► First pics of new 2015 DS5
► Citroen badge – be gone!
► See it at Geneva motor show
You’re looking at the new 2015 Citroen DS5, or rather the straightforward DS5 as the French would have it. For they’ve banned all mention of the double chevrons with the latest facelift for the company’s range-topper.
It’s part of the ongoing attempt to build DS into a separate standalone brand. Think Lexus to Toyota, rather than a scrubbed-up Citroen.
Click here to read how new PSA chief Carlos Tavares plans to make DS a premium brand.
The 2015 DS in detail: what’s new?
Not a huge amount, if we’re being honest. This is a nip and a tuck for the DS5, most apparent at the front end.
Citroen’s double-chevrons are banished, replaced by a new grille focused on the prominent DS badge – and they’re shouting; it’s also on the leading edge of the bonnet above – surrounded by lashings of chrome that bleed into the distinctive, shiny ‘sabre’ styling line running the length of the bonnet.
The headlamps are new, too, now mixing LED technology with xenon bulbs. The turn indicators are described as ‘sequential,’ making us think they light up in an arrow fashion like on some Audis.
More encouraging are the engineering changes; we’ve never felt the DS5 matched the flair of its couture with a satisfying drive – and the 2015 model looks to improve the way it flows down the road. New dampers feature pre-loaded linear valve tech to provide more progressive rebound. Could this be the addition to make the DS5 waft like a posh Citroen should? We do hope so…
Inside the 2015 Citroen DS5
There’s a new infotainment system in the DS5, which means there are a dozen fewer buttons cluttering the centre console. A Mirror Screen function also lets passengers stream their smartphone screen on to the car’s display for safer use.
And, as is the trend, there’s a new MyDS app available for iOS and Android phone users – bringing a suite of Citroen-backed services to the cockpit.
‘The new DS 5 is more than just a new car,’ said Yves Bonnefont, the chief executive of DS. ‘It is the car introducing our brand identity. Sixty years on from the original DS, the new DS 5 carries all the genes of DS. Above all, it is a clear statement of our ambition: to revive the tradition of French premium vehicles.’