To give it due credit, this is not just a Peugeot 508 with lashings of additional chrome. DS has adapted and stretched Stellantis’s EMP2 platform to serve on a car that is within 50mm of a BMW 5 Series on overall length and has a wheelbase almost 80mm longer than the 508’s. Rear cabin space is advertised as being “lounge-like” – a claim we’ll scrutinise shortly – and the car gets noise-reducing laminated glazing, and a chassis that DS calls “hard-bonded” for the extra rigidity needed to keep ride noise to a minimum.
Flush-fitting door handles are an increasingly prevalent convention in luxury car design. The 9’s dependably appear when you are within two metres of the driver’s door with the key in your pocket. If, for any reason, they don’t, press them in and they’ll pop back out.
A concerted effort has clearly been made to produce a lavish driving environment – and it has worked. Our Performance Line Plus test car had grey Alcantara panelling on its door cards, fascia, transmission tunnel and seats, which certainly produced a convincing ‘top-level’ sense of luxury (although several testers wondered how well these materials might weather and resist staining). Those wanting an even more special cabin can find an Alcantara headlining, a full-grain nappa leather interior and even heated and massaging rear seats in any one of several optional interior design theme packages.
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