DS 3 Crossback EV Charging Cable

Two batteries, and a charger that changed without changing the answer

The DS 3 Crossback E-Tense launched in January 2020 with a 50 kWh pack, 46.3 kWh usable, quoted at 200 miles. From 2023 the facelifted DS 3 E-Tense carries 54 kWh, 50.8 kWh usable, on NMC811 chemistry, and DS UK quotes 270 and 232 miles across its two homologation columns.

The charger changed too. Launch cars had a 7.4 kW single phase unit as standard with an 11 kW three phase one optional; by 2022 the 11 kW unit had become standard, and the facelift has it as standard with V2L. None of that changes which cable you buy, because on one phase all of them deliver the same 7.4 kW.

DS puts both numbers in print, which settles it

As standard the car takes 7.4 kW from one phase. An 11 kW three phase charger is available as a paid extra and makes no difference whatever at a normal house, because it needs a supply a house does not have.

The 54 kWh price and specification guide is unusually candid: it lists a full charge as five hours on an 11 kW three phase home unit and seven hours thirty minutes on 7.4 kW. Those are two rows for the same car, and the second one is the one that describes a British driveway. Anybody quoting the five hour figure to you is quoting a supply almost no house has.

The extra amps would simply sit unused, so there is nothing to gain from a bigger cable. A 32A single phase cable therefore delivers everything the car can take at home, and it is the correct buy on every DS 3 of either generation.

How long a full charge takes

Times below are computed from the pack size and the power drawn with 13 per cent allowed for charging losses. The range column assumes 3.5 miles per kWh rather than a summer best case. Columns are the 50 kWh badge at 46.3 kWh usable and the 54 kWh badge at 50.8.

DC charging is 100 kW on both, 0 to 80 per cent in half an hour, so the cable is not what handles a long journey. What it handles is the seven hours a night that cost a fraction as much per mile.

Which length for a DS 3

You will find the socket on the nearside rear wing, exactly where you would look for a petrol cap. It is the pavement side of the car, which helps at a kerbside charge point and means the cable run depends on which way round you park.

At 4.12 metres the DS 3 Crossback is short, so even a rear socket is not far from a wall box. Five metres works where you reverse in or where the charge point sits toward the back of the bay on the nearside. Ten metres is the safe general choice. Park the car where it normally lives, walk the run with a tape, and buy the next size up from what you measure.

How these cables are built

Made to IEC 62196-2, CE marked, and rated IP55 from -30C to +50C so it lives outdoors all year.

On the three pin side the standard is IEC 62752, with CE marking, IP67 sealing and a -30C to +60C range. Two year manufacturer's warranty, free next working day UK delivery and 30 days to send it back.

Also from DS: DS 7 Crossback EV Charging Cable. The full range of DS charging cables is on one page. For a wall box or public post the lead is the Type 2 to Type 2 charging cable.

DS 3 Crossback charging cable questions

What cable does a DS 3 Crossback E-Tense need?

A 32A single phase Type 2 to Type 2 cable, on both the 50 kWh and 54 kWh cars and whichever onboard charger is fitted.

Is the 11 kW charger worth having?

Not at a house. DS's own price list shows five hours on 11 kW three phase against seven and a half on 7.4 kW single phase, and a British home supply can only give you the second of those.

How long does a DS 3 take to charge at home?

About seven hours for the 50 kWh car and eight for the 54 kWh, from empty at 7.4 kW.

Where is the charge socket?

Nearside rear quarter panel, in the position a fuel filler would take.