Citroën’s style-laden DS models are all about the design. They are difficult to recommend rationally however. Take the DS5; it’s pricey at $62,990 in diesel trim, and though the features are plentiful, the vehicle is not particularly roomy and the ride could do with more of that usual Citroën cushiness. The switchgear seems to be sprayed around the cabin, the steering wheel is too big, and the rearward vision is fairly poor too but there’s just something about the DS5 that, for some, will make those drawbacks seem trivial. It’s not going to be everyone’s café au lait, but for those looking for something completely different, this is it.
Expect to take a few days to familiarize yourself with all of the styling nuances, while the interior never fails to raise eyebrows. You feel compelled to paw at every surface, and fiddle with all the buttons just to see what they actually do. The DS model line isn’t merely conventional, and nor is it overdone; it’s simply different, and that’s so very French.
Here the DS5 is accounting for 34 per cent of sales, which is a high ratio in global terms. Speaking of percentages, Citroën sales are on the up and up here in NZ. The brand relaunched locally around this time last year under new distributors, Sime Darby, and sales have increased by 20 per cent year on year, with some 300 units sold. That might be small in terms of the overall industry but as Simon Rose, Citroën NZ chief, says “Twenty per cent growth certainly makes the factory happy.”
For all that it has been a tough year but Rose said his strategy has focused on “doing the basics brilliantly, from production of websites and brochures to getting the distribution right” To that end, dealer numbers have grown from five to eight, with added presence in Auckland, and new dealers in Hamilton and Tauranga, with more to come in Nelson, Napier and Palmerston North.
