Citroen DS5 Launch: Three's A Crowd?

With the roaring success of the DS3 already under Citroen's belt and an admittedly average post-launch reception of the DS4 last year, the French manufacturer is attempting to get back on track with their third release in the DS range, the new DS5. We attended a launch event at SMMT's HQ in Westminster to find out a little more about the car and how it aims to captivate through design.

According to Andy Cowell, the British-born designer of the DS5, launching this D-segment competitor has been similar in emotion to the release of a musician's third album; the first tending to break an artist, the second catapulting them into A-list limelight, and the third cementing their status as an icon. Whilst the DS4 compact hasn't been able to rival sales totals billed by the DS3, the DS5 aims to eradicate the awkwardness of 2011's DS release through sensuous style and luxury.

How so? For starters, this car is made for 5, a GT if you will. With 465-litres of bootspace (enough in fact to squeeze in your humble author, but that's another story) this is a deceptively roomy car and half of that deception is down to some clever design.

Notice firstly, the chrome "sabres" running from the tips of the headlamps to the front windows. These create the perception of length despite the car measuring only 4.5 metres. Cowell has also worked hard to make the DS5 look good on the move, not just at a standstill, "ideally we would have seen this car running about on London's roads", he proclaims and rightly so - many hours have gone into modelling the DS5 with full-sized replicas having been made and driven just to see how light reflects from its many creases and lines.

And what of interior luxury? Whilst the DS3, depending on option spec, captured imaginations with its piano black plastic finish and the DS4 didn't encourage the same "WOW Factor", the DS5 embraces French "quirky" luxury complete with watch strap leather and an aviation-industry inspired multi-panel sunroof. "Hypnotic", is the word that is bounded around when discussing the interior with Cowell and rightly so; this is a move away from clear-cut and functional German design and a move towards character and full-fat personality.

Whilst the event was a great introduction to what we can expect at the end of Spring 2011 when the DS5 is released, we unfortunately didn't get the opportunity to drive a production vehicle at the event. One of the most exciting powerplants to be featured is the 200bhp diesel electric Hybrid4 system which offers rock-bottom CO2 emissions and financial benefits as you'd expect.

So the question come April will certainly be: does the new DS5 capture that essential French spirit, and can it entice stylish customers to splurge and purchase one? We think so, and in which case, this will most certainly not be a case of "two's company, three's a crowd", but merely the successful creation of the highly-desired third hit.