Our man in Brazil has been sharing his love of the Citroen DS line of late, and in the process he’s managed to coax more than a few fans of Citroen’s funky “anti-retro” experiment out of the closet. Of course, the Citroen love has also drawn out a few detractors, who criticize the DS line’s out-there looks, the brand’s weak links to the glorious DS past, or the overall Frenchness of the whole thing. And with the latest installment in Citroen’s ongoing love note to French automotive savoire faire, the DS5, Citroen isn’t shying away from the controversy. Just introduced in Shanghai, the DS5 is funkier, freakier and, well, Frencher than ever, all while bringing the DS line into its most practical application to date. And with Peugeot’s diesel-hybrid drivetrain in which the rear wheels are driven electrically (lowering drivetrain complexity and weight), the DS5 even has a hint of the old-school Citroen creativity in its engineering. Fans of the French car, it’s time to let your freak flags fly.
Of all the things not to take a styling risk on, why a four-spoke steering wheel? I’m sure a single spoke wheel could have been designed to accommodate both an airbag and audio/cruise controls while paying homage to a long-time Citroen styling cue.
Color me impressed. Citroen is on a roll with the DS line. Other marques with celebrated pasts, take notice: this is how you do retro: by not doing it!
Mon Dieu!!! want… one…. badly….
No spheres no care.
What? No spheres?
Sacrilege!
Nobody does vehicular wierdness quite like the French. But I find this wierd-HOT, avant guard, and pretty desirable…all the textures, crazy lines and angles somehow come together into a harmonious whole.
Looks like it could be the best selling family car on the planet Klingon.
It just looks very…Gallic.
I agree with the comments about the steering wheel – that would be one styling feature that Citroen should have retained.
Here was I, worried of old I was getting since it’d been such a long time I’d pined for any brand-new car. Along comes the DS retro anti-retro French crazyness. Yes, now I want a new car…
This one is one cool beast, but I like my cars smaller. Make mine the DS4 with 156 ponies, pls.
Merci beaucoup
How cool. Me like.
Ouch, I want one so bad it hurts!
J’adore!! The whole DS range is amazing at the moment, It is so hard to choose which one I want the most! I am loving the new interior design that Citroen are coming up with, this is very similar to the interior of the DS4. I love the watch strap seat design!
The interior is quite amazing. Style of the centre console, the materials, the door panels, everything is really incredible. They have done a great job there
I think the wrong people bailed out Chrysler. THIS is a car that’s appealing.