The passenger compartment of the DS 9 remained stable in the frontal offset test. Dummy readings indicated good protection of the knees and femurs of both the driver and passenger.  DS demonstrated that a similar level of protection would be provided to occupants of different sizes and to those sitting in different positions.  Analysis of the deceleration of the impact trolley during the test, and analysis of the deformable barrier after the test, revealed that the DS 9 would be an aggressive impact partner in a frontal collision and the score was penalised accordingly. In the full-width rigid barrier test, protection of the driver’s chest was rated as marginal, based on measured values of dummy chest compression. In both the side barrier test and the more severe side pole impact, protection of all critical body areas was good or adequate. Control of excursion (the extent to which a body is thrown to the other side of the vehicle when it is hit from the far side) was found to be good. The DS 9 has a counter-measure to mitigate against occupant to occupant injuries in such impacts. The system performed well in Euro NCAP’s test, with good protection of occupants’ heads.  Tests on the front seats and head restraints demonstrated marginal protection against whiplash injuries in the event of a rear-end collision.  A geometric analysis of the rear seats indicated good whiplash protection.   The DS 9 has an advanced eCall system which alerts the emergency services in the event of a crash but it lacks a system to prevent secondary collisions in the event of an accident.

The DS 9 provided good protection for all critical body regions of both the 6 and 10 year dummies in the frontal offset and side barrier tests, and scored maximum points in this part of the assessment.  The front passenger airbag can be disabled to allow a rearward-facing child restraint to be used in that seating position. The installation of child restraints which make use of the adult seatbelt is not allowed in the rear centre seating position.  Otherwise, child restraints could be properly installed and accommodated.

The DS 9 has an ‘active’ bonnet.  Sensors in the bumper detect when a pedestrian has been struck and actuators lift the bonnet to create more space to the hard structures in the engine compartment.  DS showed that the system worked robustly for different pedestrian statures and across a range of speeds and the car was tests with the bonnet in the raised ‘deployed’ position.  Protection of the head of struck pedestrian was almost entirely good or adequate.  The bumper offered good protection to pedestrians’ legs and protection of the pelvis region was also good or adequate.  The autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system of the DS 9 can respond to vulnerable road users as well as to other vehicles.  The system performed only marginally in tests of its response to pedestrians and cyclists.

The DS 9’s autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system performed marginally in tests of its reaction to other vehicles.  It lost all points for the low-speed tests against a stationary car.  This scenario checks primarily for whiplash protection, to see if the system preventing the car from hitting the rear of another vehicle, but points can be scored only if the car’s own front-seat whiplash protection is good.  A seatbelt reminder system is fitted as standard to the front and rear seats.  The car has a system to detect driver fatigue but, as this not on by default at the start of the journey, it did not meet Euro NCAP’s requirements.  The lane support system gently corrects the vehicle’s path if it is drifting out of lane, and also intervenes in some more critical situations.  A speed assistance system detects the local speed limit and the driver can choose to set the limiter or let the system do so automatically.