. There are, however, some ergonomic issues with the placement of all the diamond-shaped/-patterned buttons, with the window switches' position particularly annoying, while the deletion of the old, separate climate control pad down on the transmission tunnel means you're too often repeatedly prodding at the DS' infotainment panel to do what should be simple one-button-presses - for instance, turning on the noisiest fan-cooled seats we've ever sampled in a car and then returning to your original screen requires four taps of the somewhat-laggy central display. Tsk.

Practicality

Not a DS No.4 strong point. Leg- and headroom are limited in the back, even for people of only average height, and the boot isn't a whopper either. It's not quite as spacious in the rear as some of its key rivals, although four people should be able to get perfectly comfortable onboard... as long as they're all reasonably small.

Performance

The new electric E-Tense is not what you'd call out-and-out quick, but it is lovely and brisk nonetheless, and a good degree more refined and pleasant to deal with than the No.4 PHEV. Like any Stellantis EV, it'll only make its full 213hp/343Nm outputs when it's in Sport mode. If you have it in Normal, the numbers decrease to 190hp and 300Nm, and in battery-saving Eco they tumble yet further to 170hp/270Nm. However, the car's throttle remains acceptable in all of these settings, so it's no hardship to have to deploy them from time to time.

The main issue with the E-Tense is that it doesn't hammer home its electric advantage over its ICE rivals as much as it could, because a 58.3kWh battery pack with associated claimed 278-mile range, as well as a so-so 120kW peak DC charging rate, are not what we'd demand of a premium EV these days. It should be enough capability for most people's needs, but if you often go on longer-distance journeys then you'll probably find the less-likeable PHEV No.4 will have to be your choice.

Ride & Handling

Again, the E-Tense EV has a significant edge over the No.4 PHEV 225 here. In zero-emission format, the No.4 is quiet, assured and mighty comfortable, and it rarely lets you know anything about the quality (or otherwise) of the road surface you're traversing. It even feels a little more playful and agile in the corners than the part-petrol car, although we're clearly not saying the DS is in any way an undiscovered gem of a driver's machine. Anyway, good steering, well-calibrated brakes and an impressive level of body control all ensure you can hustle the No.4 E-Tense through a challenging series of corners without too much drama, should the need to do so ever arise.

Value

A 116hp Audi A3 Sportback starts at £30,235, while a 170hp BMW 1 Series kicks off that range at £32,290, so the £32,200 for the 145hp hybrid DS No.4 looks competitive for what you're getting. Trim lines are Pallas, Pallas+, Etoile and Etoile Nappa, but the E-Tense electric is only available in the middle two of these and is therefore either £39,160 or £41,860 accordingly. Etoile feels like a more fitting specification for a premium-tilting machine like this because it brings a lot of top-end desirable kit to the DS, and model-for-model the superior E-Tense EV is only £60-£160 more than its equivalent PHEV; indeed, it's the latter car which tops the revised No.4's range, costing from £44,200 as an Etoile Nappa.

Verdict

Buyer apathy is what has always prevented DS making proper inroads into the prestige-car segment and, as good as the new No.4 is, that might continue to be the case going forwards. This French machine is undoubtedly better as the electric E-Tense than it is with the PHEV running gear fitted, as the EV makes the most of its aspirational Gallic nature. It's not without flaws - there are various ergonomic issues, the back of the car is too cramped, and it should have a 300-mile-plus range at the very least - but overall the DS No.4 E-Tense is worthy of your consideration if you're in the market for a vehicle of this type. However, you'll just default to something safely German, won't you? Or an SUV, most likely. Such is the way of life.