Peugeot 207: French For Beginners

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Peugeot 207: French For Beginners
Peugeot 207: French For Beginners
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Peugeot now also offers its workhorse 207 with a small 73 hp petrol engine. It gets through the city quickly. At higher speeds, however, the journey becomes a tough ride.

By Sebastian Viehmann

Peugeot is actually on a high-performance trip with the 207: the lively 1.6 THP with 150 hp makes the little French into a convincing mini-athlete. In spring the 207 RC comes, which with a 175 hp turbo engine - the same unit as in the Mini Cooper S - should arouse even more sporting ambitions. Of course, such racing dwarfs cannot achieve high registrations. Above all, they should strengthen the brand's image. Much more often, the 207 is used as a workhorse for everyday life, student crate or small family carriage. The choice of engines is not exactly extensive - only one diesel unit (109 hp) and four petrol engines (73, 88, 109 and 150 hp) are available. The weakest 207 (1.4-liter petrol engine with 54 kW / 73 hp) has only just been followed by Peugeot.

A typical entry-level model in the test: the three-door Tendance version for 13,150 euros. Only the? Filou ?? is cheaper. for 11,750 (three-door) or 12,450 euros (five-door). The basic machine draws 73 hp from 1360 cubic centimeters, the maximum torque of 118 Newton meters is at 3300 revolutions. This makes the difference to the 88 hp engine (133 Newton meters at 3250 revolutions) not too great.

Swift through the city

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Still, the little motor is a tough guy. At the beginning you are tempted to turn it up pretty high - until you realize at some point that it doesn't work. So you shift quickly to save your nerves and glide along in city traffic. Even at low engine speeds, the engine delivers enough thrust to maneuver the 207 through the city in third or fourth gear without being tortured. The five-speed box is fluid and easy to use.

On the country road you can get along quite well with 73 horses, but overtaking is mostly left to the others. The exit on the autobahn does not have any surprises in store either - the small gasoline engine has its volume under control, but is tough as leather at higher speeds. The best way to bridge the time to top speed (170 km / h) is by listening to the radio. Peugeot states that consumption is an average of 6.3 liters, but the on-board computer in our test car calculated that consumption was around two liters higher. The suspension of the 207 is pleasant. Only now and then does it get a bit bumpy on bumps, otherwise the tight, but not too hard, road holding is very beneficial.

Lots of space for odds and ends

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The 207 is a bit longer than its competitors Corsa, Polo, Clio or Fiesta. Nevertheless, the rear of the three-door is quite cramped. Tall passengers quickly have problems with knee and headroom. The trip for four with luggage fails not only because of the limited space available, but also, depending on the stature of the traveler, because of the load: At just 367 kilograms, it is the smallest of all 207 models, apart from the turbo racer 1.6 THP.

The gently sloping hood and the high rear with the small triangular windows provide a rather poor overview when maneuvering, even if reversing is not quite as blind as in Opel's three-door Corsa. At the front, the 207 is a small space saver. The many shelves and the large glove compartment with numerous slots for cards, pens and other small items are ingenious. The upholstery of the Peugeot is a little too soft, but the fabrics and other materials leave a high-quality impression.

Convincing security concept

The Frenchman offers decent equipment for 13,150 euros. Power steering, electric windows, on-board computer, air conditioning, electrically adjustable exterior mirrors and the air-conditioned glove compartment are among the amenities of the French. The safety concept with six airbags is impressive. However, ESP is only available for an extra charge, and the smallest 207 has to get by with drum brakes at the rear.

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The bare base model Filou 75 is available for 11,750 euros. This means that Peugeot is in the range of common competitors: a Ford Fiesta 1.4 (80 PS) is available for 11,800 euros, a Corsa 1.2 (80 PS) for 11,760 euros and a Clio 1.2 (75 PS) for 11,350 euros. An outlier is the VW Polo 1.4 (75 PS), for which you have to shell out 13,975 euros.

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