DS 5 review - French premium offering doesn't quite hit the mark - DS 5 MPG and running costs
Style and character in spades, but DS still has work to do if it's to dethrone the traditional premium brands
Like its performance, the DS 5’s economy is offset somewhat by its weight, though there are still some respectable quoted figures in the range – up to 70.6mpg combined from the BlueHDi 120 manual, mid-60s from the 2-litre BlueHDi diesels and even 47.9mpg from the petrol automatic.
Whether you’ll achieve any of these figures in the real world is dependent on just how lightly you’re able to tread on the pedals. In the BlueHDi 180 auto we saw an average of about 46mpg after a week of mainly motorway use – less in brisk driving and around town, and around 50mpg at a steady 70mph cruise. That’s against official numbers of 64.2mpg combined, so take the quoted numbers with an open pit mine’s worth of salt.
You’re unlikely to see much better in the hybrid (official: 72.4mpg combined) in similar use – at higher speeds the electric motor and battery are effectively redundant (aside from their large contribution to the car’s kerb weight). Stick rigidly to town driving and you might achieve more, but there are better cars to choose if you plan to keep within city limits.
Beyond fuel costs, running a DS 5 shouldn’t be too difficult. Its relaxed demeanour means you probably won’t chew through tyres and brakes as quickly as you might in a more entertaining car, and VED rates are kept low by the competitive economy figures and resulting low CO2.
