• Good room for four, with plenty of legroom
• Lots of storage space around the cabin
• Headroom isn’t brilliant, especially in the rear
  

How much space is there?

Passenger space in the DS 9 is good compared with smaller rivals, such as the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4, but not quite up there with their bigger cousins, the 5 Series and A6. Despite that, there’s more than enough room up front and in the rear to accommodate four adults comfortably – not something you can say about the car it’s based on, the Peugeot 508.

We’d like a little more headroom. You pay a price for that sleek styling and the sloping roofline compromises the headroom for taller drivers, especially on sunroof-equipped cars. It’s also a bit narrower than the 5 Series and A6, making it more of a squeeze for three on the rear bench.

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Boot space and storage

The DS 9 has sleek fastback styling, but it’s a conventional saloon with a separate luggage area totalling 510 litres or 473 with the Focal Electra stereo. The boot is long and wide, and will swallow a considerable amount of kit. The hybrid battery pack robs some space, meaning the boot floor is a little on the shallow side, but at least the floor is flat and you’re not presented with an ungainly step like you get in a BMW 530e or Mercedes-Benz E300de.

It lacks the practicality of a hatchback, but you can extend the luggage space, thanks to a 60/40-split folding rear seat with a ski hatch. However, if you opt for the massaging seats they become fixed because the controls for them are found in the middle seat when they’re folded down.

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Is it easy to park?

It’s a large car, and you feel its ample dimensions most keenly in town thanks to inadequate visibility. The view out front is good enough, but looking out the rear of the car is hampered by a small rear screen, which is largely obscured by the rear headrests.

The small mirrors don’t help a great deal, either, but optional automated parking is available as a cost option. Parking sensors and 360-degree cameras on the more luxurious versions help a great deal, though. We do wish the cameras were of a higher resolution, though.

Safety

• Four-star rating by Euro NCAP
• Packed with safety equipment
• Closely related to the Peugeot 508, which is a five-star car

The DS 9 has received a disappointing four-star rarting from Euro NCAP. But its maker has managed to squeeze in all the safety tech you’d expect from a range-topping saloon, too. It comes with autonomous emergency braking, traffic sign recognition, three Isofix child seat mounting points, a night vision mode and driver attention monitoring.

Adaptive cruise control with lane-keeping assist is also included as part of the DS Drive Assist package. This system works well on the DS 9, resulting in relaxed motorway driving.

The DS Safety suite includes DS Night Vision (the dashboard shows an infrared version of the view ahead), DS Driver Attention Monitoring (warning you if your attention wanes), and DS Active LED Vision (the beam pattern adapts to speed and road conditions), blind spot monitoring, and extended traffic sign recognition.

Watch the DS9 Euro NCAP crash test