DS N°8 vs VW ID.5

The DS N°8 costs £13,795 more than the VW ID.5. On the headline specs that premium buys little measurable advantage - the two are closely matched on range, charging and space. The VW ID.5 is not just cheaper - it also offers 41 kW more power and a 1.0s quicker 0-62mph time. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the VW ID.5 comes out ahead overall.

The VW ID.5 is £13,795 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £144 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the VW ID.5 comes out roughly £13,755 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 285 miles for the DS N°8 and 293 miles for the VW ID.5 - effectively matched, and both well below their WLTP figures because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 27-29 minutes.

The VW ID.5 is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 53 mm narrower than the DS N°8. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 548 mm of total clearance for the VW ID.5 and about 495 mm of total clearance for the DS N°8.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the DS N°8 and 84% for the VW ID.5. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation.