Should you buy one?

It’s a tough car to recommend. The DS 7 Crossback is a car that’s good in places, and annoying in others. Although the overall styling is SUV-generic, there is some nice detailing on the outside. In short, DS has gone some way towards delivering luxury experience it promised, with one or two rough edges to sort, and against the Mercedes-Benz GLA and BMW X3 and Audi Q3, it’s not well-rounded enough to be a viable alternative.

But it’s not without appeal. On the road, the DS 7 Crossback’s Active Scan suspension system is able to deliver a reasonably comfortable, well-controlled ride on most surfaces, without resorting to excessive body roll in the corners. Much of the time it feels composed and relaxed, but in town or on some broken surfaces, that air of serenity is sadly lacking. It’s also less refined than we expected, with engine and wind noise falling short of the best in class.

The E-Tense plug-in hybrid drivetrain works well, with exellent performance – assuming the battery is charged – as well as 25+ miles of electric-only range. The E-Tense 300 4x4 adds more performance and a dimension of additional wet-weather grip – but is probably not worth the premium.

And that’s the thing – it’s expensive. Although we suspect it’s a grower – you might love it more with familiarity – we can’t help but feel that it’s some way short of the out-of-the-box excellence that is needed to persuade SUV buyers to ditch their Audis, BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes. As such, we’d recommend that it’s best to play it safe and stick to better-known alternatives right now.