Peugeot 207 News

Among the extra equipment and cosmetic changes, the 2012 model will now come with Bluetooth phone and a USB port, leather seat trim and 16-inch alloy wheels as standard equipment for no extra cost. Also part of the 2012 refresh are a few cosmetic tweaks. The pint size drop top now comes with the new corporate identification Lion badging as well as black meter dials, a black interior roof colour and "Boyington" dashboard trim accents. The price remains unchanged from $33,490 for the 1.6L man and $35, 490 for the automatic. The 1.6-litre four cylinder engine produces 88kW/160Nm and meets the strict Euro 5 emissions standards. The 1.6-litre turbo automatic is no longer available for 207 CC. The new features are in addition to the already comprehensive level of equipment on the207 CC which includes automatically folding steel roof, cruise control with speed limiter, dual zone climate control air conditioning, electronic stability program, four airbags, ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution and emergency brake assist which applies more braking force in the event of sudden braking to increase the efficiency of your braking.

The newest 207 Touring is called the Outdoor for Australia and picks up 16-inch alloy wheels with an extra 16 millimetres of ground clearance under the nose and 21 millimetres more in the tail, thanks to new spring and 205x55 tyres.  There are also bumper extensions and black wheel-arch surrounds. Of course, it still is only front-wheel drive... But Peugeot believes the boost will encourage more people to tackle typical weekend escape work on gravel roads.  And it only has 150 to sell.  The Touring Outdoor is priced from $30,490 with a 1.6-litre petrol engine and outdated four-speed automatic gearbox, jumping by $1000 for a turbodiesel with five-speed manual. Power is 88 kiloWatts with the petrol motor and the pulling power of the diesel is 240 Newton-metres. Peugeot claims an extensive equipment upgrade for the new 207 without any change to the pricetag. So the list now runs to twin-zone auto aircon, cruise control, leather-cloth seats, auto headlights and wipers, and a glass sunroof.  There are also six airbags. The wagon tail in the updated 207 is impressive, with a lift-up glass window inside the regular tailgate, fold-flat rear seats and a luggage capacity up to 1433 litres. There are also storage nets, locating rings and tie-down straps. AT A GLANCE Peugeot 207 Touring Outdoor Price: from $30,490Safety: six airbags, ESP, anti-skid brakesEngines: 1.6-litre petrol or turbodieselOutput: 88kw/160Nm (petrol), 80kw/240Nm (diesel)Economy: 6.4/7.3L/100kmEmissions: 130/173g/km

That honour went to VW with the Eos. But now Peugeot has joined in, with the 308CC being offered in petrol and diesel variants. Peugeot Automobiles Australia general manager and director Ken Thomas said diesel was important to the company which last month won the Le Mans with a diesel-powered car following on from Audi which achieved diesel victories over the previous two years. Thomas said diesel represented about 60 per cent of their sales and they only offered the 407 in diesel because "that is where customers demand has been". "People are just asking for it in diesel," he said. "National demand for diesel passenger cars is up 35 per cent and represents about 6 per cent of the market." He said 308 diesel represented 37.18 per cent of Peugeot's total sales, while 308 petrol was 19.63 per cent. The 308 hatch and Touring are the brand's biggest sellers by far at 59.7 per cent of sales. Thomas said this year they expected to sell about 6430 vehicles, which is down 824 on last year and a whopping 2377 down on their record total in 2007. Next year he predicted 308 would sell about 3150, 308CC would sell 600, 207 about 750 and 207CC would account for 300.

The newest Pug is expected to hit local showrooms late this year. Peugeot Automobiles Australia spokesman, Mark McCartney, says the company is in the process of working out specifications and pricing. However, he expects the updated 207 range to be close in price to the existing models, which means an entry starter around $20,990. Outside, the car's overall shape is the same but there is a new grille, LED tail-lights, door protection mouldings and more chrome detailing. At the front the car's gaping grille has been cleaned up and softened while the foglights on the upper-spec models have been moved from around the grille to the extreme corners of the front bumper. The XT, HDi, SW and GTi range also boasts a new set of Australian-themed 15-inch, 16-inch and 17-inch alloys, interestingly named "Brisbane", "Canberra" and "Melbourne". Inside there are new materials, a one-touch indicator for lane changing, remote controlled window closing from the ignition key, easier to use air conditioning controls and soft-touch plastics on the dashboard and around the cabin that are designed to lift quality levels. European versions are also likely to get a standard USB connection as well as Bluetooth. In Europe 12 different engines are available but Australia is likely to stick with the existing 1.4-litre entry models as well as the mid and top-range 1.6-litre HDi, 1.6-litre petrol four cylinder and turbocharged units. However, all the 207 engines will now be Euro V compliant. Peugeot has also launched a "green" low-emission 207 for Europe with a 66kW HDi engine, low-rolling resistance tyres and aerodynamic aids. The ultra-efficient HDi FAP has CO2 emissions of just 99g/km and fuel economy of 3.8 litres/100km. The 207 has been Europe's top selling small car for the past two years. In Australia it is the most popular Peugeot after the 308.  

German motoring group ADAC has discovered some cabrio convertibles have minimal real-world rollover protection.ADAC results released last week demonstrate the effectiveness of various rollover systems in three cars: the Peugeot 207 CC, Mini Cooper and Citroen C3 Pluriel.All three were subjected to a 50km/h rollover off a specially designed sled with four crash-test dummies belted into each car.The cars were chosen because all had different degrees of protection and were representative of the type of protection available in other cabrio-convertibles.The Peugeot 207CC has an active rollover system and the Mini a passive one. ADAC describes the Pluriel as being “without significant rollover protection”.Of the three, the 207 performed best, but rolled twice. The Pluriel and Mini each rolled four times.ADAC found that all three cars had too much slack in their seatbelts to hold occupants properly in a rollover.The Peugeot's standard seatbelt pre-tensioners did manage to hold front-seat occupants more securely.ADAC says there is a risk of head injuries to people in the Mini Cooper because of the “unfavourable geometry” of the seatbelts, and the built-in passive roll bars behind the rear seats are good only for people shorter than 175cm. However, the car rated as “satisfactory” in the test.The Pluriel rated “poor”, despite meeting German TUV standard rollover criteria and achieving a four-star EuroNCAP crash score.With its roof completely open, the Pluriel fared worst. ADAC says the A-pillars collapsed, seatbelt positioning was poor and the roll bars were inadequate to protect all but the shortest of occupants.In the Peugeot, the automatic rollbar behind the rear seats deployed and gave the rear passengers better protection. But the front A-pillar showed significant deformation under load and subsequently provided less protection for front passengers.The Mini had the best results for A-pillar strength.In an effort to improve occupant safety, ADAC has asked carmakers for stronger A-pillars, better seatbelt design and increased survival space through higher rollbars.It also suggested electronic stability control could reduce the incidence of rollovers, thereby avoiding the problem altogether.Electronic stability control has been mandated for all cars in Europe.ADAC has 15 million members in Germany. It has previously tested the Mazda MX5, Opel Astra convertible and Volkswagen Beetle convertible. 

Australian car-makers have never quite grasped that many of us no longer live on quarter-acre blocks with white picket palisades in suburbs straight from Neighbours.But style, luxury, comfort and even performance needn't be sacrificed at the altar of practicality or forsaken in the pursuit of greenness.Only a decade ago, Volkswagen's Golf was considered a small car, but the current model is quite big enough for a family mobile.Beneath that, there's an emerging class of diminutive but dynamically pleasing, usefully spacious and (of increasing importance) eco-friendly city cars.It's the segment that shows less in terms of horsepower really can be more in terms of liveability and sustainability. In terms of luxury, too: you can downsize but up-spec - and cut quite a figure when you do.When a car weighs not much more than a tonne, low fuel consumption and low emissions are pretty much guaranteed.The Citroen C2 and C3 won't win any traffic-light derbies, but they do tick both those green boxes and the less tangible - but just as important - one marked “style”.In terms of reliability, it's said there's no such thing as French without tears, but it's hard not to be enamoured of the chic siblings.Our selections would be the C2 VTS with 1.6-litre petrol engine or the C3 Hdi with super-frugal, 1.6-litre turbo diesel (both from $23,990).The latter variant would also be the overwhelmingly popular choice in Paris.Italy gave the world the original city car, designed to provide affordable personal transport while being able to park on a postage stamp. It was the Fiat 500.The reborn, and instantly iconic, Fiat 500 fulfils that brief as a chunk of retro chic that's also fun to drive.Our choice is the top-spec Lounge variant, priced from $25,990 with a perky 1.4-litre petrol engine mated to a six-speed manual. If the 500 doesn't raise a smile, you probably don't like sunny days, either.There's also the option of a robotised manual transmission with auto-drive mode. It dispenses with both a clutch pedal and the emission spikes that occur when you change ratios in a conventional gearbox.And, with seven airbags, the ESP-equipped top models in the 500 range have better crash-safety credentials than a Falcodore.The Honda Jazz has been around longer than any other car mentioned here but, in several respects, it remains the benchmark for city cars.Honda's build quality is world-leading; the Jazz's space, practicality and economy are class-leading.Although a small engine combines best with a manual gearbox, it's equally true that changing gears for yourself is a dying art.So try the range-topping VTi-S with continuously variable transmission and 1.5-litre powerplant at $22,920.In the next-size-up Civic range, Honda offers a petrol/electric model which has been submerged beneath the decidedly eco-unfriendly mountain of print devoted to Toyota's Prius.The Civic Hybrid ($32,990) is massively cheaper than the Prius and at least looks like a car rather than a self-conscious eco-statement.Anyone who equates Hyundai with its old $13,990 drive-away-then-chuck-it-away days is labouring under a mighty misapprehension.The new Hyundai i30 has won car-of-the-year awards both here and in Europe (where this, the best car ever built in Korea, was designed).The 1.6-litre diesel-powered models take it up to just about any supposedly more prestigious European equivalent you care to name.The name of our preferred variant, the SX CRDi (from $21,490, plus $1500 for the safety pack) is the only clunky thing about it.More Australians spent their own money on a Mazda3 last year than on any other car. It's the fourth-best seller overall but, unlike the top three, there are no fleet sales among them.Sales-wise, the newer, next-size-down Mazda2 will run its bigger brother close this year. And so it should, being, if anything, an even more convincing package.Diminutive in stance but capacious within, cute to the eye but perhaps the best-driving car here, tolerably rapid but easy on fuel and easy to park, the Mazda2 Maxx (from $18,710) is the ideal city car. Nor will it fall short when freeway trips are required.Frankly, it's brilliant - and a cheaper, lighter, more efficient coupe version will arrive in Australia shortly.Look out also for the Peugeot 107, due mid-year. It will slot under the 207's entry-level ask of $19,990.If you remember the Top Gear episode in which a game of five-a-side football was played using Toyota Aygos, the 107 is the same car, made in the same factory, but with different badges.Actually, it's cars like the 107 and the Fiat 500 that make us look askance at Smart's ForTwo (from $19,990).Yes, it's very clever, but Sydney isn't yet Turin, despite the epic ineptitude of the RTA and our Roads Minister.Besides, you've got an allocated parking space downstairs. So why go without a boot and back seats?Toyota's Yaris shows how a small car can fit a family, although you really need to ignore the base models and go straight to the YRX (from $20,790).Of course, it's the Prius that gets all the attention in Toyota's range; as such, it's the world's most successful automotive marketing exercise.Granted, the hybrid-powered Prius uses staggeringly little petrol in the city, but on the open road we'd take a diesel such as Volkswagen's Polo Match TDI ($22,990). 

New-car buyers are slowly warming to a website that allows them to assess the greenhouse emissions of all the latest models sold in Australia.The Green Wheels site has taken 14,000 hits in its first few weeks online and momentum is building.The joint initiative of Future Climate Australia, the RACV and EPA Victoria, ranks vehicles by their greenhouse-gas emissions and provides information about technologies and fuels and how these affect climate change.Not surprisingly, the Honda Civic and Toyota Prius hybrids perform well, but even light cars such as the Honda Jazz, Mitsubishi Colt and diesels such as the Peugeot 207 HDi rank highly, too.Future Climate Australia executive director Henry O'Clery says response has been good.“It's slowly getting under way, but once word spreads I'm sure it will snowball,” he says. “At present most people don't know it exists.”O'Clery says that though passenger vehicles contribute only about 8 per cent of greenhouse-gas emissions in Australia, a concerted effort to reduce emissions is crucial across all industry sectors.“In ratifying the Kyoto protocol, Australia has signalled its intention to get serious about greenhouse-gas emissions,” he says.Australia's average emission rating for new cars sold in 2006 was 230g a kilometre. In Europe it was 161g.“Clearly the market is out of control so we have a long way to go with getting this increasingly critical message about reducing emissions, whether its to the public or fleet managers,” he says.The website provides a guide to the best-performing cars and includes small, medium, and large cars, off-roaders, utes and light trucks.Vehicles in each class whose emissions ratings come within 25 per cent of the best performer in that class are illustrated with a low-emission-vehicle green tick, specially well-performing vehicles are clearly flagged.“Green Wheels is easy to use and in three simple steps shows users how to select a vehicle that complements their lifestyle needs without excessive greenhouse impact,” he says.O'Clery says the involvement of key players including vehicle manufacturers and other stakeholders in the Green Wheels umbrella body, the Low Emission Vehicle partnership, demonstrates the strong level of support.Toyota, Honda, Peugeot, Renault, Holden, Shell, Michelin, VicRoads, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, the VACC and the Committee for Melbourne are behind it. 

Goodness knows what to call Peugeot's new baby, the 207 Touring. But call it clever, because it manages to be slightly more roomy than a typically petite hatchback, only slightly dearer (at $28,990 for the petrol four-speed automatic and $29,790 for the diesel five-speed manual) and just as enjoyable to drive. It's difficult to know which pigeonhole to park it in. This latest addition to the French car maker's family — joining five-door hatchback and convertible versions in the 207 range — is certainly a handy little thing. Plus it looks interesting, in a funky way. When the French stylists stretch a slick hatchback into a semi-wagon, as they have done here, the result doesn't look like it was whipped up as an afterthought. Instead, there is no shortage of flair about its creases, curves and angles. Practical, too. It has more luggage space (plus extra leg and headroom for back-seat passengers) due to an extended rear end. Peugeot has already applied Touring badges to members of its larger 307 and 407 ranges, but those are close enough to being conventional station wagons. Not so the new 207 Touring, based on the 207 hatchback but given a higher roof plus a longer, taller, and squarer rump. Though its vertical tail bears more than a passing resemblance to the back end of cars such as the Mercedes A-Class, Honda Jazz and Mitsubishi Colt (and everyone thinks of them as hatchbacks) the 207 Touring somehow comes across as a refreshing original. It is not surprising, since many European brands seem to have mastered the knack of creating crossbreed vehicles that aren't exactly SUVs or people movers, wagons, hatches or coupes, but combine some features of each class, searching for a niche of their own. The result in the 207's case isn't huge, just slightly more roomy than its hatchback brother. It offers more space than the hatchback, though the Touring is only $800 dearer and 14kg heavier, with the same turning circle and fuel consumption. Pretty much a win-win proposition; the driver gets a panoramic view of the world behind, and rear passengers fare better than in a 207 hatchback, enjoying a more elevated seating position. Also, the Touring's back seat is a different design to the hatchbacks, much easier to fold down. No need to tip the bottom cushion out of the way here — it slides forward automatically. The Touring is fitted with a big glass sunroof, which is a $1000 option in its otherwise-similarly-equipped 207 XT hatchback. There are several SUVs that offer more room and all-wheel-drive for around the same price as the 207 Touring, but it can counter with its chic Euro style and first-rate dynamics. Some people will find its compactness a virtue, and small size in this case means small thirst. It comes with a choice of 1.6 litre, four-cylinder engines — a petrol unit with automatic transmission, or a diesel with a manual gearbox.  

Over the years, the motoring industry has been slow to latch on to changes in technology – from AM radio to eight-track, to cassettes, digital CDs and now computer files. There are three approaches to computer files. The easiest, cheapest and most prevalent is to play these files burnt on to a CD. Then there is the auxiliary headphone jack to play an MP3 player, or full compatibility through a USB port. The third is to fit a hard drive which can directly download and store your music from a computer or CDs. Chrysler does it and now Peugeot is introducing its RT4 Multi Media System in the Peugeot 207. Peugeot Automobiles Australia public and customer relations manager Mathew McAuley said they had not yet been advised when it would be available in Australia. He said it could be several months before it was fitted in 207s here. The system uses a 30GB hard drive to store up to 180 hours of music tracks downloaded from your computer or CDs. Hard drives are a lot more expensive than an auxiliary jack or even USB connectivity, but they are claimed to have better audio quality and more functionality. It also includes a satellite navigation system, which is also claimed to be much faster at processing a route because it doesn't have to access CD ROM-based mapping information. Being inbuilt, the RT4 system is also less prone to theft which plagues iPods and portable sat nav units left in cars. The RT4 system has evolved from the original Peugeot RT3 system launched in 2002 but uses the next generation technology with the use of a special disk designed to operate in a car environment. It also features an integrated hands-free GSM mobile phone including voice activation. And you can still use your iPod or portable MP3 player via external RCA/auxiliary sockets, rather than inferior quality mini jacks as used with headphones.  

Cars will inevitably be taxed according to their exhaust emission ratings, the Australian motor industry has conceded.Conservationists are calling on South Australia to take the lead in slapping a tax on vehicles where the fee rises according to the amount of emissions. The tax would be at new-sale time or on annual registration renewals.The Motor Trade Association acknowledged the growing interest in vehicles that are less harmful to the environment.“At some point, governments will tax vehicles on their emissions and greenhouse gas,” MTA state executive director John Chapman told The Advertiser .“We are not advocating that, but it will come.”Mr Chapman said the swing to smaller cars and the flattening off of large-car sales was due to motorists' concern about fuel economy.“People are more environmentally aware and wanting to know how we can reduce the (environmental) footprint and what they can do,” he said.Mr Chapman said motor vehicles were only a partial contributor to greenhouse gases “but our industry needs to be concerned about these issues.”Some countries already have vehicle taxes depending on each model's carbon dioxide emissions.In Australia, each new car must carry a sticker on the windscreen showing its officially-rated fuel consumption in litres/100km and its “greenhouse” C02 emissions in grams/km. The latter figure determines levels of taxing overseas.The Conservation Council in SA wants a similar system here.“It has to be user pays,” said council chief executive Julie Pettet. “If you are responsible for pollution you are going to have to pay.”Ms Pettet said such taxing should not be just punitive but also reward those doing the right thing such as using public transport. She added the taxes should be a federal activity.   Top-rated Toyota Prius: 1.5-litre petrol and electric (4.4litre/100km)Fiat Punto: 1.4-litre petrol (5.7)Peugeot 207CC: 1.6-litre petrol (5.8)Citroen C3: 1.6-litre petrol (6.2)Mercedes-Benz A150: 1.5-litre petrol (6.7)Holden Astra: 1.8-litre petrol (7.4)Honda Civic: 1.8litre petrol (6.9)