New DS No7 breaks cover with avant-garde design and spectacular interior
DS keeps faith with fabulous design, but introduces a hybrid engine alongside big battery EVs
That’s more like it: DS has revealed the replacement for its 7 SUV, and it doubles down on the No8 flagship’s avant-garde design.
The new DS No7 mid-size SUV appears to share the same front end as its crossover sibling, complete with illuminated grille and two-tone bonnet, plus its STLA Medium chassis and electric powertrains. But there’s one huge difference: the No7 will also offer a hybrid engine.
“The market is changing,” DS Automobiles product director Audrey Amar told Auto Express. “For family cars, you need a mild hybrid – not all customers are ready to switch to full electric.”
DS, like Alfa Romeo, has been stung by pivoting too hard to electric, so it’s introducing a 143bhp hybrid. Unlike the outgoing 7 (note the slight name change) which ran plug-in hybrids and diesels, this combines Stellantis’s 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder with a 28bhp electric motor and a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. It’s an engine shared with the Citroen C5 Aircross, and despite its minuscule motor it manages to quietly drive on volts for 50 per cent of the time in urban areas.
The No7 returns about 53mpg with CO2 emissions spanning 119 to 128g/km, figures that beat premium rivals, reckons DS. Efficiency is a key pillar of the brand, which feeds into the big ranges of the electric versions.
DS No7 electric range, power and charging
The long-range No8, a “D-cross” on account of its coupé-sedan body and 4.8-metre length placing it in the D-segment, can travel 465 miles. The taller SUV adopts the same batteries – 97.2kWh and 73.7kWh – and the 460-mile long-range No7 barely sacrifices any mileage against its sleeker sibling.
The short-range No7 travels 337 miles, while the all-wheel-drive version – packing 345bhp or 370bhp in boost mode – manages 422 miles, although not if you’re tapping its 5.4-second 0-62mph acceleration. The front-wheel-drive versions produce up to 256bhp and 276bhp.
Three-stage regenerative braking will help top up the batteries, with 160kW DC public charging good for a 20-80 per cent charge in 27 minutes for long-range models.
The 4.66 metre-long No7 is about 17cm shorter than the halo DS, but 7cm longer than its predecessor, with an additional 5cm between the wheels. “This is an SUV, more family oriented [than the No8] with more space in the second row,” said Amar. The 40:20:40-split rear seats don’t recline or slide: behind them is a minimum 500-litre boot, with the AWD’s rear-motor and a subwoofer trimming the 560-litre maximum.
What does the DS No7 look like inside and out?
And the cockpit is spectacular. The wooden and embossed aluminium dashboard inserts, combined with different textured upholsteries, mood lighting and gold accents, look fabulous. Trademark DS flourishes – such as seat leather resembling watchstraps and stitching that leaves little raised pearl dots – are present and correct. The X-shaped steering wheel and twin digital screens are familiar from the No8.
“The interior is all about first-class comfort,” design director Thierry Métroz told Auto Express. “We would like to be the market reference for serenity, the human-machine interface and pleasure to drive.” So the No7 gets a camera that scans the road ahead to prime the adaptive suspension to cosset occupants, the seats can feature neck warmers and a double-glazed glasshouse boosts refinement.
And the striking exterior design should help boost DS’s awareness, unlike the original 7’s timid, faux-Audi design. “It was the first DS and if we launched with something too advanced or completely crazy, customers wouldn’t [have] followed us,” explained Metroz. “We needed to be a little bit conservative for the exterior, and much more innovative for the interior. But some aspects were futuristic, such as the headlamps’ rotating LED modules.”
This theme continues with the No7’s V-shaped Daytime Running Lights, a signature mirrored at the rear, and the illuminated grille on electric versions. This isn’t available on the hybrid, which needs to ventilate the engine. Maximum wheel diameter is 21 inches.
DS’s Audi Q4 e-tron rival goes on sale in the autumn, priced from an estimated £40,000 for the hybrid. “With the No8, [facelifted] No4 and new No7, we will boost awareness,” continued Amar. “And the No7 is important: the DS7 was the first car of the DS brand and it’s our best-seller.”
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