You get height-adjustable front seats as standard in the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense and the steering wheel adjusts for height and reach so you’ll have no trouble getting a good view of the digital driver’s display. Unfortunately, you can’t get E-Tense models with electrically adjustable seats and electric lumbar adjustment like you can in the standard DS 3 Crossback, which is a shame.
At least there’s a decent amount of manual adjustment to help drivers of all sizes get comfortable, though. Sadly, you can’t say the same of the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense’s rear seats. The back doors don’t open particularly wide and anyone approaching six feet tall will find their head brushes against the ceiling and – if they’re sitting behind an equally tall driver – their knees touch the seat in front.
Things get even worse if you try to carry three adults in the back at once. The central seat is harder than the outer two and raised, so headroom takes a sizeable hit. The DS 3 Crossback E-Tense’s sloping sides mean outer passengers have to bend their necks awkwardly to avoid hitting their heads on the roof.
Performance Line models with a dark roof lining feel especially cramped in the back, and all DS 3 Crossback E-Tense models come with an awkwardly kinked rear window sill that limits visibility for kids and smaller adults making them feel even more claustrophobic. As if to add insult to injury, the rear windows don’t even come close to winding down.
Things don’t improve if you need to carry very young passengers because the Isofix anchor points for securing a child seat are hidden behind the seat fabric. It’s not all bad news, however – the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense’s raised ride height means you don’t need to stoop down to strap in a child.
The DS 3 Crosback E-Tense’s interior might be one of the most stylish of any electric car on sale, but it’s far from being the most practical – especially in the back. The rear door bins are very slim and you don’t get a folding rear armrest or any cupholders.
Things are slightly better in the front seats, where you get some roomier door bins, a storage area under the front armrest, two cupholders and a tray for your phone that can be had with a wireless charging pad.
The DS 3 Crossback E-Tense’s 350-litre capacity, but behind the 451-litre load bay in a Kia e-Niro.
You don’t get many tether points either, and there aren’t any shopping hooks to stop your groceries rolling as you drive along. The tall boot lip makes it tricky to lift in heavy luggage and you can’t adjust the height of the boot floor like you can in many petrol- and diesel-powered SUVs.
You can fold the back seats down in a two-way (60:40) split to boost the E-Tense’s boot capacity to 1,050 litres, but there’s a significant step behind the rear seats that makes it difficult to slide heavy boxes right up behind the front seats.
At least the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense’s wide boot opening means there’s a decent amount of space to lift bulky items.