DS 4 review

The DS 4 offers suspension with a road-scanning stereo camera that spots bumps, softening each damper in turn as that wheel hits the perturbation. If you want this technology but don't want a DS, you’ll probably have to shell out for something like a Mercedes S-Class or Rolls-Royce Ghost.

The system, called Active Scan (standard on most of the PHEVs, optional elsewhere in the range), works only in limited circumstances: you have to be below about 60mph, and obviously it can get confused by puddles and odd lighting conditions. And you have to be in 'comfort' drive mode or it just reverts to a conventional adaptive damping setup with normal and sports modes.

Does it work?

It really does. The DS 4 rides rather beautifully in 'comfort'. It's more consistent and fluent than in the DS 7 and 9. Also, the 4's stiff bodyshell avoids transmitting much in the way of unnerving clonks or tyre noise. It’s remarkably quiet inside the cabin. 

The sports mode jiggles and jostles, and because the steering and handling are unengaging you won't gain much by using it. We haven't driven one with a passive chassis yet, mind.

Can it go round corners?

Even though it's a bit of a softie, the steering is accurate enough and body roll and understeer are both well-controlled. But it's not the sort of car where you play with the cornering on the throttle.

And the power?

Exact acceleration is tricky to administer because of an auto 'box with strange ratio gaps and unpredictable shift timing. This is a pretty much universal flaw with cars out of what we used to call the PSA Group. Another issue with the auto 'box is that it doesn't neatly release drive when you come to rest, so there's usually a jerk. Irritating in town.

Still, the engines themselves are fine. They're the Group's usual 129bhp three-cylinder petrol, and previously you were able to get a four-cylinder 1.6 in 179 and 221bhp tunes, although that’s now off-sale in the UK. There is still a 129bhp diesel for those of you who do intergalactic daily mileages, though. Does anyone these days?

The little three-cylinder petrol is a good engine and allows for a comfortable 0-62mph time of 10.4 seconds. Sounds better than four-cylinders, too.

What about the plug-in hybrid?

The PHEV version, called E-Tense, sandwiches an electric motor between the 180bhp engine and the transmission for a total of 222bhp. As usual you can spend your 12.4kWh of battery-stored energy all at once on journeys of up to 38.5 miles or spread it out over a longer trip to get pretty satisfying economy. In our case almost 100mpg over 50 miles. In electric-only mode, it'll easily keep up with suburban traffic.

It's a sprightly thing at full bore, but you do have to give it a bit of notice when a spurt of acceleration is needed, so it can wake the engine, summon some boost, and probably shift down a gear or two as well. Again, nothing unusual for a PHEV, but this one is merely average at doing that juggle. Still, if you can drive with anticipation it's smooth and quiet.

The E-Tense's braking progression, which mixes regen with friction when it needs to, isn't perfect. But it's by no means the worst hybrid out there.

Driver aids?

Yup, you can spec matrix headlights, all-round parking cameras, and highly assisted cruise control. Night vision is more tech you can't get elsewhere in the class too.