French luxury goes electric with the new DS No7 SUV

French car maker DS showed off today its newest creation - the DS No7. This vehicle is the direct replacement for the older DS 7, which was the brand's most popular model. The company hopes the new SUV will help it sell many more electric cars in the future. The No7 looks like a standard SUV, but it has some very French touches inside and out.

The DS No7 is a bit bigger than the car it replaces: it measures 15.29 ft long, which is 7 cm longer than before. Most of that extra space is between the wheels, giving people sitting in the back more legroom. The car is 6.23 ft wide and 5.35 ft high. Even with its tall shape, it is very good at cutting through the air thanks to a drag coefficient of Cd 0.26.

Range is the most important thing for many people buying EVs, and DS answers that need with a 97.2 kWh battery in the Long Range version. This big battery allows the No7 to travel up to 460 miles before it needs to plug in again. That is a decent distance for a medium-sized SUV. Even on the highway at fast speeds, DS says the car can still go about 280 miles.

If you do not need that much range, there is a smaller battery option. It has 73.7 kWh of energy that gives the No7 up to 337 miles of range. Both versions use a front-wheel-drive motor. The smaller battery model has 230 horsepower, while the bigger one has 245 horsepower. If you want more speed, you can pick the all-wheel-drive version. It has two motors that together deliver 350 horsepower, with a momentary "boost" bringing that number up to 375 horsepower. This version hits 62 mph in 5.4 seconds.

The DS No7 can charge at speeds up to 160kW. If you find a fast charger, you can add 118 miles of range in about 10 minutes. It takes roughly 27 to 31 minutes to go from 20% to 80% power. The car also has a V2L feature that lets you plug regular electronics, like a laptop or a coffee maker, directly into the car's charging port to use its battery power.

The inside of the DS No7 looks like a posh lounge - there's a 16-inch touchscreen in the middle of the dashboard, and a 10-inch screen for the driver. DS even put ChatGPT into the system so you can talk to the car. The seats appear to be very soft and use memory foam to keep you comfortable. You can even get seats that massage you or blow warm air on your neck.

Interior of the new DS No7 - source: DS Automobiles

DS is famous for making cars that ride smoothly, and the DS No7 is no different. It uses a camera to look at the road ahead - if it sees a bump or a pothole, it tells the suspension to get soft before the car hits it. This system is called Active Scan Suspension. It tries to make the road feel as flat as a pancake. The car also uses acoustic glass to keep the wind and tire noise out of the cabin, making it very quiet inside - perfect for listening to the 14-speaker sound system.

Since not everyone is ready for EVs yet, DS is also making a hybrid version. This model gets a small 1.2-liter gas engine and a tiny electric motor. It has 145 horsepower and does not need to be plugged in - the small battery recharges itself when you slow down. DS says this version can drive using only electricity about half the time when you are in the city, and it uses about 5.4 liters of fuel for every 62 miles it travels.

The new SUV will be built in a factory in Melfi, Italy and it will share many parts with cars from Jeep and Peugeot. DS claims their car is more "premium" because of the expensive materials like Nappa leather and real wood. They are even using recycled materials for the carpets and mats, and the company also removed most of the chrome trim because painting or using stainless steel is better for the environment.

You can expect the hybrid version to start at around $49,000. The full electric DS No7 will likely start closer to $55,000. In France, a special business version is already for sale for $75,000. That is a lot of money, but the No7 is meant to compete with luxury brands like Audi and BMW. If you want a car that looks different from everything else in the parking lot, this French SUV might be the right choice.

Source