DS No8 Review 2025

In the spheres of luxury fashion, fragrance and cuisine, French brands are synonymous with excellence yet, despite numerous attempts as a nation, it’s almost always fallen short when it comes to high-class cars. The latest contender to attempt to break the cycle is the DS No8.

As a standalone brand DS, struggled to sell significant numbers of its premium-priced cars since the original DS 3 went out of production. While the No8 won’t trouble the tops of any sales charts it’s unlikely to do worse than the DS 9, the upmarket saloon it essentially replaces.

We say essentially because the DS No8 isn’t itself a saloon — it’s an SUV coupe, albeit a svelte, low-slung one. While beauty remains within the eye of the beholder, its cleaner, less glitzy yet still showy styling appears to be a step in the right direction. And yes, we’re including the two-tone bodywork and illuminated faux grille in that summary.

One aspect DS will be immediately keen to clarify when its marketing campaign gets under way is how to say the newcomer’s name. Rest assured it’s not a negative ‘no 8’ or punny ‘no, wait’, rather an abbreviation of the French numéro in a manner similar to that used by Chanel for its perfumes. And just as its perfectly acceptable in the UK to say ‘Chanel Number 5’, it will be verbally known here as ‘DS Number 8’.

It’s also worth highlighting at this juncture that although DS is a French brand, the No8 will be manufactured in an Italian plant alongside a forthcoming large Vauxhall and a modern-day take on the Lancia Gamma, although whether that also makes it to the UK is a moot point.

All DS No8s are fully electric — in fact, the battery packs are made in France, so it’s not entirely Italian — making the similarly intriguing Polestar 4 its most immediate rival.

As it’s only 1.58m tall and incredibly aerodynamically efficient, we envisage in many customers’ minds it will be seen as an alternative to the likes of the BMW i4 and even the Mercedes EQE Saloon rather than more upright and ponderously proportioned SUVs.

Don’t be surprised if the forthcoming Mazda 6e five-door hatchback-coupe also ends up being considered alongside the No8.

Among the DS No8’s provisional details is confirmation of the three power choices to be offered, although all have an electronically governed top speed of 118mph.

Gateway to the range is the front-wheel drive 230PS version with 345Nm of torque on tap for a 0-62mph time of 7.7 seconds. Its 74kWh battery gives a provisional Combined cycle range of 355 miles.

While that’s good, the 245PS Long Range front-wheel drive model has a 97.2kWh battery extending the provisional driving range to a very impressive 466 miles. Although it’s got a little more power, the torque figure hasn’t changed and the battery’s extra weight dials the 0-62mph time down to 7.8 seconds.

Using the Long Range battery together with a second motor at the back for all-wheel drive is the 350PS flagship. Its 511Nm of torque squirts the DS No8 from 0-62 in just 5.4 seconds but the extra performance’s weight penalty shaves the driving range down to 426 miles.

Recharging times have only been shared for the larger battery so far. Using a conventional 7.4kW domestic wallbox a 20-80% recharge takes 8 hours 50 minutes. Connected to a 160kW DC rapid charger means the same replenishment requires 27 minutes.

From launch two DS No8 trim levels are available. Pallas is the less expensive and can be paired with the FWD 230 and FWD Long Range 245 electrical drive systems at £50,780 and 54,180, respectively. Heading the trim hierarchy is Etoile where those same drive systems (FWD 230 at £54,280 and FWD Long Range 245 from £58,530) are joined by the AWD Long Range 350, weighing in at £62,030.

Both trim levels showcase the DS No8’s interior that appears to be a a fine example of restrained elegance, with uncluttered surfaces, a central display screen that appears to be floating and an X-spoke pattern steering wheel.

Of particular note is DS Active Scan Suspension that uses a camera to read the road surface immediately ahead of the car to prime the suspension to react to changes in order to maximise comfort. Purists will lament that it’s not the famed hydropneumatic arrangement of Citroen DS models of yesteryear but given that technology’s unlikely to be resurrected we’ll give the latest system the benefit of the doubt for now.

How practical the DS No8 will be also remains to be seen but we do know that opening the electric tailgate reveals an impressive 620-litre space with all five seats in use with the boot floor itself measuring 1.16m deep.

No figures have yet been provided about the load capacity with the rear seats folded over, but they split in a 40/20/40 formation and can be reclined up to 30 degrees depending on passenger preference.

Orders for the DS No8 opened earlier than expected in February 2025 with the first customer deliveries due by the middle of the year.

Keep this page bookmarked as it will be updated with further news as well as our comprehensive DS No8 review.