Don’t diss the DS

Hello DS 7 Crossback £38,990 OTR/£41,640 as tested

When editor Charlie Turner told me that I’d be running a DS, he gave strict instructions not to mention the C-word. Sorry, but I fell at the first hurdle – before the car was even delivered, I was applying for a parking permit on my local council website and the drop-down asking for the make of my car had no recognition of DS as a brand. So I had no choice but to list it as a Citroen.

That’s no bad thing in my book – I’ve always had a soft spot for the company. DS is to Citroen what Lexus and Infiniti are to Toyota and Nissan – the luxury, premium brand of the mass-market sister brand.

Which would be fine if the DS brand hadn’t already been compromised by being slapped on the back of a gazillion small Citroens. That said, it seems to be working – had this car been called a Citroen C7 Crossback, I suspect it wouldn’t have made it into the cover story and group test in our sister New Car Buyers Guide mag alongside the Volvo XC40, Jag E-Pace and BMW X1. Whether DS has created a crossover that can sit among such company remains to be seen, but if it’d been a little braver with the exterior styling, the DS 7 could have really stood out from the crowd. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a handsome car, just nowhere near as mad as you might expect from DS.

Thankfully, the interior design and finishes are more avant garde and distinctive. A huge amount of thought has gone into the DS 7, and I’m forever stumbling upon interesting features. I’ve enjoyed the quirks of the DS in our first month together and am looking forward to the next months.