DS 9 Luxury Saloon arrives – so Macron doesn’t have to be ferried in an SUV

The DS 9 Saloon arrives as Citroen’s posh division delivers a range-topping luxury model – the size of a BMW 5 Series – complete with electrified powertrains.

The Head of State in the UK, HM the Queen, normally travels in a customised Bentley, but has a few Rolls-Royce Phantoms to fall back on and endless other glorious vintage models too, and the US Head of State, The President, travels in ‘The Beast’, a one-off Cadillac. But the Head of State in France, Emmanuel Macron, normally arrives in an SUV – a Peugeot 5008 or, at his inauguration, a DS 7 Crossback. 

But it t wasn’t always so, and the most famous French Presidential car is probably the 1950s Citroen DS beloved by Charles de Gaulle and now, with the arrival of the DS 9, Macron could finally arrive in something a bit more suitable than a mainstream family SUV.

About the size of a BMW 5 Series, the new DS 9 is a conservative-looking saloon which, nevertheless, manages to nod to its illustrious predecessors with high mounted indicators at the back, but it is in fact a titivated Peugeot 508 with more legroom.

Inside is a little more adventurous with a modern DS look, with angles flying everywhere, oodles of leather, and all the safety toys at PSA’s disposal, including night vision and Level 2 autonomy.

Under the skin lurks a plug-in hybrid powertrain with a total of 222bhp – around half from an electric motor – mated to an eight-speed auto and officially good for up to 31 miles of electric range, with the promise of a 355bhp version to follow complete with 4WD, and a petrol engined version with 222bhp.

It’s good that Emmanuel Macron will now have something a bit more suitable to turn up in, and great for those who love a three year old big French saloon after it’s shed 90 per cent of its value.