This is the new DS No7, and the long-range e-version claims 460 miles of range

Go on, be a bit different. Everyone and their neighbour covets a BMW X1 or Audi Q3 or Mercedes GLA. DS’s answer is this: the new No7. Not an expensive parfum, but a compact SUV that replaces the old, left-field DS 7.

It’s as tall and fat as before, but “follows the market trend” by being a smidgen longer. And because it’s a ‘premium’ car, it carries with it premium trappings. Like an admittedly very classy design that takes in an illuminated grille and sparkly headlights, the ‘LIGHT BLADE’ at the back, contrast black roof, posh colours like ‘silk green’ and ‘topaz blue’ (among others), and 21in wheels.

Wheels that’ll travel up to 460 miles if you spec the rangiest of the three electric ‘E-Tense’ DS No7s being offered at launch. It’s called the FWD Long Range and gets a 97.2kWh battery made in France and bolted into the floor, a single electric motor up front, and 242bhp (or 276bhp with boost).

There’s a twin-motor AWD Long Range that gets the same battery, a slightly diminished 422 miles, and a juicier 345bhp (or 370bhp with boost). Amusingly, with that boost engaged, this version can accelerate from 0-62mph in just 5.4s. That’s… rapid.

Finally, there’s an entry-level FWD E-Tense car that gets a lowly 227bhp (up to 256bhp with boost), a smaller 73.7kWh battery and up to 337 miles of range.

And even more finally, DS will offer a self-charging hybrid No7 that pairs a diddy 1.2-litre turbo three-pot petrol engine with a diddy 21kW electric motor, 143bhp, and the promise of up to 53mpg. Ha, remember mpg?

There’s plenty of electronic tech to aid your journeys in the No7, like level 2 assistance (lane change, adaptive cruise and so on), night vision, an optional digital rearview mirror, and EV routing.

Plus, there's DS’s ‘Iris 2.0’ cockpit that apparently works like a smartphone “and can be controlled via speech recognition or with the large 16in central touchscreen”. Clearly France didn’t get the ‘bring back buttons’ campaign memo.

But it did get the ‘make it fancy’ memo: there are densely bolstered heated and cooled seats, active suspension that scans the road ahead like old Mercs used to do, premium audio, the option of acoustic laminated glass, five interior ‘moods’, and lots of soft touch materials.

“Just like its predecessor, DS No7 positions itself at the heart of the premium market in the compact SUV segment and offers a distinctive style that combines generous on-board space with a refined, comfortable and bright interior,” said DS. 

Refined and comfortable enough to lure you away from the bright lights of the X1, Q3 and GLA?