[Auto] DS 7 Crossback E-Tense, tested: is it a luxury SUV? Are you interested in the plug-in hybrid?

[G h o s t l y.]

 

What is luxury? If we go to the dictionary we see that it is the "high category, excellence or exquisiteness that has something for the quality of the raw materials used in its manufacture, its high performance or services".

And what is the point of asking the Royal Spanish Academy for help on a car website? Well, because today we are going to see if the DS 7 Crossback meets those premises. DS is PSA's bet to create a luxury brand. Premium, as they say now and after taking its first steps with more cared Citroën models, this was the first 100% DS model.

We have not brought a version with a conventional engine, but rather the créme de la crème, the most powerful engine in the range. It is the DS 7 Crossback E-Tense 4X4, a plug-in hybrid with 300 hp and all-wheel drive. Do you have a case for being an alternative to premium German SUVs? How does DS understand luxury? Let's see it.

Exterior
The idea for a DS SUV came up in 2013 with the Concept Wild Rubis. There are details of the DS 7 Crossback that remind it, but in general the forms are not so bold. Something logical, because you cannot fail in the first product that a brand launches on the market and you have to please the largest number of people.
 

It measures 4.57 meters in length, placing it somewhere between compact SUVs and large SUVs. Halfway, to give you an idea, between an Audi Q3 and an Audi Q5, or between a BMW X1 and an X3 of the same brand.

Of course, it has unique details. Like these headlights (with DS Active LED Vision technology), which come to life when you turn the car by pivoting 180 degrees. It's a delicious mechanization job. It is accompanied by a row of vertical LEDs at the bottom. And of course, a good size grill.

 

The piece that hugs it next to the headlights is black is because we are facing a unit with the Performance Line finish, since it is normally chrome. The same goes for other decorative inserts on the bumpers or air intakes.

In the middle of that grill, the emblem of the DS brand that hides behind it a night vision camera that looks really good. It even has its own water spout to keep it clean at all times.