Which brand has the lowest presence in the luxury car market? A little analysis can have a very clear understanding. First-line luxury brands only have BBA (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi), their presence is very strong, sales are also the top three, everywhere on the road, consumers have a strong purchasing power for them. Among the second-tier luxury brands, Cadillac, Volvo, Jaguar Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Infiniti, etc. also have certain fans, in specific circles, these brands launch models are still very popular, although their sales are not as good as BBA, but also have a fixed buying crowd. To say that the luxury brand with the lowest sense of existence, I think it is DS cars, and even some people exclude it from the luxury brand, although this brand is the French president's car, but after leaving France, it has become insignificant when it comes to distant China.
DS Car's flagship sedan is DS 9, it is a luxury B-class car, from this point it can be seen that it has a large gap with other luxury brands, BBA has its own luxury D-class car, even if there is no luxury D-class car some brands, there are also their own luxury C-class cars, B-class cars are often only positioned relatively low-end models, and DS Cars' B-class cars are flagship models, and the brand tone is still a big gap with most luxury brands. DS 9 is priced at 25.49-34.49 million yuan, from the price point of view, this is a normal price of a second-tier luxury B-class car, referring to the price range of Lincoln Z's 25.28-34.08 million yuan, the price of these two cars is basically between Bozhong, and lincoln Z may be a few thousand dollars cheaper. The DS 9 series comes standard with a powertrain of 1.6T+8AT, with a maximum power of 215 hp and a maximum torque of 300 Nm, the transmission system is the Aisin 8AT transmission, the Lincoln Z series is equipped with a powertrain of 2.0T+8AT as standard, the maximum power is 246 hp, the maximum torque is 376 Nm, and the transmission system is the Ford 8AT transmission. In the case of similar prices, in exchange for you, who would you choose?
Like citroën Versailles C5 X and other French B-class cars still use a torsion beam type non-independent rear suspension, as a luxury B-class car DS 9 naturally will not "self-destruct martial arts", it uses a multi-link independent rear suspension, the dynamic experience is more stable, the chassis suspension is more resilient, DS 9 is still very clean and crisp to drive. Its steering system is also very precise, the steering wheel is very small, driving it can not feel that this is a 4933mm long "big car", giving people a very light feeling.
In terms of interior, the interior design of DS 9 is also in line with the texture of luxury B-class cars, the interior material is mostly Nappa cowhide, the touch is very good, the luxurious atmosphere created is also in place, the quartz clock on the center console can also automatically flip, start the vehicle, the quartz clock slowly rises, and can automatically turn back after turning off, I think this design should be borrowed from Rolls-Royce, or very ritualistic. In addition to the standard models, the rest of the models are equipped with a 12.3-inch LCD dashboard and a 12.3-inch central control screen, supporting satellite navigation, voice recognition control, Internet of Vehicles, mobile phone Interconnection and other functions, but do not support OTA upgrades, general scalability. Its leather seat surface is also designed with a bracelet, which is very special.
In terms of space, the rear space is relatively spacious, the seats on both sides have been extended, the rear floor platform is not high, and the riding texture is more comfortable. The car is also equipped with Fuyao double-layer sound insulation glass, which has a strong sense of isolation from the noise outside the car and is very quiet inside the car. The top model is also equipped with a 14-speaker FOCAL Sound and rear seat heating/ventilation/massage functions to further enhance ride comfort. The disadvantages of DS 9 are also obvious, due to its weak brand premium ability, resulting in a lower used car retention rate of this car, as well as its more expensive maintenance price. It can be seen that its shortcomings come from the brand and after-sales, and its own quality is still very stable.
In terms of sales, the DS 9 only sold 2324 vehicles in 2021, and the monthly sales in 2022 are not ideal, sometimes 277 vehicles, sometimes 156 vehicles, such a monthly sales performance is less than a fraction of the monthly sales of BBA models. Its product quality is very stable, there is no problem with materials and workmanship, the design and power level are good, the sales performance is decent, it can only be said that DS 9 is an underrated luxury car, with a standard of 215 horsepower + Aisin 8AT, almost zero noise but can not sell. Finally, what are your thoughts on the DS 9?