Test drive DS 7 Crossback

Next year, a premium crossover of the DS brand will appear in Russia. For cars of German brands, this may not be a dangerous competitor, but the car has gone very far from the mass Citroen

Navigation got a little confused in the narrow turns of the old Parisian outskirts, the organizer standing at the fork could not really explain exactly where to turn at the intersection of five lanes, but we nevertheless arrived at the test site of the night vision system. Everything is very simple: you need to switch the instrument display to night vision mode (literally in two movements) and go straight - to where a conditional pedestrian in a black raincoat lurks on the side of the road. “The main thing is not to slow down - the car will do everything by itself,” the organizer promised.

It happens during the day, but the black and white picture on the display looks decent. A yellow rectangle appeared on the side, with which the electronics identified a pedestrian, so he began to move across the road right in front of the car, here ... The yellow rectangle suddenly disappeared from the screen, the instruments returned to the virtual hands of the dials, and we parted with a black guy in a black cloak just a meter away. Who exactly violated the conditions of the experiment is unknown, but they did not find out, especially since it was no longer possible to turn on the night vision system - it simply disappeared from the menu.

For the sake of fairness, it should be mentioned that the repeated experiment on another site with another car was quite successful - the DS 7 Crossback did not crush pedestrians with the full connivance of the driver. But a slight sediment from the series "oh, those Frenchmen" still remained. Everyone has long been accustomed to the fact that Citroen makes special cars, full of charm and not always clear to the user, so there is always a field for jokes and a zone of sincere love around them. The point is that DS is no longer Citroen, and the demand for the new brand will be different.

Colleagues, recording their videos, now and then pronounce the name of the parent brand Citroen, and the brand representatives do not get tired of correcting them: not Citroen, but DS. The young brand has finally gone on its own, because otherwise it will be difficult to enter the fastidious premium market. And the DS 7 Crossback crossover should be the first car of the brand that will not be considered just an expensive Citroen model, richly decorated with design delights and equipped with the highest standard.

The choice of size is easily explained by the rapid growth of the compact and mid-size crossover segment, and the size of the car will allow it to take a slightly intermediate position. The DS 7 is more than 4,5 m long and sits right between, for example, the BMW X1 and X3 in the hope of attracting hesitant customers from two segments at once.

When viewed from the side, the claims seem justified: a bright, unusual, but not pretentious style, a pretentious grille, a lot of chrome, LED optics of an unusual shape and colorful rims. And the welcome dance of the headlights lasers when you open the car is worth a lot. And the interior decoration is just space. Not only were the French not afraid to send a completely futuristic interior to the series, the main theme of which is the shape of a rhombus, but they also decided to offer half a dozen fundamentally different finishes.

The DS trim levels are presented, rather, as performances, each of which implies not only a set of exterior trim elements, but also its own interior themes, where there can be plain or textured leather, lacquered wood, alcantara and other options. At the same time, even in the simplest version of Bastille, where there is almost no genuine leather and the decoration is deliberately simple, the plastic is so textured and soft that you don't want to spend money on something more expensive. True, the devices here are basic, analog, and the screen of the media system is smaller. Well, the "mechanics", which looks rather strange in this space salon.

But the main thing is that the quality of the finish is premium without any reservations, and details like the rotating crystals of the front optics and the folding BRM chronometer in the center of the front panel, which majestically comes to life when the engine is started, charm and captivate on the move.

In terms of equipment, the DS 7 Crossback is a very compromise. On the one hand, there is a lot of electronics, smart displays of devices and media systems, road control cameras that constantly adjust the characteristics of the shock absorbers, half a dozen massage programs for the front seats and electric drives for the rear backs.

And then there is almost an autopilot, capable of driving a car on the lane itself, steering even in relatively sharp turns and pushing in traffic jams without the participation of a driver, who is only required to keep his hands on the steering wheel. Plus the same night vision system with a pedestrian tracking function and the ability to independently brake in front of them. Finally, the driver fatigue control function, which monitors eye and eyelid movements, is a rare feature even in more expensive cars.

On the other hand, the DS 7 Crossback does not have a head-up display, heated rear seats and, for example, a boot opening system with a kick under the rear bumper. The compartment itself is also no frills, but there is a double floor that can be installed at different heights. Higher - to the floor level, which is formed by the folded backs of the rear seats, nothing new.

The pixel image from the rear-view camera is also frankly frustrating - even on the budget Lada Vesta, the picture is more contrasting and clearer. And the familiar knobs for heated seats are generally hidden under the box lid on the console - away from the eyes of a premium client. However, on more expensive trim levels with ventilation and massage, the seat control was removed from the media system menu - the solution is not ideal, but still more elegant.

But the features of the configuration are, by and large, trifles. The biggest question is the corporate-wide platform EMP2, which PSA also uses for quite budget machines. For the DS 7 Crossback, it was fitted with a multi-link rear suspension, which helped instill in the car more elegant driving habits - quite suitable for both smooth European highways and twisted serpentines of the south of the Old World. But the layout remained front-wheel drive, and the car does not and will not have all-wheel drive. At least until there is a 300-horsepower hybrid with an electric motor on the rear axle.

The set of powertrains available today includes five engines familiar from simpler machines. The base one is a 1,2-liter gasoline three-cylinder (130 hp), followed by a 1,6-liter one with 180 and 225 horsepower. Plus diesels 1,5 L (130 HP) and 2,0 L (180 HP). Top-end engines seem to be the most harmonious, and if gasoline is more fervent, then diesel is more comfortable. The latter gets along perfectly with the new 8-speed "automatic" and the warning system Start / Stop, so that the passport 9,9 s to "hundreds" seem not long, but, on the contrary, very convenient. With the top-end petrol "four" DS 7 rides, though brighter, but still more nervous, and in the specifications it is not ashamed of 8,3 s to "hundred".

For the segment that the DS 7 Crossback claims, this whole set seems modest, but the French still have one trump card up their sleeve. This is a hybrid with a total capacity of 300 hp. and - finally - all-wheel drive. The scheme as a whole is not new, but it is implemented more interestingly than on Peugeot hybrids: a 200-horsepower 1,6 petrol mated to a 109-horsepower electric motor. and through the same 8-speed "automatic" drives the front wheels. And one more electric motor of the same power - rear. The distribution of thrust along the axes is controlled by the electronics. Pure electric mileage - no more than 50 km, and exclusively in rear-wheel drive mode.

The hydride is 300 kg heavier, but even the prototype, on which the French were allowed to ride in a closed area, pulls perfectly, evenly and intensely in a purely electric mode. And it's very quiet. And in hybrid mode with full dedication, it becomes angry and seems to be more thoroughbred. It goes quickly, it is controlled clearly, but the French will still have to work on the synchronization of the engines - while the prototype from time to time frightens with too abrupt change of modes. They are not in a hurry - the release of the top version is scheduled for mid-2019. While more traditional cars will come to us in the second half of 2018.

The French are ready to change their conventional premium to a not the most premium price tag, and this can be quite an honest deal. In France, the cost of DS 7 starts at about 30 euros, which is about $ 000. It is possible that in Russia the car will be put up even cheaper in order to give battle to premium crossovers of an even more compact segment. In the hope that four-wheel drive is still not the main condition for buying such a car.

Body type	Universal	Universal
dimensions (length / width / height), mm	4570/1895/1620	4570/1895/1620
Wheelbase, mm	2738	2738
Curb weight, kg	1420	1535
engine's type	Gasoline, R4, turbo	Diesel, R4, turbo
Working volume, cubic meters cm	1598	1997
Power, hp with. at rpm	225 at 5500	180 at 3750
Max. cool. moment, Nm at rpm	300 at 1900	400 at 2000
Transmission, drive	8-st. Automatic transmission, front	8-st. Automatic transmission, front
Maksim. speed, km / h	227	216
Acceleration to 100 km / h, from	8,3	9,9
Fuel consumption (mixture), l	7,5/5,0/5,9	5,6/4,4/4,9
Cargo space, l	555	555