Peugeot 207 GT 2007 Review

Road Test

About our ratings

When the Peugeot 206 became the 207, the joys of Pug ownership were opened up to more people -- anyone over 5'9" for a start. The 206 was a small small car... Equally, many people might be turned off by aspects of the 207 GT that either seem to be the answers to unasked questions, or are just too clever for their own good.

First among these is the vast glass panel in the roof -- jolly fine for viewing Mr Eiffel's tower from close up, but guaranteed to be less than popular in noonday Queensland -- even with the extendable sun-blind! That and the rakish windscreen will almost certainly guarantee that the aircon system will get regular exercise.

Then there are the reverse-parking sensors. They're a good idea on many vehicles, but should we be forced to pay for them on a hatchback that's just 4.03m long? Ditto the heated, folding wing-mirrors.

Personally, however, the most annoyingly 'bling' feature are the chrome-ringed corner-illuminating driving lamps that come on at the first after-dark twitch of the steering wheel. This tester found them irritatingly distracting and not really needed except when negotiating the darkest of darkened alleys (Ed: can't agree SK -- I like them in town and out. Three left, don't cut!). The standard headlamps, it must be said though, are uncommonly good.

All these fripperies detract from what should be a scintillating drive, the 207 GT is, after all, powered by a BMW-inspired engine excruciatingly similar to the one in the latest MINI. A turbocharged 1.6-litre four that is tuned to deliver 110kW and 240Nm via a five-speed manual gearbox, it's an engine that recently took out a deserved category win in the International Engine of the Year award.

Equipped with switchable ESP electronic stability, ASR traction control and grippy low-profile 205/45 17-inch Pirellis, you'd expect the little Pug to offer a grinworthy driving experience every time you turned the key. It does to a point (see below), but at first impression you'll note the gearshift is vague and imprecise and what feels like a sportingly taut suspension on perfect surfaces quickly becomes harsh on even minor irregularities around town.

Although the boot is small at 270 litres, it does at least include a full-sized spare wheel -- a welcome advantage over many of its rivals. However, the rear seats aren't comfortable and legroom is so tight that even a moderately tall driver will leave scant space for rear passengers. This means a single passenger will inevitably sit behind the front passenger and this highlights a bad piece of the left to right-hand drive 'translation'.

There's no squab release on the front passenger seat accessible to rear seat passengers and with the very long doors of the three-door GT, they can't reach the door release either. It's a staggeringly poor piece of design.

Though arguably the GT is aimed at sports buyers rather than families, it does boast five seats, so it's worth noting that the car's artistic upswept waistline puts the sill of the minimal swing-out rear windows too high for kids to see out of. Parents take note -- chances are, you'll quickly have bored and fractious backseaters, so opting for the five-door 207 with its lower sills, will maintain family congeniality.

Also demonstrating Peugeot's left-hooker roots, it is necessary to open the passenger door to open the bonnet. Quixotically, the fuel filler requires that the key be used to physically unlock the cap -- there is no remote release.

The interior details also flatter only to deceive -- there's a trip computer, but the displayed characters are small and quickly vanish, reverting to the default display too fast to be read. And faux carbon-fibre might impress pimply P-platers but it has no place in a European performance car.

The tiny glovebox is too small for the car's own handbook, but does include a useful chiller. Storage in the cabin is, however, generally pretty poor.

In addition to being vague, the gearshift's throw is too long to be considered sporty and this driver's elbow fouled the seat bolster when shifting into second and fourth. Without much lumbar support or adjustment, the driver's seat will not be loved by many.

It's a minor point, but the quirky increments on the speedo might be good in France, where the national limit is 130km/h, but drivers needing to go 60, 80 or 100km/h are left guessing.

Curiously, there's also no 'Accessory' position to the ignition -- the ignition must be fully on, even if the engine's not running, to listen to the sound system when parked. The extra-cost ($590) optional five-disc in-dash AM/FM CD player features automatic ambient noise volume control.

The good news is the GT's specification list includes features normally found on larger cars with bigger sticker prices, such as an auto-dipping interior mirror, auto-on headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, reach and rake-adjustable steering column and beautiful polished alloy pedals. And we did like the five separate space-invader-like symbols for safety belts that are green when the seat's occupied and belted, red when it's not.

Indeed, the Peugeot's most redeeming features are its veritable host of active and passive safety features. Twin front airbags, side and curtain airbags and automatic unlocking of doors after an impact are matched with tyre pressure monitors, automatic triggering of the hazard lights under emergency braking and ABS brakes that sport both brake-force distribution and emergency braking assistance.

Over almost exactly 500km, our tester used fuel at an acceptable rate of 9.0lt/100km. Acceptable because, while it's dressed to impress, this car wants to be taken out of town and caned, revved, thrashed and bullied. Indeed, despite our qualms about the gearshift, and largely thanks to the abovementioned aggressively calibrated suspension, the 207 GT is a veritable hoot to drive briskly. It has tenacious grip, accurate steering and utterly predictable handling and thus it offers as many grins per mile as pretty much anything else in its class.

The power delivery is breathtaking, with not even a hint of turbo-lag and torque is delivered in a surging wave of energy that seems to last forever. We've picked holes in this car's packaging, but the actual driving experience is refreshingly visceral -- something too long absent from sporting small cars.

The 110kW GT is a little down the hill from the 128kW GTi, which shares its powerplant with MINI's Cooper S hot hatch. As a result, the GT could be expected to be a bit more mainstream, more everyday, than its more potent stablemate.

The 207 is an entire range in itself -- the GTi wears the performance mantel, the cabrio-coupe 207CC folds its roof away to go topless and the 207XT versions offer similar styling, more humble drivelines and bargain-basement prices.

In fact, across the 207 range, there are six engines, two, three and five-door bodies, five different levels of trim and either manual or Tiptronic automatic transmissions. The GT tested here is just one performance level and two price tiers off the icing on the top of the cake; it's more affordable than the more potent $33,490 GTi and the similarly-engined $39,990 top-drawer 207CC turbo.

In keeping with its performance label, there isn't a five-door GT -- which is a pity.

Alas, overall the 207 GT proves that eye-catching French styling won't rescue flawed design. Further, sinking a perky turbocharged engine under the bonnet isn't enough to resurrect the glory days of Peugeot's iconic hot hatches.

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