Skip advert
Advertisement

DS 5 review - French premium offering doesn't quite hit the mark - DS 5 interior and tech

Style and character in spades, but DS still has work to do if it's to dethrone the traditional premium brands

Evo rating
Price
from £26,350
  • Unique design inside and out, comfort, refinement
  • Far from being a driver’s car, ride could be improved further

In many respects, the DS 5’s cabin is its most appealing feature. The first thing you’ll notice when stepping inside is how high you appear to be sitting – very crossoverish – and the second is the unique view out of the front.

With the front windscreen at such a rake, DS Automobiles (Citroen, in reality) has seen fit to split the A-pillar in two to enhance visibility – one element flanks the windscreen, the other the leading edge of the door. The glass panel in between is actually ideally placed to squint around corners and the pillars themselves seem relatively narrow, so visibility isn’t compromised.

Advertisement - Article continues below

It’s relatively good in all directions in fact, and combined with the ‘cockpit roof’, which has an individual glass panel above each front occupant and a larger sunroof above the rear passengers, there’s a glassy feel to the cabin. Our only concern is that taller passengers may struggle for headroom, as the complicated roof arrangement seems to intrude quite significantly.

The dashboard itself looks fairly good, as does the leather and brushed metal steering wheel and the fighter plane cockpit-style instruments. The seats are very comfortable too and between wheel and seat there's good adjustment, though rear passengers don’t have quite as much room as you’d expect.

It’s a refined, relaxing environment too. Noise levels are minimal on all but the poorest surfaces, with relatively low wind noise and not too much engine grumble disturbing the cabin. Combined with the unusual view out the front and the squashy seats, it feels a little like piloting a TGV train.

The cabin is let down by a few ergonomic oddities, however. One is the flat-bottomed steering wheel, which feels unusually large. Another is the 7-inch touchscreen, which is a bit pokey by modern standards, mounted at precisely the right angle to make it impossible to read when it’s sunny outside, is a little too far away not to have to stretch, and feels old-hat to use. The placement of some buttons and switches is daft too – the hazard button is an even greater stretch away than the touchscreen, and the rotary heating controls (good!) are squashed behind the gear selector (bad!).

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

The Nissan GT-R has been updated yet again for 2025
Nissan GT-R 2025 – front
News

The Nissan GT-R has been updated yet again for 2025

The R35 Nissan GT-R refuses to die – this latest version gets engine enhancements and subtle cosmetic tweaks
15 Mar 2024
MST Mk1 2024 review – £174,000 Ford Escort recreation driven
MST Mk1 Ford Escort
Reviews

MST Mk1 2024 review – £174,000 Ford Escort recreation driven

The MST Mk1 is a brand new, 50-year-old, road-going rally car. It looks the business, but does it deliver? Strap yourself in…
15 Mar 2024
Used car deals of the week
Main used car deals
Advice

Used car deals of the week

In this week's used car deals, we've sourced everything from the TVR Tuscan to the CLS63 Shooting Brake
15 Mar 2024