THE handsome DS5 has lost something and gained something since it first took to the automotive catwalk four years ago.

Gone is a part of the name; this is no longer a Citroen but now tops a new posh range from the company, all simply called DS - with a number to tell you where they sit in the line up.

The DS5 is the poshest of the lot, above the (you've guessed) DS4 and very popular DS3 small hatch which is giving the MINI and Fiat 500 a run for their retro-themed money.

Citroen wants the DS range to appeal to the sort of person who might otherwise buy something like an Audi and must have reasoned (rightly) that the old name would put them off. Not fair, perhaps, but true.

Well, as you approach the DS5 it stand proud comparison against anything near the same price bearing a prestige German badge. This is a very handsome car, with just enough chrome to give it an air of restrained bling.

It will look quite the part in the company car park, an impression that will continue as you let a colleague slip into the driver's seat and take a look around the cockpit.

And that's the right word for the interior of a car that might have come from the drawing board of Boeing, not Citroen (sorry, DS). With rows of alloy tipped switches stretching both side of the gear lever and along a roof mounted central spine, this car drips with techno delight.

The car I drove may be the entry level to the DS5 range (which includes petrol and more powerful diesels and tops out at £34,890 for a petrol/electric hybrid) but it is well enough equipped to make an Audi blush.

Standard kit includes satellite navigation (now taking a full UK postcode, at last), handsome 18 inch alloy wheels, cruise control, emergency brake assist and keyless locking and entry on all four doors - this latter feature usually reserved for much more expensive cars. Oh, and three (yes three) sunroofs with powered blinds.

You might want to find an extra £790 for front and rear parking sensors and a beautifully clear reversing camera; the split rear window partly obscures following traffic and doesn't help when you need to dock this big car in a tight spot.

You can go a bit mad and find another £2,390 for delicious looking leather trim in dual colours and plaited like a luxury watchstrap, although the standard cloth in the Elegance version would do very nicely, thank you.

There's plenty of room in the front seats, but leg room in the rear is some way from limo like. A regularly shaped boot looks big enough for family duties, if made a little smaller on this particular model by a loudspeaker box that comes as part of a £550 Denon audio upgrade (and sounds excellent).

On a more practical level, the 1.6 diesel engine gives enough pull and makes the car a fine motorway cruiser, where it will amaze with its economy if you don't go mad with the throttle. A restrained M6 outing saw more than 60mpg and my 500 mile test total returned an excellent 54mpg.

I mentioned at the start that something was added as the Citroen DS5 shortened its name. Well, they were some springs in the suspension.

Of course the Citroen version had them, but they were so hard it ruined the ride. Not now; the DS5 is vastly better on even the bumpiest roads and almost serene on better ones.