Peugeot's
all new 207 went on sale to rave reviews. The all new model fits nicely
into the Peugeot range sliding in between the current 206 (which will
continue for the foreseeable future, but in limited variants) and the
307.
It's as cute as the 206 but with more space and is has two different faces, a shorter nose and less dramatically front bumpered Classic model and more aggressively styled Sport version. On sale now priced from £8,995 for the 3 door 1.4 Urban entry model.
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GT
Ok the newest little pug sports model is a diesel and for what it costs it's a great little motor.
I drove the new 207 GT on a Peugeot drive day and loved it, it's fun
and fresh offers good performance whilst retaining great fuel economy.
It's very well equipped, spacious and has real character about it, so
it's a happy addition to the existing line up and something between the
sporty version and the soon to be introduced GTI. Once I've had another
drive in one and lived with it or a week I'll give you some more info
but for now I'd seriously recommend that you test drive one if your
looking for a small sporty hatch.
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CC
Ok
so 6yrs ago Peugeot launched one of the gayest cars ever to hit the
road, the 206 CC was loved by all and no more so than by our good gay
selves. The 206CC not only quickly became the trolley dolly and
hairdressers' car of choice, it revolutionised the small convertible in
the UK.
6yrs on you can't throw a Gucci loafer in any direction
without hitting a hard roof drop-top. So how are Peugeot planning to
get back the massive market share they've lost to other manufacturers?
By
replacing the 206CC with the all new 207CC, which is a truly gorgeous
little car and I love it. It's butcher, sportier and more muscled than
the car it replaces, but more importantly it looks so damn sexy you
just wanna take it to meet your fag-hag so she can wax lyrical about
what a waste it is on a gay man.
One of the best
features on the new CC is that is now has a fully automatic roof, so no
more handles to unlatch before you can take your top off. On sale in
March with pricing to be announced soon, watch out for it because it's
going to be a sure fire hit.
308CC
The 307CC was a fairly great coupe-cabriolet, it looked good, all be it slightly tubby. It handled well and offered a fairly good all-round package. However, it was getting a tad long in the tooth, and needed replacing to keep up with the market for sleek drop-tops. So enter stage left the all new 308 CC, like Barrack replacing Bush, it's a breath of fresh air, sleeker, looking lighter on its feet, innovative and all about the style and finesse.
The styling of the new pug is beautiful and a massive improvement on the out-going model. For a start it's far more masculine and sporty than the outgoing model. Thanks to the sleek angular lines flowing from front to back, it's got a waistline (at last) and the rear is a work of art. Front and rear the lights flow into the wings and give just the most gorgeous lines. With the hood up the boot is cavernous; we took 2 friends (leaving for a month backpacking round Cuba) to the airport (more on this later). The boot swallowed huge backpacks, cameras, laptops and assorted un-necessary luggage like a fat kid in a cake shop. Hood down it still has a good sized boot, although it's much harder to get things in and out with the hood in the way.
Equipment wise it's got more toys than Ann Summers, the top-of-the-range GT THP 150 I tested had just about every conceivable gadget and gizmo known to man in it. This included the new Airwave Neck Heating System (thanks to the optional leather upgrade which Airwave comes as standard with), which actually REALLY works, a tad too much at times as it isn't speed sensitive. When you slow down, or stop at traffic lights, you end up with the back of your neck burning and a face full of stifling hot air. But when tanking down the road at speed, with the system on, you do feel toasty regardless of the temperature outside. The CD system had great sound quality; however I have a major beef about the AUX connection. Rather than update the system to the universally used 1 pin and USB connection, Peugeot in their wisdom have stuck with the old and outdated (and pointless) 3 pin system. Which means that unless you spend a fortune on crappy old connector leads (with substandard quality), you can't plug an iPod into the system. VERY irritating!
Let me return to the interior cabin space, Peugeot say that the 308 CC is a genuine 4 seater, this means Peugeot are either genuinely totally deluded or genuinely know more little people than Gulliver! Genuine 4 seater my arse! I took two girls (both under 5ft 6" in the back, I was driving (I'm 5"8 on a good day in heels on a hill) and Marcus (also 5"8 ish) was in the front passenger seat. I drove for most of the 2hr journey to Heathrow with my knees under my chin and the steering wheel pressed into my (manly) pecs. Marcus, at one point was so desperate, to regain the feeling in his feet, contemplated trying to fit his legs into the glove box. Unfortunately as his knees were wedged against it, this proved impossible to even open it. So in the front we're pretty much either sat on or actually on the point of becoming part of the dashboard, we're that close to it (hell the steering column was so close to my crotch it text me last week, to ask when we where going on another date!). So you would think that our sacrifice would mean the girls were in luxury comfort in the back. Not at all, in fact we had to stop on two occasions as the girls were suffering from cramp and had (at one point) lost the feeling in their legs. Rear headroom with the hood up is also pretty much non-existent if your above 12yrs old. As 4 seaters go, yes it has 4 seats, they may also be used by four adults with the hood down on short (20 mins max I'd say) journeys, kids would probably be fine on long journeys. As a gay man I don't really have kids in my car, so it's of absolutely no interest to me whether I can fit em in the back, hell if I had my choice I'd put the kids in the boot so I didn't have to listen to the whinging. It's a huge disappointment that Peugeot didn't address one of the major flaws in the 307CC in the new 308CC. But on the up side, the rear seats do double as great space for luggage, just as long as your 'luggage' isn't the in-laws, or human.
So lets talk about handling and performance, well with a model name like the GT THP150, you'd be thinking it was a sports car with dynamic handling and sports car cornering, you'd unfortunately be a) wrong and b) be as disappointed as I was when I found out Betty Crocker wasn't actually a real person (I KNOW, who would have thought it!). The handling isn't as barge-like as the 307 CC; in fact it's actually really not bad at all. It still lacks driver feel in corners, on bends and tight chicanes it doesn't feel as poised as I'd like, but more 'floaty'. The suspension (I thought) was overly hard, making you feel every little pothole in the road. Coupled with the fact that the steering is far from razor sharp, feeling at times deader than MJ, it's not hard to come to the conclusion that this is no sports car. Performance however is more than adequate from the little tuned up 1.6L THP150 engine. It's lively and almost never feels flat, working just as well as it does in the MINI Cooper S (BMW and Peugeot have an alliance that see's BM lending their engines to Pug).
So it looks like a truly beautiful sports car, it doesn't handle like one, but does have good all-round performance (0-62mph takes 10.5 seconds). It's a laughable 4 seater; it's comfortable for 2 passengers and has a boot that could hold all the skin that's been removed from Joan Rivers over the years. Would I have one, actually even after everything I've said, yes and why? Because it is a stunning motor that's a great cruiser, it'll float up and down motorways and country roads all day long. Priced at £23,995 for the top of the range test car we had, it's not cheap but it feels well built and solid and worth the money.
Well Well Pug, you have been busy this year, and it's only February! A new brand identity, new model range and styling to match, our French friends are in the zone and seem to be going exactly in the right direction.
This is beautifully demonstrated in the 3008, a brand new car for Peugeot, the 3008 is a crossover with great potential. When it arrived I had to admit, I was sceptical of the styling, looking a little like a bigger and better 308 SW (Station Wagon). The dominating grille looks like it'll eat anything in its path, while the kinetic grooves in the bonnet bring a sense of speed and subtle authority. The rear is neat and compact and the rear light clusters slide elegantly into the wider hips, reflecting that of the normal 308.
Exploring the interior, nothing seemed that 'out there' or 'exceptional' but the clean lines and simplicity pleased me immensely. Everything inside feels very solid and puts the driver in a very controlling role. The centre console cascades toward the driver, wrapping around like a cockpit, while the passenger side feels very spacious and comfortable, with enough room to swing a tiger, never mind a cat. In the rear it's much the same story, with comfortable space for three go-go boys and a boot big enough to fit their ego's, well with the split tailgate open at least.
A feature I have to boast about is the HUD or Heads Up Display. At the risk of being seen as a gimmick, the clear Perspex rises from the dashboard and sits just nicely in the drivers view, meaning you don't have to take your eyes off the road to know your cruising down the motorway at 90 not realising it. Why wouldn't you realise this? Because the 3008 feel's like it's been to the salon for a full back, sack and crack it's that smooth. The Handling is tight and has limited body roll for a car of it's size, soaking up any lumps and bumps and begging for bends just to show off.
The THP150 that we tested was brilliant, with a 0-60mph of just under 9 seconds, it's quicker than Ricky Martin to come out and play, and just as well too, as the rear is so nice to look at, as it shoots off into the distance, (that's the 3008's rear, not Ricky Martin's, although his isn't bad either!). This brings me nicely to fuel consumption, just shy of doing 40 miles-per-gallon combined the 3008 is not a gas guzzler, even for a petrol, of course if this isn't impressive enough, the diesel equivalent does just over 50mpg and kicks out the same performance from a 2 litre engine.
Overall, I was so impressed with the 3008 that I was sad to see it go. It's got the looks, the drive and the capability and practicality of having a crossover, I have to hand it to Peugeot they've done a tremendous job and all from just £16,595.
Coupe
The men maybe back…. But are they worth dating?
Rich attends the launch of the 407 Coupe to see why Peugeot are so looking so pleased…..
Well it seems to have become some what of a tradition lately, things
getting me out of bed at 4.30am (and the way I'm aging it's gonna be my
bladder doing it soon), but in order to get the first up close and
personal look and to be able to drive the new 407 Coupe before it went
on sale, up at 4.30am and to Chester it was…
On first impression it manages to look aggressive and sporty whilst still maintaining an air of sophistication and elegance. It looks long, wide and low, it's a very sexy looking car from any angle, looking almost shark like in appearance from the front, angular and powerful from the side it has a strong "American muscle car" feel about it and the back well that's just pure Italian with a very Ferrari style design. In fact it has the attributes of all the truly great Coupes and something that made the previous 406 Coupe a great car to own. It's a proper 4 seater will a massive boot, so it's practical as well as uber stylish and I have say considering Peugeot are billing the new 407 Coupe as a Grand Tourer it's just as well.
Inside Peugeot have done a great job, ultra soft leather, classical but still modern instrument panels, switches and dashboard all create a very comfortable pleasant environment to be in, Sat Nav is secreted into the dash and is immensely easy to use and fairly accurate, however there is a fairly big clink in the armour of this otherwise beautiful interior and that is the stereo, not the sound or the quality of the sound, which like everything else inside is superb. But I kid you not when I say it has got to be one of, if not the ugliest, stereos I've ever seen it just doesn't suit the interior at all, however in the greater scheme of things it's very easy to forgive and forget one mistake and it's about the only one Peugeot have made.
But
here's the even bigger shock, not only did I love driving the 2.7 V6
HDI Diesel engined coupe, I actually preferred it to the 3L V6 Petrol
version, power seemed to be delivered quicker, smoother and there
appeared to be more oomph than in the petrol, that said the performance
figures show there's no real difference between either engines 0-60
times both coming in at just over 8 seconds, however the diesel will do
(combined) 33mpg compared to the V6 petrol's 27.6.
The
Coupe will be sold in 3 trim versions, S SE and GT and will be
available in 3 engines mated with 2 gearboxes, a 2.2 petrol manual, 3.0
V6 Manual. 3.0 V6 Auto and the 2.7 HDI diesel Auto. Pricing starts with
the entry level S 2.2 Manual at £21,900 OTR right up to the top of the
range 2.7 HDI GT at £30,900 OTR.
My advice…. buy the diesel and tint down those windows because if your lucky enough to get one of the 2,500 Coupe's Peugeot are making, everyone's gonna know the men are back and they are going to want to date you….a lot
..........
SW
I
can't take it away from the big Peugeot that it's a very pretty looking
estate, from the front it can look a little strange but the side and
rear profiles are great and look very sporty. It is a fairly pricey
estate at dead on 21k for the 2.0 HDI Sport SW and although you get a
lot of standard equipment for your money, the list isn't as long as it
could be with half leather being included but full leather a costly
option, however 17in alloys are standard on the Sport trim and really
do make the 407 look butcher than a daddy bear in the woods.
What does make the 407 SW so attractive though is the full length
panoramic glass roof which makes the cabin feel airy, bright and makes
it feel less enclosed when your driving it than any others I tested.
Another of its special little touches that actually proves to be very
useful is the rear window that opens on it's own and independently of
the tailgate, which means that if you just want to throw an overnight
bag into the back you can just pop the window and throw it in rather
than having to go through all the hassle of opening and closing the
whole tailgate.
It's very comfortable to drive and fuel wise you won't have to go
without that new pair of Gucci mules to afford to run it as 45mpg is
fairly easy to get by driving sensibly. So performance and spec is good
although the price tag is higher, one thing I have to say though is
that the 407 does suffer with the same cosmetic problem that all the
whole Peugeot range suffer from and that is the butt ugly stereo system
they insist on putting into an otherwise attractive dash. Yes it sounds
great, but by gay god it looks like something from the 60's with huge
protruding buttons and a really antiquated look and feel. So would the
big pug be my first choice? No but it would be my second after the
Skoda, yes it's a 3k price hike and the performance and standard kit
aren't as good but I do really like the look and that glass roof gets
me every time.
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