DS 7 review - Practicality, comfort and boot space

The DS 7 slips into the more compact end of the premium SUV market alongside the Audi Q3, Jaguar E-Pace and Volvo XC40. The avant-garde cabin seats five and no more.

The driving position is nothing out of the ordinary for an SUV, perching the driver high for a decent view of the road. Visibility front and sideways is good but, as is the case with many models in the current crop of increasingly rakish SUVs, the rear window isn’t the largest. Though it’s clearly a design-led SUV product, Performance Line+ cars upwards come with roof rails as standard, and a tow bar is available on the options list.

Size 

Against the tape measure the DS 7 sizes up at 4,593mm long, 1,625mm high, 1,890mm wide and boasts a wheelbase of 2,738mm. That means it’s longer than the Volvo XC40, Jaguar E-Pace, BMW X1 and Range Rover Evoque, boasting a lengthier wheelbase than those cars too. Both the Evoque and the E-Pace are a little wider, while the 1,625mm height means that the DS 7 isn't one of the tallest options in the pack. It is, however, taller than rivals that take more of a crossover approach such as the BMW X2 and Mercedes GLA. 

Leg room, head room & passenger space

Inside, the DS 7’s level of front and rear kneeroom is decent, generous even. The tall, rounded roof means headroom is good, but equipping the panoramic glass roof intrudes on this. In the back, the floor feels just ever so slightly shallow and could impact comfort for taller passengers, but the transmission tunnel is completely flat and doesn’t intrude on the middle seat where kneeroom is still excellent. 

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Boot

Open the tailgate and you're greeted with a 555-litre boot, accessed by a wide and low opening. It’s a generous size for the class, roundly beating the Volvo XC40 and other SUVs with similar footprints such as the Audi Q3 and Range Rover Evoque. To put things into perspective, the 555-litre space even shades out the larger Audi Q5. The seats don’t fold completely flat, but lowering the back row opens up a large 1,752-litre cargo area.  

The hybrid models have exactly the same boot capacities as the diesel and the variable height boot floor allows you to choose either a flat floor or a larger space with a slight loading lip. 

Towing

A manual tow bar can be fitted to the DS 7 and is available as an optional extra on every model, priced at £800. All models boast an unbraked towing capacity of 750kg but the diesel can tow a 1,430kg braked trailer compared to 1,200kg for the hybrids.