DS 7 Crossback Review 2026

The greatest strength that the DS7 Crossback has to offer is its individuality. If you’re a fan of prestige SUVs like the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Mercedes GLC, but not so much of a fan of the fact that everyone seems to have one, then the DS7 could be right up your street. On both the outside and the inside, the DS 7 has unique art-deco styling that’s like nothing else in the class, giving a genuinely refreshing sense of individuality. It’s also a spacious and practical family car, and it comes stuffed with luxury kit to help justify the fact that it doesn’t cost any less than the more established competition.

There’s a problem with popularity: ubiquity. Cars don’t get much more popular than SUVs, especially prestige ones, and as a result, you see them absolutely everywhere. What’s more, while there are seemingly countless models to choose from, they all look pretty much the same, don’t they?

So, if you like the idea of a prestige SUV, but you’re one of those people who likes to stand out from the crowd, what do you do? Well, DS Automobiles might have the answer.

If you’re not familiar with the name, DS Automobiles is owned by the same French company that runs Peugeot, Citroen, and now Vauxhall, too. DS is slightly different to its sister brands, though, in that it’s the luxurious, prestige wing of the operation.

As a result, the DS 7 Crossback - a mid-size five-seat prestige SUV - is the company’s answer to popular cars like the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Mercedes GLC. Not that this is where the competition begins and ends, you understand. There are literally dozens of cars that could be considered rivals: Volvo XC60, Jaguar F-Pace, Alfa Romeo Stelvio, Volkswagen Tiguan, the list goes on and on.

Yet, even in such a crowded marketplace, the DS 7 stands out a mile. From the outside, the styling is like nothing else in the class, and when you climb inside, it feels even more individual, with shapes and flourishes you won’t see anywhere else. 

That said, it still does all the stuff that a family SUV needs to do. The cabin is roomy and there’s a big boot, so it’s practical enough to suit the needs of most families, and the generous level of standard equipment means there are enough creature comforts on board to keep everyone happy.

On the road, it’s fairly comfortable and tidy enough in the corners, although it’s not as good on either score as the best cars in the class, regardless of which of the two available suspension setups you have.

There’s a wide range of petrol and diesel engines on offer, all of which provide a decent balance of performance and economy, but it’s the E-Tense plug-in hybrid version that does best on both fronts, with 300PS and an official fuel economy figure of up to 235mpg.

The DS costs the same amount as many premium (and better) rivals, so it’s not like daring to be different will save you any money. Then again, if you like the way the DS 7 looks, and you like the idea of a leftfield choice, then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t.

Depending on which version of the DS 7 you pick, there are two different types of suspension you might end up with. Most versions get a conventional setup that’s pretty comfortable. It absorbs most bumps and cracks well, and only the worst potholes will cause it any problems.

Granted, you feel the body lean over a bit as you turn into bends, but there’s bags of grip for a very stable feel. Even the steering gives you an adequate amount of feedback. 

Meanwhile, versions with the more powerful engines and highest trim levels come with something called Active Scan Suspension.

Like many adaptive suspension systems, things can be made firmer or softer according to which of the driving modes (Sport, Normal and Comfort, in this case) you select.

What sets this system apart, though, is that when you select Comfort, a front-mounted camera ‘reads’ the road surface ahead, and adjusts the suspension automatically to deal more effectively  with any bumps or potholes it finds.

It’s a bit better at taking the sting out of the sharp-edged potholes that might cause the regular version issues, but you won’t detect much difference in town, while on the motorway, it can actually feel annoyingly floaty.

Three turbocharged petrol options (badged PureTech) are offered with either 130PS, 180PS or 225PS, while diesel choices (badged BlueHDi) include 130PS or 180PS options. The E-Tense plug-in hybrid version, meanwhile, teams a petrol engine with a pair of electric motors to give 300PS.

So far, we’ve only had the opportunity to try the diesels and the PHEV. The entry-level diesel will be adequate for most buyers most of the time: it’s perky enough in town, allowing you to trundle around at low speeds without too much fuss, but when you’re going a bit quicker, it takes a little more time about picking up the pace.

For that reason, you’ll probably be better off with the bigger diesel if you spend a lot of time on motorways or regularly carry lots of passengers. It’s a useful amount quicker, but the bigger difference is that the performance just comes so much easier to the bigger engine, keeping things more relaxed.

In the hybrid, there's an irritating pause between you putting your foot down and anything happening. That said, when it does decide to get going, the acceleration it provides is very impressive indeed. Drive more sedately at lower urban speeds, meanwhile, and the electric motors will give you all the momentum you need to get around easily.

All DS 7s come with a very presentable amount of safety kit as standard, but the precise level of equipment you get will depend on the trim level you buy.

All versions get active LED headlights with high-beam assistance,  tyre pressure monitoring, six airbags, a space-saver spare wheel (on all but the PHEV), speed limit recognition, lane-departure warning and automatic emergency braking.

Prestige cars add blind spot monitoring, while Ultra Prestige adds adaptive cruise control with steering assistance and stop-go functionality, meaning the car can effectively drive itself in certain situations. All that has helped the DS 7 achieve the full five-star rating in Euro NCAP crash tests.

The DS 7 is a big car compared with many five-seat SUVs (there’s no option of seven, by the way), and that results in generous interior space. There’s bags of the stuff up front - as you’d expect - and plenty in the rear to allow tall passengers to get comfy

The boot is big enough to compete with those of the best rivals, and you get a moveable floor that lets you either maximise space, or level out both the load lip and the step to the rear backrests when the seats are folded down.

They do so in a 60-40 split (not as versatile as the 40-20-40 arrangement in a BMW X3) and although they don’t lie quite flat, there’s only a slight slope that you’ll have to contend with. The other good news is that the PHEV version doesn’t lose any boot space compared with the rest of the range, not something that all hybrids - especially plug-in ones - can claim.

The interior all feels very flash at first, with leather or alcantara wrapping on parts of the dashboard, intercut with plenty of glossy-looking panels and metallic trims.

Look closer, though, and you’ll find that most of the metallic trims are nothing more than metal-coloured plastic, while the plastics tucked away in the lower reaches of the cabin have a hard, scratchy finish. It still feels fine in isolation, but when DS is pitting the 7 against the likes of Audi, BMW and Mercedes, the gulf in quality does stand out.

Your 12.0-inch touchscreen system supports sat-nav, Bluetooth, DAB radio, voice control, Apple Carplay/Android Auto and various connected services. You also have a 12.3-inch digital instrument display to replace traditional dials, along with USB charging ports front and rear. 

Like with many such systems these days, you operate the vast majority of the car’s functions - even the climate control system, in this case - through the touchscreen, and it’s more distracting than using physical buttons.

There are shortcut controls running along the bottom of the screen that make swapping between the various menus easier, but they’re small and difficult to hit at a glance, and because they’re touch-sensitive panels rather than physical buttons, it’s not always clear if you’ve been successful in hitting the one you wanted.

The menus themselves can be rather convoluted in places, too, and the graphics and screen transitions are often slow and jerky.

At the time of writing, prices for brand new DS 7s started at around £32,000 for the conventionally powered versions, topping out at around £47,000, while PHEV versions started at around £48,000 and rose to £56,000.

Compare these prices with those of premium rivals such as the Audi Q5, BMW X3 or Mercedes GLC, and there’s virtually nothing in it.

Used prices are also very similar, because the DS depreciates at a similar rate to its German rivals, despite being from a less known and reputable brand. So, if you’re expecting your choice to buy a DS 7 rather than one of the others to save you vast amounts of cash, you’ll be disappointed. 

The similarity in prices and residual values should also mean that monthly payments for finance agreements should also be pretty similar, but it’s always worth checking DS’s website for promotions and offers.

At the time of writing, the cheapest deal we saw was the BlueHDI 130 auto Performance Line being offered for £349 per month on a four-year PCP deal, following a customer deposit of just over £7800. That represents a deposit contribution of £2000 from the manufacturer.

The best figures for the various petrol engines range between 40mpg and 46mpg, while the best figure for the smaller diesel stands at 55mpg (slightly less for the manual than the automatic) and the brawnier diesel gets around 48mpg.

Even these figures look pitiful compared with those of the PHEV version, which depending on the spec of your car, will deliver maximums of between 166mpg and 235mpg, according to the laboratory figures.

Good luck matching that in the real world, though, because it will be pretty much impossible. You’ll maximise your return by spending as much time as you can on electric-only power, but as soon as your petrol engine kicks in, your average figure will plummet.

There’s huge variation in insurance groupings between the versions of DS 7. The vast majority sit between groups 20 and 30 (out of 50), depending on their power output and price, making them fairly middle-of-the-road in terms of the insurance premiums they command. However, the hybrids, what with their prodigious power, sit in groups 37 to 39, making them noticeably pricier to insure.

DS is too small and too new a brand to feature in many reliability surveys, so data on that score is sparse. However, the records for Peugeot and Citroen, which use many of the same parts as the DS, are entirely reasonable.

If DS is going to dust it with Audi and BMW in the desirability stakes, it can’t afford to scrimp on the luxury kit, and indeed it doesn’t.

Even the entry-level Performance Line trim is well stocked, with two-zone climate control, keyless entry, cruise control, rear parking sensors and automatic lights and wipers, plus all the infotainment and safety kit mentioned earlier.

That said, we reckon most drivers will want to upgrade to Prestige trim for its grained leather upholstery, heated front seats that’ll give you a massage, rear seats that recline electrically, plus front parking sensors, a reversing camera and wireless phone charging. Ultra Prestige trim brings the lot, including quilted leather, an electrically opening panoramic roof, an upgraded Focal sound system and adaptive cruise control.