CarBrandLogos archive · DS · 2011

DSDS 5

Citroen's attempt at a premium car that looked like nothing else on a French road.

Photo: M 93 · CC BY-SA 3.0 de

The story

A defining chapter in DS history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the DS 5, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

The DS 5 began life as a Citroen, launched in 2011 as the flagship of the DS sub-range, and only became a car in its own right when DS Automobiles was spun out as a separate brand within Groupe PSA. Frederic Soubirou's exterior did not resemble anything else in the class: a five-door hatchback with a raised, kicked-up window line, chrome sabres running back from the headlamps into the A-pillars, and a stance that fell somewhere between an estate, a coupe and a small crossover without committing to any of them.

DS DS 5 · M 93 · CC BY-SA 3.0 de

Citroën - DS5 - Mondial de l'Automobile de Paris 2012 - 205

Design and engineering

The interior was the more serious argument. Instead of imitating German restraint, DS built an aircraft-style cockpit with a bank of toggle switches overhead, watch-strap leather, and a roof made of three separate glass panels each with its own blind. It was genuinely unusual in a segment where unusual is rarely attempted.

Citroën - DS5 - Mondial de l'Automobile de Paris 2012 - 205 · Thesupermat · CC BY-SA 3.0

In production

Mechanically it drew on the PSA parts bin — turbocharged 1.6-litre petrol fours and the 2.0-litre HDi diesel — but the notable version was the HYbrid4, which paired the diesel engine driving the front wheels with an electric motor on the rear axle, giving the car all-wheel drive without a propshaft. It was one of the first diesel-electric hybrids sold to the public.

Citroen DS5 2012 46 · Kārlis Dambrāns from Latvia · CC BY 2.0

Legacy

It found its place more as a statement than as a sales success. Ride quality never quite matched the ambition, and the class was unforgiving. It replaced the Citroen C5 hatchback, ran until 2018 with assembly at Sochaux and, for the Chinese market, at Shenzhen, and was eventually succeeded in spirit by the DS N°4. The DS 5 is best understood as the car that tested whether the DS idea could stand on its own.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

2011–2018

Designer

Frédéric Soubirou (exterior)

Body

5-door hatchback

Technical specification

The DS 5, in detail.

Production: 2011–2018
Class: Compact executive car (D)
Body style: 5-door hatchback
Layout: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive
Engine: 1.6L THP163 / THP200 GDI Turbocharged I4 (petrol); 2.0 L DW10 HDi I4 (diesel) with electric engine (HYbrid4)
Transmission: 6 speed Auto Aisin; 6-speed automated manual
Designer: Frédéric Soubirou (exterior)
Assembly: France: Sochaux (PSA Sochaux Plant); China: Shenzhen (Changan PSA)
Manufacturer: DS Automobiles (Groupe PSA)