Peugeot is working on a new 308, Opel on a new Astra and DS will present a completely new DS 4 to the world next year. What do those models have in common? All three share the same technical basis. The DS 4 has now passed the lens of our spy photographer during winter testing.
2021 will be the year in which Groupe PSA will present a whole series of new C-segmenters. The Opel Astra will be on a French floor plate for the first time at its generation change, which it shares with the new Peugeot 308 and DS 4. DS is the first brand of Groupe PSA to release technical details of its new entry, making the new entry set of spy plates of the new DS 4 in a winter setting just as interesting.
DS very recently confirmed our suspicions that the new DS 4 will be a further development of the EMP2 platform on which the current Peugeot 308 and cars like the 3008, 5008 and 508 are placed. Incidentally, the EMP2 platform is completely new for the DS 4. The first generation that was produced until 2018 shared its technology with the previous generation Citroën C4. It is striking that Groupe PSA opts for a further development of the EMP2 platform. That platform is basically not developed for fully electric models. The fact that the platform has undoubtedly been further developed does not mean, of course, that there will be no electric versions in the long run. Groupe PSA has announced a completely new modular platform for EVs called eVMP, although this base will not be operational until 2023. It remains to be seen how this will work out for the new generation of C-segmenters. Will the DS 4 and thus the 308 and Astra not get electrified versions at all? Certainly!
DS 4 (illustration)
The DS 4 and its stable mates will in any case be plug-in hybrid versions. The DS 4 will include the plug-in hybrid powertrain with a system power of 225 hp that we know from the 3008 and 508. That powertrain consists of a 180 hp 1.6 that works together with a 110 hp powerful electric motor. DS promises an electric range of just over 50 kilometers.
Crossback
Just like its predecessor, the new DS 4 will also be available as an adventurously dressed DS 4 Crossback. The first ‘DS 4’ presented in 2010 was presented as Citroën DS4 and was carried under the DS wing from 2015. In the same year, the DS 4 Crossback clad in crossover details added to the line-up. The new DS 4 seems to get such a Crossback version from the start. Early next year, DS will pull the curtain off the completely new DS 4. Production will start in the second half of next year. Then the car rolls off the assembly line in Rüsselsheim, Germany, next to the new Opel Astra.