Luxury brands such as Land Rover, Audi and BMW will be watching closely the developments within the DS marque as it plans to launch its own premium SUV into the mix.

The DS 7 Crossback will be the company’s first venture into SUV territory and is due to arrive early next year. But in the meantime, the company has created a network of virtual showrooms where the car can be viewed and ordered online.

The first vehicle to arrive will be a high specification, limited edition La Premiere model priced from £42,650 which puts the DS 7 in the same price league as the Range Rover Velar and the new Audi Q5.

The new SUV will be the first all-new DS model to be released since the brand split away from the Citroen stable in 2014. It measures 14ft 11ins in length and will be launched with two powertrains – a 2.0-litre 180bhp diesel and a 1.6-litre 225bhp turbo petrol with 225bhp.

Both feature an eight-speed automatic gearbox with fuel economy rated at 58.8mpg for the diesel and 39.2mpg for the petrol. Emissions are 128g/km and 137g/km respectively.

The DS 7 can complete the 0-62mph dash in an impressive 8.3 seconds for the petrol version with a maximum speed of 141mph or 9.4 seconds for the diesel which redlines at 128mph.

The car features a cutting-edge interior with two 12-inch display panels replacing conventional instruments. It also boasts what DS calls Active Scan Suspension which makes use of a camera system to read road undulations and adjust damping for optimum comfort.

Also included are active LED headlamps which rotate through 180 degrees when switched on giving the DS 7 an unmistakable light signature.

Optional equipment will include a FOCAL hi-fi system priced at £990, a night vision pack which alerts drivers to potential hazards in darkness costing £1,300, automated parking and a surround-view camera for £600 and the ConnectedCAM dashcam system first seen on the new DS 3 which comes in at £350.

Standard kit on the La Premiere cars will include adaptive cruise control, lane departure and blind spot monitors and full connectivity with sat nav and wireless phone charging.

The luxurious interior will be completed by the finest leather trim, multi-coloured ambient lighting and a BRM timepiece.

On the practicality front, the DS 7 will feature boot space capacities ranging from 555 to 1,752 litres.

An all-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid version of the DS 7 is already being planned for 2019 which is rumoured to have a zero emission range of almost 40 miles.