Overview

Since it broke away from Citroen in 2014, DS Automobiles has been trying hard to establish itself as a credible alternative to the premium German car brands. And, over the last few years, the company has made significant progress, laying the groundwork for a fresh product offensive that will see the brand transform into a pure-electric manufacturer by 2025, mostly of posh SUVs.

The DS 7 will be an integral part of this plan, acting as the go-between for the brand’s outgoing petrol-engined cars and its upcoming fully electric ones. Looks count for a lot in the premium segment – and rivals such as the Audi Q3, Mercedes-Benz GLA and BMW X1 are almost dated in comparison.

But despite its fresh appearance, it is in fact a heavily revised version of the old DS 7 Crossback, complete with a new performance plug-in hybrid powertrain, additional driver assistance kit and more modern interior technology.

Engine choice is simple enough. There are now three plug-in hybrids with varying degrees of power and one diesel. No petrols, standard hybrids or fully electric versions here.

Trim levels are a bit trickier. There are six in total, which is certainly different to how other posh marques are doing it. The most expensive model, called La Première, has the full kitchen sink. While the cheapest model, the Performance Line, does disappointingly miss out on some basics such as a reversing camera.

As the aspirational flagship of the company’s range, the DS 7 has quite a lot of responsibility resting on its shoulders. Does it do a good enough job? Click through the next few pages to read everything you need to know about the DS 7 including its practicality, how much it costs to run and what it’s like to drive.