GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: DS 7 Crossback SUV revealed

DS has pulled the drapes off its rival to premium small SUVs like the Audi Q5 and BMW X3 ahead of its launch next week at the Geneva motor show.

Called the DS 7 Crossback, the new French SUV will be on sale in Europe late this year and is set to arrive Down Under early 2018.

Claimed to have been inspired by both the 2014 Divine DS and the 2016 DS E-TENSE concept, the new production-ready DS 7 Crossback gets an evolution of those car's front and rear styling and LED light signatures.

Inside, the cabin is dominated by two huge 12-inch screens, chrome toggle switches and finishes said to be inspired by haute couture fashion and watch-making.

Measuring in at 4570mm long, 1620mm tall and 1890mm wide, the 7 Crossback is 93mm shorter than the Q5 and both fractionally lower and narrower than the Audi.

Based on PSA's EMP2 platform that also underpins cars like the Peugeot 308, the new SUV will initially come with a 95kW 1.2-litre PureTech engine and a turbocharged four-cylinder 1.6-litre that will be offered with either 132kW or 166kW.

Two diesels will also be offered: an all-new 95kW 1.5-litre and a more powerful 132kW 2.0-litre. All engines will be come with an eight-speed automatic or a six-speed manual.

As well as the conventional engines, DS will also introduce a new E-TENSE plug-in hybrid that combines a 147kW petrol engine with two 80kW electric motors mounted on the front and rear axle, plus a 13kWh lithium ion battery.

In total the new plug-in powertrain produces 221kW.

DS hasn't revealed how efficient the hybrid is but says after a 4.5 hour charge using a standard plug socket (or 2.5 hours using a 32A fast charger) the 7 Crossback can travel up to 60km on pure-electric power alone.

As well as new powertrains, there's plenty of new technology introduced by the DS brand on the new small crossover.

The DS 7 Crossback comes with semi-autonomous active cruise control that can stop, steer and brake at up to 180km/h.

The small French SUV is also able to auto-park without any input from the driver, carrying out complex manoeuvres at up to speeds of 5km/h.

When the sun goes down the 7 Crossback uses an infrared camera in the front grille to identify pedestrians and animals, automatically alerting the driver if they wander into its path.

Boosting comfort, the new DS SUV comes with Active Scan Suspension that 'reads' the road ahead using a windscreen-mounted camera to prime the dampers for bumps and dips in the road.

Following on from its launch at the end of this year the DS brand will introduce another small SUV and large luxury sedan in a bid to rapidly expand its current range.