DS NO4 157kW E-TENSE Etoile 61kWh 5dr Auto

Ten Second Review

The DS brand enters family hatch segment of the EV market with this car, the No4 E-TENSE. There's familiar Stellantis Group full-electric engineering here, but in this case it's been packaged with quite a lot more Gallic flair.

Background

The DS brand has yet to bring us an electric car to sell in significant numbers. But it might have done so here with this model, the DS No4 E-TENSE. It's the French marque's third EV. The small quirky DS 3 E-TENSE compact crossover hasn't attracted much of a following. And the flagship DS No8 E-TENSE saloon is a rare sight on our roads. This No4 E-TENSE model could be different. In reality, it's merely re-packaged Peugeot E-408, but the re-packaging is really rather appealing. Strangely, the car the DS No4 is merely a facelift of, the DS 4 launched in 2022, didn't come in EV form. Now that the brand can offer a car in this segment, how will this one fare? Let's take a closer look.

Engines and Tech Spec

There's just a single E-TENSE powertrain option. It features a front-mounted electric motor with 213hp and 343Nm of torque. Energised by 58.3kWh battery that's a fraction larger than the 55.4kWh unit fitted to an equivalent Peugeot E-308. Despite that, the No4 E-TENSE model's EV range figure of 278 miles is 3 miles less than its Peugeot counterpart. With the extra weight of this EV variant, you won't have quite the same sharp handling as an equivalent combustion version of this car could offer. As on the E-308, expect ride quality to be better than it is on most other compact EVs of this size (and far softer than in the equivalent rather over-firm Vauxhall Astra Electric); you certainly won't be clumping over speed humps and crashing through pot holes in the way we have with some recent small EVs we've tested. And DS has kept wind noise and tyre roar at reasonable levels, so you can get the refinement benefit of that near-silent powertrain. On all models, there's a bit of (rather basic) drive assist technology too, courtesy of an 'Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go' (which automatically maintains your speed to vehicles in front on the highway and when you come across a tailback, will seamlessly bring you to a stop, then when appropriate, automatically start you off again).

Design and Build

Apart from the E-TENSE badge work, there's nothing overtly designating that this is the full-electric variant in the DS No4 line-up. This is quite a good looking little compact hatch with a bold front end featuring a wide, intricately-detailed black grille. That's flanked by headlamps offering various light theatrics, their distinctive illuminating signature apparently inspired by both the larger DS No8 and the DS E-TENSE performance concept car. This sees a segmented light beam spanning the bumper that meets an illuminated DS logo in the centre. As in its combustion forms, this is a moderately good looking sharply-angled lower mid-sized would-be premium hatch, measuring 4,400mm in length and riding on wheel rims between 19 and 20-inches in size. Inside, Basalt trimming and bronze inserts try to lift the cabin above the generic volume brand norm. And in a top model fitted out with alcantara and Nappa leather, you might even feel the cabin to be quite luxurious. This fully digital cabin is made up of no fewer than three displays, There's a 10-inch instrument cluster screen. And an infotainment display of the same size in the centre of the dash for media and navigation. This is controlled by a third 5-inch screen further down the centre stack known as the 'DS Smart Touch'. If that's not enough screen tech for you, top 'Etoile' trim gets a head-up display claimed to be closer to augmented reality than any other system. The information viewed doesn't just get projected onto the windscreen; it instead gets projected further out onto your view of the road in a range 4-metres ahead and on an image 21 inches wide. Another interesting touch is the lack of visible air vents; the main ventilation unit is integrated behind a strip of physical switches that sit just below the main control screen. Out back, rear seat space is reasonable but unremarkable. Boot space for the E-TENSE is rated at 390-litres, 30-litres more than the No4 PHEV but 40-litres less than the No4 hybrid.

Market and Model

The No4 E-TENSE qualified for the £1,500 government Electric car Grant. The model line-up starts with a base 'Pallas' level of trim (which before grant deduction from around £37,000 at launch). Beyond that, the range offers two main trim levels - 'Pallas+' and top 'Etoile'. This E-TENSE model costs only fractional more than the No4 in Plug-in Hybrid form, but is nearly £7,000 more than the equivalent Hybrid 145 version. Even the base 'Pallas' No4 E-TENSE variant gets an interior completed with diamond tungsten fabric and DS black canvas seats. The dashboard and door panels have basalt black trim with a tortoiseshell effect, as well as bronze inserts. Other standard No4 equipment includes dual-zone automatic climate control, LED headlamps and full-LED rear lights, heated and folding door mirrors, along with a safety pack featuring adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking. Plus there's front and rear parking assistance with a reversing camera and acoustic laminated front side windows. Provided your No4 has 'Pallas+' spec, you'll also get the brand's DS Iris system, plus 3D connected navigation with natural voice recognition, wireless smartphone charging and keyless entry and start, as well as a heat pump on E-TENSE variants. Top 'Etoile' trim adds an alcantara-trimmed cabin, a head-up display, DS Matrix LED vision headlamps and scrolling rear indicators, along with a rear traffic detection pack, powered front seats, laminated and tinted rear glass, aluminium door sill protectors and pedals and the DS Drive Assist pack.

Cost of Ownership

Stellantis-sourced EV drivetrains aren't often segment leading in terms of charging speed but usually do just enough to be competitive. So it is here. The DS No4 E-TENSE can be DC-charged at up to 120kW, allowing for a 62 mile top-up in 11 minutes. DC charging for 20-80% can be completed in just under 30 minutes. AC charging from home using a typical single-phase 7.4kW wallbox needs 9 hours and 30 minutes for full replenishment; with a three-phase 11kW supply, you can reduce that to 6 hours and 15 minutes. Plug into a domestic socket and you'd need a yawning 30 hours. As usual with EVs, you can schedule charging either from the car's centre screen or via a provided DS app. And via that app, you can also pre-condition the cabin climate before you get inside so that you won't have to sap battery energy using the climate fan. DS provides a standard heat pump which gains heat from the ambient air, reducing the strain on the climate system in colder months. Servicing on No4 models is needed every year or every 12,500 miles and the cost of garage visits should be affordable.

Summary

The DS brand hasn't helped itself by some strange product decisions over the last few years. Perhaps the most costly of these was to launch the DS 4 in 2022 without the full-EV drivetrain it could have borrowed from its Peugeot E-308 Stellantis Group cousin. Now that oversight has been corrected in the rather pleasantly-styled form of this DS No5 E-TENSE, perhaps the brand can start to make a little more sales headway in our market. It is, after all, the only contender in the premium compact hatch segment that can offer an EV powertrain like this as well as mild hybrid and PHEV options. And when you take the government grant into consideration, it's tightly priced too. Worth a look then? Why not. No one else in your street will have one.