Eco Pug breaks cover

Though the Peugeot 207 'Economique' is not a completely new car, it benefits from sufficient modifications to make it one of the world's most efficient compact cars.

According to the French car maker, the 207 is Europe's "top selling small hatchback" and the new ultra-green 207 create more interest in the model range.

On sale in the UK in October, the new 207 Economique is powered by a 1.6-litre HDi turbodiesel engine that generates 66kW of power and 218Nm of torque, but emits only 99g/km of CO2.

Claimed fuel usage is pegged at 3.8L/100km, which is lower than combined-cycle consumption for the MINI D, Toyota Prius and possibly the upcoming Fiesta ECOnetic.

Peugeot Australia's spokesman Mark McCartney told the Carsales Network: "We have expressed keen interest in it [207 Economique] and we are currently looking into its viability for this market."

The ultra-low emission and fuel consumption levels for the compact Pug are achieved in two ways: fine tuning of the engine and various aerodynamic modifications. The 4-cylinder diesel engine has a tweaked ECU and also gets an EGR heat exchanger to improve the thermal dynamics of the turbocharger (by cooling the re-injected exhaust gases).

A modified five-speed manual gearbox features a higher final drive ratio than its 207 siblings and this is coupled with an optimal gear shift indicator that blinks on in the instrument cluster, prompting drivers when to change gear to achieve optimum efficiency.

Aerodynamic alterations begin with a 5mm lowered ride height and include things like a new lower bumper, revised air intakes, a rear undertray, wind-cheating wheel covers and a twin-element rear spoiler.

New 15-inch Michelin tyres reduce rolling resistance and, all told, these changes drop the Peugeot 207's drag co-efficient from 0.30 to 0.274.

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