To create its luxury compact SUV, DS Automobiles has invested in the latest advanced technology. One of the features that has really caught people’s imagination is its FLUSH FITTING DOOR HANDLES.
What Are They?
It’s obvious when you think about it: exterior door handles are only needed when people get into the car. Realising this, our engineers worked on a solution that would enable the handles to sit neatly inside the door when they’re not needed. The result? Our FLUSH FITTING DOOR HANDLES.
A first in this segment of car, DS 3 CROSSBACK is also the first DS to enjoy this feature. It has two significant benefits. From a design perspective, DS 3 CROSSBACK has a sleeker, purer appearance, something that also makes the car more wind cheating at speed.
How Do They Work?
If PROXIMITY KEYLESS ENTRY & START has been specified, DS 3 CROSSBACK employs antennae mounted around the car. These use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to recognise the key when it’s three metres away. The headlights come on as a welcome gesture and the folded-in door mirrors deploy.
As the keyholder gets to within 1.5m of the car, the doors unlock. At the same time a small motor, called an actuator, integrated into each door handle is activated. This slides the handle out of the door by 40mm. Grasp the handle and move it a further 20mm and it releases the latch enabling the door to be opened.
The control unit for the doors always knows the handles’ positions. If they aren’t used within three minutes, the actuator comes to life and the handles glide back into the door. Or if DS 3 CROSSBACK is equipped with PROXIMITY KEYLESS ENTRY & START, the handles go back into the door and the car locks when the keyholder moves away by more than 2m. Equally, if the car drives off, the door handles retract when it reaches 1.5mph.
If PROXIMITY KEYLESS ENTRY & START isn’t specified, you unlock DS 3 CROSSBACK with the keyfob and simply push the door handle. It will instantly glide out into your hand for you to open the door. It automatically returns to its streamlined closed position when you lock the car or drive off.
The Inside Story
The components within the door are sealed so they’re not effected by dust or grease. And they’re resistant to temperature changes. They’ve also been designed to last the lifetime of DS 3 CROSSBACK.
Obviously, our engineers have put the door handles through an extensive testing process. This has included injecting water between handle and door and freezing it to see what happens. In the unlikely event that the electric actuator can’t break the ice, a simple push on the handle should suffice.
And that is how you develop a truly premium feature that until now has been reserved for buyers of far more expensive cars.
