We have given The Goddess plenty of veneration on our pages (links at bottom), but there’s a lot of subjectivity and hindsight in the, understandably. So this review was interesting to me, as a more clear-eyed, objective representation of what it was like to actually drive at the time. Not surprisingly, despite the design being some ten years old by 1966, it was in a class of its own, especially regarding comfort. As to trying to parallel park it, better just to not even try. That’s the kind of compromises that result from such an uncompromising car.
I’m in a bit of a time crunch as I post this, so I’ll skip the commentary, as it’s better to just read it. It’s a very balanced, fair and objective review, and points out the DS’ many superb engineering solutions, along with their foibles.
Here’s some of our coverage of these cars:
CC: DS 21 and DS 23 by Tatra87
CC: ID 19 Roger Carr
If this was an American car, would it have succeeded in our market? Not today’s market – the US market 50 years ago. And, for those who do not remember, driving 50 years ago in the US was in many ways different than driving today. What level of support would have been required across the United States if such a car was built?
The DS-21 was popular in France but seemingly no where else. I only remember seeing a couple in the U.S. in my life; it might have been more popular if Citroen had invested in a proper dealer and service network.
The DS was a huge success, also outside of France. In its 20 year production run no less than 1.330.755 DS/ID models were produced. Its popularity, however, was mainly limited to Europe and parts of Africa and Asia.
In 1961 a neighbor had a DS. We kids joked how much the front end looked like a frog. We teased the owners daughter saying they should have painted a tongue snatching a fly. I did sit in one at the Auto Show and can confirm the seats were extraordinarily comfortable. I admire the look but don’t think it’s a beauty.
There was a small garage a few miles from our house in Seattle in the sixties. I noticed it when Mom would drive Dad to work so she could have the 1958 Plymouth to go shopping and I’d tag along and car spot As a side gig the garage sold Citroens. The ten year old me marveled at the swoopy cars for sale (all three of them). When I pointed them out to Dad he grumbled that there was no way he’d buy a car like that because one could never get service when it broke down (he had been burned by the notorious unreliability of the Plymouth, which constantly broke down.). Later on this garage picked up a second brand and started selling NSUs. Imagine crossing between a DS-19 and a RO-80! Dad, being more practical, went back to driving Buicks.
It’s a fabulous car, perhaps the most advanced and under-appreciated car available in the US during that time period. Would love to drive one.
My uncle had a DS wagon with the side-facing third row seats. It was of course an amazing car in many ways, yet also a frustrating one. The then-rare FWD yielded a flat floor, a big advantage in an era when the front and rear center seating positions were frequently used, but the rather narrow width made it tight for three-abreast seating. The engine (and/or transmission?) also intruded quite a bit into the front center floor. For a fairly pricey car, the four cylinder engine was underpowered; 0-60 took almost 15 seconds. A fully automatic transmission wasn’t available until the last few years. It had manually adjusted seats and crank windows. Ergonomics were a mixed bag; the radio was hard to reach and the one-spoke steering wheel tiring to use. The pedals were tiny. The biggest dealbreaker: no air conditioning (which didn’t become available until ’72 or 73). Of course I’d forget about all of that the first time we hit a bump and couldn’t even feel it. Unless it was a hot day…
I’ve never been in one, but the follow-up CX seems like peak Citroen to me. Not as iconic as the DS but it fixed the aforementioned issues whilst retaining the crucial unique features like the magic carpet ride suspension. Subsequent Citroens developed by PSA remind me of Saabs developed under GM ownership – each new one became less distinctive until it became just another car.
I drove an SM once; it definitely takes some getting used to, even then not to everyone’s taste, like American land yachts of yore. My friend who’d bought it decided it wasn’t worth the trouble of fixing a hydraulic leak and resold it quickly. Another childhood god destroyed. The taller seating and better visibility of the DS would be an improvement.
With the small air intake and spare tire, did these have overheating problems in US traffic and heat?
Mr MacIntosh, my chemistry teacher in 1st-year college (1975) drove a DS, which suited him well. He was a very good teacher, and a nice man.
It is said, too, that in the early 1960s, France’s President Charles de Gaulle’s life was saved after would-be assassins shot out the tires of his chauffeured DS. The DS allegedly raised its suspension, and drove away, occupants unharmed.
During Canada’s centennial in 1967, President de Gaulle visited, and earned the enmity of many Canadians by encouraging Quebec separatism. “Hey, thanks for that nice gesture, only 20-some years after many Canadians had served during the war to liberate France.” I wonder how many Canadians turned against the DS as a result?
The later models dont quite have the magic carpet ride if you are driving you will notice big potholes as they can be felt thru the steering wheel, just, but passengers are oblivious to that, brakes reverted to normal hydraulic but the famous rear first action remained my car has twin piston rear calipers and single piston on the front, stand on them and it stops like it ran into a wall.
My car also doesnt sink much when switched off the suspension pump is electric rather than engine driven and always active it lifts to normal ride height when unlocked by the remote or when a door is opened and you get in if it hasnt been locked, the ride height can be altered by the driver but is automatically altered by the suspension computer at speed on smooth roads, it lowers the ride height for better roadholding/cornering and the only way you can tell is the feel via the steering wheel automatic models have a sport setting on the console on manual trans like mine that is done by computer
At speed the only thing that alters is how fast the scenery goes past noise doesnt alter there is no wind noise unless I have a window down and the understeer found on the DS model at the limit isnt available either the passive rear steering takes care of that and honestly there is nothing that can stay with a well driven Citroen on a twisty road and I do mean nothing, they are beautiful driving cars
I noticed the reference to the Michelin XaS tires; I remember their distinctive tread pattern so I looked at the R&T data sheet for the details. I expected a large-ish diameter in a 155 or at most 165 section width, so was surprised to see a 180. Aside from not being in the usual 155-165-175 etc sequence, that seems pretty wide for the time on that type of car.
I got my DS-21 from my father-in-law, who gave it to me because he was no longer driving it and it was languishing in the skimpy shed next to the garage. It was running and drivable, though blowing from the rusting exhaust downpipe. Fast forward a couple of years, and the car was not starting, and dropped to its lowest point, inches from the concrete. Enter the savior: The couple who owned Autobooks in Burbank. He was a hobby mechanic who knew and loved Citroens, and she had an Alfa 164S (my wife’s dream car) she’d not been able to sell. A swap was proposed, and accepted.
A few months later the DS was cleaned up and running, and Chuck drove it to Autobooks one Saturday. Within the hour, a certain car-loving celebrity burst into the store, shouting “WHOSE CAR IS THAT?”
My old DS, still in red with a white roof, may now be seen on the internet in Jay’s Garage. The 164 was itself given away as a light resto project two years ago; my wife’s Alfa has been a ’17 Giulia for the last couple of years, and I’m restoring a nice Milano. I do not miss the DS; it’s like one of those friends who have more personality than many of us can deal with. Admirable, but at a distance.
Consumer Reports also tested a DS21 in the late 60s, since I read the review in the 80s I can’t remember much other than them not liking th elack of a modern flow through ventilation system and and being slightly bemused by the process for changing a rear wheel. (use the hydropneumatic suspension to raise the car, put a small stand under the jacking point and lower the suspension, then remove the rear fender which is held on by a bolt near the tail light and a hing at the C pillar. )
21mpg, 109mph, and $35K in today’s dollars. Pretty good for 1966 considering its cool features. And that 15 second 0-60 was probably right in line with a same year six cylinder/auto US intermediate. Not blazing acceleration but adequate for the majority of drivers back then.
Don’t forget the front disc brakes.
Something the Big 3 would drag their feet on till early 70’s.
“Abounding in interesting technical features”. Just a lot.
I’ve just come back from 2 weeks in France, having not seen a DS for the first time in, well years. Or a Renault 16.
Shame they’re scarce and seen as delicate
Most French DS’ses have been bought by the Dutch, there’s more of them overhere then in France. Baby boomers here in Holland consider Citroën as being Dutch, since André’s parents emigrated from Holland to France .
And for the R16, I think people have just begon noticing them, a TX in good nick has become a € 9000 car these days with prices rising
The Goddess never really had a chance in the US, where cars were bought by the pound before 1980 or so. In 1966, $4149 including air and leather was a big ask when you could buy a well-equipped Buick LeSabre or Olds Delta 88 for about the same price, if not less. Sure, you wouldn’t get disc brakes with the GM cars, but you would get a V8 and a fully automatic transmission. This doesn’t even address the parts and service question.
It appears the tested DS-21 did not have any seat belts. Not that most people probably cared at the time, but the domestic automakers did provide lap belts for outboard front AND rear occupants as standard equipment starting that year.
I don’t recall ever seeing these Citroens when they were new in the Pittsburgh area, where I grew up. VW Beetles were commonplace of course, Renault Dauphines had a brief burst of popularity, and MG and Triumph sports cars were often seen.
Paul, I love seeing these vintage R&T road tests. They instantly evoke memories of an era when serious auto journalism was still a thing. Icing on the cake for the dedicated draftsman: accurate and detailed skeletal views of the cars being reviewed.
Thanks for another Road & Track treat . . .
Only driven one once years ago, and briefly, and it did feel a bit unwieldy at low speeds. I’m sure one would adapt, but a bit of a hard sell off the showroom floor of 1966.
I also spent many hours under that car, helping a friend to get it going, and they’re perfectly fine to work on (and I’m sure no mechanic). They are expensive to maintain these days, because they come from a time when even a specialist’s labor wasn’t so pricey. They need as much maintenance as any other old car, meaning a lot by today’s set-and-forget standards, and they do require a bit of specialist knowledge to do that stuff (we had an old French car garage in town whose ancient owner was grumpily generous with advice). Pretty expensive when new, the usual 2nd and more owners have less and less of the necessary cash as the value slowly bottoms out, which in part is what gives them a name for being trouble. Plenty of rough-road use in Australia actually showed them to be as tough as old boots.
That said, I smile to recall that that same ancient owner used the crank handle to start one of his DS’s, as he couldn’t be fagged with the two-day job it took to replace the starter!
I worked with a guy in the early 80s who bought one new in the 60s. We both admired them for their innovation, but he had to admit they were no good for New England winters. Not that they were up to the task of driving, but the snow/salt deteriorated the hydraulic systems especially. He said when it was only a few years old everything was leaking and the only trained people who could work on it were aircraft mechanics.
A bridge too far.
Being British I hate to say this but most British comparably priced cars at the time the DS came out in 1955, Rover, Humber etc had more in common with a horse and cart than the DS, I know, I’ve driven them… I’ve owned many classic cars over more than 50 years 9a lot were just old bangers of course) and in that time I’ve owned 3 DSs and loved every minute of driving them, the best being a 1970 semi auto gbox version which was just a dream to drive, this was about 20 years ago, if it hadn’t been destroyed in a workshop fire I’d still be running it. Currently I have a 1971 DS20, a manual version brought over here from Sweden about 8 years ago and it’s not suffered at all from undergoing their winters for 40 odd years, it’s fitted with a plug in electric heater to keep the engine from freezing overnight, which luckily I’ve never had to use in our London Winters. With ref to the parallel parking, which we have to do a lot of over here, I’ve found that once you get used to it parking can be achieved with not much spare room. And if you’ve ever had to change a tyre on a cold wet or snowy night then the DS is the car to have to do it in.
I also have a 1955 Commerciale version of the Traction Avant which the DS replaced in 56/57. It has been fitted with a later ID19 (the cheaper version of the DS) engine and 4 speed gbox, so it cruises at about 70mph and surprises a lot of Sunday drivers when being overtaken on dual carriageways. I think there’s been an article on these before, it’s the long wheelbase saloon with a full hatchback where the rear seat can be removed to turn it into a huge loading platform, maybe one of the reasons the French never went much for pickup trucks. This is much harder to park as there’s no power steering, have to get it right first time or give up, I’ve found.
I see most of the comments have been from the U.S.A, I think it a shame that Citroen never invested there, it would have been a superb car to drive long distances over the fabulous roads. I’ve driven many thousands of miles over there, usually driving 3-4000 mile round trips to visit friends in NM and San Diego, (only using interstates when absolutely necessary) in modern hire cars and often wished I’d been in my DS. A friend has one in Cape Town, South Africa which I’ve had the pleasure to use to tour around for a couple of weeks, perfect classic to use on the gravel roads of which there a lot.
I’ll add a photo or 2 of these cars for interest maybe
In 1966 my husband bought a maroon DS Citroen in London and we drove it to
Greece with our 2 children. The seats folded down into a bed–how was this done? Backs of the front seats folded down to meet the backseat? Does anyone know, or have a picture or a diagram? I would appreciate any information. Thank you.