New DS No 7 electric SUV to arrive next year as BMW iX3 rival
The No 7 will be the third model to arrive in DS’s rejigged lineup, taking on the premium SUV market next year...
On sale 2026 Price from £45,000 (est)
You might have noticed a couple of new DS models entering the market this year, and that’s because the French brand is shaking up its lineup in an attempt to cement it more firmly among other premium names. The latest addition to the range is the second-generation DS No 7 – which you might know better by its old name, the DS 7.
Indeed, part of the DS No 7’s update is a slight name change to bring it in line with the other recently-revealed models in the lineup: the DS No 4 and DS No 8. Unlike the old DS7, the BS No 7 will be available as a fully electric car. While it hasn’t been fully unveiled yet, early sightings show that it will be significantly bigger than the outgoing model and is set to look quite different too.
It’s expected that the new No 7 will borrow a number of styling cues from the No 8, including a flat front bumper, wraparound light bar and raised nose.
Probably the most drastic change will be its brand new underpinnings. The No 7 will be based on parent company Stellantis’s STLA Medium platform – the same as the likes of the Citroën C5 Aircross and Vauxhall Grandland. That means it’ll likely get a choice of two battery sizes: either a 73kWh (usable capacity) unit or a 98kWh unit, with 256bhp and 276bhp respectively in front-wheel-drive forms. It’ll also probably have a four-wheel-drive variant using the bigger battery, with an output of 345bhp.
Those setups on other models can officially manage between 355 and 466 miles of range. For reference, the upcoming BMW iX3 is projected to have a maximum range of 500 miles, though the next-generation Mercedes GLC will officially manage around 435 miles.
While DS had plans to be an electric-only brand from 2026, the STLA-M platform does have the capacity to accommodate combustion engines as well, which means there is the potential that the No 7 may not be exclusively electric – though nothing has been confirmed. Indeed, the No 7 will be the first electric car based on the underpinnings to not be offered with a combustion counterpart.
Inside, it’ll likely take inspiration from the No 8’s interior, with a 10.25in digital driver’s display as well as a 16in infotainment touchscreen. On the No 8, most controls are housed in the touchscreen, which can be a bit fiddly. That car gets some nice upmarket materials, though we did find some scratchy plastics on the doors and centre console.
The DS No 7 is set to be fully unveiled next year. Prices aren’t yet revealed, but we’d expect them to start at around £45,000 – which is much cheaper than what the iX3 and GLC are due to start at, but those models are likely to be positioned as slightly more premium compared with the No 7.
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