The DS 4 is a handsome hatch from Stellantis’ French luxury brand

One of the 13 brands under the control of Stellantis is a French luxury brand known as DS. It started out as the luxury arm of fellow French brand Citroen, taking its inspiration from the classic Citroen DS sedan, but was turned into a standalone brand in 2014.

On Wednesday, DS unveiled a redesigned version of its DS 4 compact hatchback. It goes on sale where the DS brand operates in the second half of the year.

The new DS 4 is based on Stellantis’ EMP2 modular platform designed for compact and mid-size cars with native front-wheel-drive configurations. It will be offered with a handful of gasoline powertrains and one diesel.

There will also be a plug-in hybrid option. DS calls its electrified models E-Tense. In the DS 4 E-Tense, there’s a turbocharged inline-4 paired with a single electric motor. The combined output is 225 hp. A lithium-ion battery provides enough charge for about 30 miles of electric-only range.

2021 DS 4

The design inside DS vehicles isn’t like anything we’ve seen from another brand. There’s a blend of French flair coupled with usual items like a digital instrument cluster and a touchscreen infotainment display. A head-up display with augmented reality is also offered, while in the trim department there’s leather, forged carbon, wood, and Alcantara.

Tech features include matrix LED headlights, night vision, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, and active scan suspension that adjusts the dampers based on information gathered from a forward-facing camera.

2021 DS 4

DS will offer both a regular DS 4 and a DS 4 Cross. The latter is a softroader-style version with protective elements on the body.

Stellantis was formed earlier this year by the merger of PSA Group with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. It’s possible some of the vehicles from the brands of the former PSA Group will be brought over to the United States, though Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is yet to reveal just what he has planned. In 2019 he promised to reintroduce Peugeot here, though those plans may have changed.