Overview: DS No.8 AWD Long Range in brief
While impressed with our first drive in the all-new DS No.8 in its front-wheel-drive (FWD) Long Range (LR) form, we were craving a little more power from this large, elegant, French fastback.
Well, this is the flagship version of the No.8, which has the same larger 97.2kWh LR battery pack, but also a secondary motor on its rear axle to give it all-wheel drive (AWD). And that spikes peak power to a 375hp ceiling accordingly. So, do we prefer the added grunt of the AWD, accepting it comes at the cost of less range and greater expenditure?
Pros & Cons of the DS No.8 AWD Long Range
Pros: Super-plush interior, good balance of range and speed, improved handling
Cons: Rear headroom limited, AWD likely to be expensive
What's different from the DS No.8 FWD Long Range?
Visually, very little separates the top-dog AWD from the supposedly lesser FWD model. As we said in our first-drive review, all versions get the same 20-inch alloy wheels as standard, so unless the 21-inch black 'Cassiopeia' rims have been optioned-in by an owner, it won't be immediately apparent what's different on the outside.
The only real giveaway is a remarkably discreet (well, certainly when compared to the goliath font of the 'DS Automobiles' legend above it) little 'AWD' logo on the boot lid beneath the main 'No.8' emblem, which the FWD doesn't have.
Also, as the AWD will be the most expensive drivetrain configuration, it's likely it will be ordered in the grander specifications and so the car might be finished with the extended bi-tone colour package that paints the bonnet black - much harder to miss, and something which was on our test vehicle.
We like the appearance of the darker bonnet; if you're going to go for a leftfield French alternative to the mainstream premium norm, then go the whole hog and have it as distinctively Gallic-looking as you can.
Performance of the DS No.8 AWD Long Range
• Added second motor boosts power to 375hp peak
• Really makes a difference to No.8's overall 'feel'
• Handling also better with AWD traction
Like all the electric vehicles (EVs) we've seen on the STLA Medium platform, you can either have your car with one motor or two, with the latter configuration forming the flagship variant as you'd expect.
In the DS No.8's case, the nominal power - as in, what the two motors can make all the time, rather than in the time-limited boost phase - leaps from 245hp in the FWD to a chunky 350hp here. The gap between the two narrows by 10hp in boost mode, as the FWD goes up 35hp to 280hp, but the AWD only gains 25hp for a 375hp peak, yet that's enough to take almost two-and-a-half seconds off the 0-100km/h time, this dual-motor running a swift 5.4-second sprint. The AWD's boosted torque of 511Nm also plays a big part in this added swiftness.
The short precis of this switch is that the AWD LR feels far more like the upmarket car the No.8 is supposed to be. Speed isn't everything, of course, and naturally opting for a second motor that's supping away at the reserves of the 97.2kWh battery pack trims the range to less than 700km (688km officially), but we think it's a price worth paying for the much more polished and convincing way the AWD drives as a whole.
It feels properly sorted, the 109kg weight gain over the FWD model perhaps settling the car more on its springs and dampers and ultimately tying it down better as a result. It certainly feels less roly-poly in the corners, and it's also far happier being hustled along at a decent lick as it'll resist understeer for much longer than the FWD version does - mainly by dint of some of its power and torque going to the trailing wheels.
If anything, the steering also has a little more weight and precision to it, and while the bite of the friction brakes could do with a touch extra oomph when you're pressing on, the general calibration of the three-stage regenerative deceleration is really sweetly judged, so if you time your accelerator lifts right and have the car in its middle regen setting, you can get it into a lovely, brisk and gratifying flow on a challenging road.
Yet the AWD doesn't lose any of the superb rolling refinement nor ride comfort of the FWD, again likely because heavier cars tend to sit better on the road than lighter machines. There are still the few hard-edged moments from the suspension as it attempts (and sometimes doesn't quite manage) to smother out the 20-inch wheels thudding down into larger imperfections, but this flagship car is every bit as luxuriant and cosseting to travel in as the less-rapid model. As it should be.
We even saw better energy consumption from the AWD, surprisingly. Admittedly, the FWD had a longer, tougher test route ahead of it, but we also suspect that because you have to work less hard to recover lost speed into, through and out of the corners in the AWD, you don't find yourself flattening the accelerator pedal as much in the effortless AWD as you do in the somewhat malnourished FWD - which is presumably why we saw an indicated 25kWh/100km in the dual-motor No.8, and up to 31kWh/100km in the single-motor derivative.
Driven more gently on a regular basis we'd fully expect either DS to better 20kWh/100km and thus easily go past 500km to a charge.
Interior, Practicality, Tech & Comfort of the DS No.8 AWD Long Range
• Jules Verne trim ramps up luxury factor
• A wonderful place to spend time
• Second motor trims boot capacity by 60 litres
The Jules Verne specification, which is not guaranteed to come to Ireland, takes the opulent material finishing of the other No.8 models in the DS range and then runs with it, adding Nappa leather seats, some 'marbled' aluminium dash trim for the fascia, and great astronomical patterns cut into the door cards (Earth-and-Moon rising, sunbeams etc) that really give some extra punch to the car's cabin - and pay some form of tribute to the pre-eminent French sci-fi author.
In more practical terms, the interior of the AWD No.8, Jules Verne-spec or not, is every bit as edifying and pleasant as that of the FWD - the bizarre four-spoke X-pattern steering wheel notwithstanding - so the only real talking point here is that the motor on the rear axle eats into boot space to the tune of 60 litres, leaving the flagship DS with 560 litres behind its rear seats as a result.
Irish Pricing & Rivals of the DS No.8 AWD Long Range
• Prices of No.8 yet to be confirmed
• Dual-motor AWD will be the dearest, though
• Added power and cost puts it up against tough rivals
With no Irish prices nor specifications yet confirmed, we can't give you a definitive steer on the placement of the DS No.8 AWD Long Range in the wider premium EV landscape right now - but obviously, for the added tech and power it brings, it'll be the most expensive of the three models in the launch line-up and that will likely put it into competition with tough rivals from other manufacturers.
While there are plenty of single-motor, lower-powered EVs that probably wouldn't worry the FWD No.8, the minute you're talking AWD dual-motor cars then the field gets more congested with things like the top models in both the regular Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 ranges coming into play. And that's saying nothing of the Teslas Model 3 and Y, the Audis Q4 and Q6 e-tron Sportback quattros, the BMW i4, the Polestars 2 and 4, and more.
Verdict - Should You Buy the DS No.8 AWD Long Range?
You absolutely should, if you fancy the look of the DS No.8 in the first place, because while we accept that more speed is not always the answer - and such a thing does concomitantly mean less range and a greater price - there's no doubting the AWD LR is the pick of the French car's range. It still has a few minor foibles, but overall, the way it drives and conducts itself makes it arguably the most convincing and therefore desirable all-round vehicle that DS Automobiles has yet made. It's an excellent creation.
FAQs About the DS No.8 AWD Long Range
Do we need to refer to the DS No.8 AWD as a Long Range?
Not really, because the dual-motor No.8 only comes with the bigger 97.2kWh battery pack anyway; you can't team the smaller 73.7kWh unit with the AWD set-up. However, DS likes to refer to both of its No.8s with larger batteries as 'Long Range', so we'll stick with the epithet for the sake of correctness.
What will be the other specifications of DS No.8 AWD Long Range?
We don't know for sure, but we suspect that - like the DS 7 and DS 9 before it - the entry-level car will be the Pallas, with a step up to Etoile trim from there.
Do I get a heat pump as standard on my DS No.8 AWD Long Range?
Yes, a heat pump should be standard equipment on all DS No.8s, going by the specifications in other European countries.
Want to know more about the DS No.8 AWD Long Range?
Is there anything else you'd like to know about the DS No.8 AWD Long Range? Or anything you feel we haven't covered here? Then just head over to our Ask Us Anything section and, well, ask us anything.
