Peugeot 607 Reviews

The path to the summit is tarmac these days, but that doesn't make the race up Pikes Peak any less thrilling or terrifying. In fact, it raises the speeds and increases the potential for danger. That makes it all the more important to have a well-sorted car for the time trial to the sky.Peugeot appears to be well on its path to a sorted and safe race car in the 208 T16, shown in these photos in a "dress rehearsal" test ahead of the race next month.Rather than testing at Pikes Peak in Colorado, USA, which is somewhat remote from Peugeot's home in France, the test was performed along a stretch of road on Mont Ventoux--itself famous for being the location of one of the most gruelling of the Tour de France's stages.Using the last 6km of the mountain's summit road, the 208 T16 tested at rather high altitudes for Europe, but with a peak of 1,909m, even the barren summit is more than 900m below the start of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Its finish line sits at 4,301m, nearly 1500m above the start."Okay, the altitude isn’t as extreme here as it is at Pikes Peak which reaches 4,301m, but it’s a valuable intermediate step," said the team's technical chief Jean-Christophe Pailler. "It allows us to see the differences in the way the engine functions, although we hope to suffer less from altitude-induced power-loss than our rivals because of the turbochargers we have chosen."Even with the elevation disparity, the Peugeot team thinks it has a car that can win. With 653kW on tap, that's not necessarily a cocky mindset. During testing, however, French rally legend Sebastien Loeb said the car is still tricky to drive. "The steering is still very, very responsive, so it can be a little hairy keeping your foot to the floor though the fast portions," said Loeb. "On wide slicks like this and at the sort of speeds I am getting up to, the slightest imperfection in the road surface really unsettles the car."Setup work continues in advance of the Pikes Peak hill climb itself. "The mechanics and engineers need to familiarise themselves with working on the car in real-life conditions. They are getting an increasingly better grasp of how it responds to set-up changes and are analysing the tiniest detail or piece of feedback from Seb to refine its settings. It’s a learning process for everyone," said Pailler.Sections of the actual Pikes Peak course will become available starting June 8 through 16. Practice and qualifying begin during race week, June 24, with the event itself scheduled for June 30.www.motorauthority.com 

Peugeot has launched the seven-seat 5008 wagon in Australia with an eye on the larger family market.The 5008 – sharing a platform and passing resemblance to stablemate Citroen C4 Picasso – is a new addition to the local line-up, but has been on sale in Europe for four years.The 5008 promises cabin flexibility with the second row packaged as three seats that can slide back and forward, recline and fold into the floor – as do the two seats in the third row, while the front passenger pew can fold down to take long objects.Collapsing both the second and third rows boosts the cargo space from 758 litres to 823, and 1247 if you remove the parcel shelf.The 5008 range starts at $36,990 for the base model powered by a 115kW/240Nm 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, that claims fuel economy of 7.6L/100km.Moving up to $40,490, there’s a 120kW/340Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel that gets the fuel figure down to 6.3L/100km.Both models arrive in a single spec with standard equipment includes a 7-in retracting colour satnav, reversing camera and parking sensors, double 7-in entertainment screens for the second row, dual-zone climate control and retractable blinds. 

Peugeot has dialled back the quirky design to bring the new 308 -- the French carmaker’s VW Golf rival – more in line with the recent 208 and 2008. Arriving some time in 2014, the all-new 308 promises weight savings of up to 140kg -- largely due to the use of PSA Peugeot Citroen’s new EMP2 modular platform, which will eventually underpin half the group’s products.The new small hatch is slightly shorter than the model it replaces (4.25m vs 4.28m), while other dimensions will be revealed at the 308’s public debut at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show.The design is much more conservative than the outgoing model, and the earlier 307 and 308 models’ front quarter windows have been dropped, in favour of a more conventional six-window body design. Up front, an evolution of Peugeot’s floating grille is flanked by full-LED headlights on most variants – a world first for the small segment.At the rear, the 308 sports an evolution of the 4008, 208, and 2008’s ‘Peugeot lion claw’ drawn taillight design. “The new Peugeot 308 has a pure and technological exterior design that speaks of high strength and high quality,” Peugeot Design Director Gilles Vidal said.The 308’s new interior design features an emphasis on material quality and the button count has been reduced through the use of a 9.7 inch touchscreen interface. Designed according to Peugeot’s ‘i-cockpit’ philosphy, the interior has been laid out to favour the driver, promoting a focus on the road ahead.“When inside the car, one discovers a world of refined style, completely original in the world of hatchback cars, with a cockpit that is intense, innovative and intuitive; it is the Peugeot i-cockpit,” 308 Product Manager Vincent Devos said.Drivetrain options will continue to include a range of petrol and diesels, producing emissions as low as 85g/km (European cycle). Local options are yet to be finalised, but the new 308’s lower weight is expected to bring significant efficiency gains across the board.An enhanced driving experience is also expected, with the new platform’s lighter weight being aided by revisions to steering and suspension geometry.“On the road, driving pleasure is enhanced by the new EMP2 modular platform. With its considerable reduction in weight, it contributes to the dynamism and easy handling of the New Peugeot 308,” 308 Project Director Laurent Declerck said. This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn 

Sébastien Loeb, possibly the most competent driver in any field of motorsport (we’re yet to see him in an F1 car, though), goes for his first test drive of Peugeot’s 652 kilowatt 208 T16 Pikes Peak mo

Peugeot has given its head-turning RCZ coupe a facelift, an equipment upgrade and, purely from a selfish point of view, the opportunity for us to take this delightful little car for a drive on both the open road and the racetrack.STYLINGAdopting the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy, changes to the styling of the 2013 RCZ are minor. The grille, while retaining the distinctive Peugeot wide mouth look, has been toned down a little with a wide lower intake that extends to the edges of the car and finishes with an upward kink fringed by daytime running lights that gives it a smile-like look. And why shouldn’t the car smile ... its drivers surely will.While the RCZ looks great from any angle it really comes into its own when seen in profile and from the rear. The roof slopes back to the rear almost from the time it leaves the top of the windscreen giving it a shape like no other coupe on the road especially with its distinctive ‘double bubble’ that runs from the back of roof through the rear window is an outstanding feature.The unusual shape of the Peugeot coupe does mean that there’s more front headroom than we’ve come to expect from sporting coupes. The back seat in the RCZ is an occasional seat that can be used by children, or very tolerant adults for short distances.The Peugeot RCZ is a wide car, and looks even wider thanks to the lowset rear styling. There’s a two-stage rear spoiler that raises automatically at pre-set speeds to provide added downforce. It can also be operated manually.The extra width of the RCZ also assists in providing 384 litres of boot space which can be expanded to 760 litres with the rear seats folded flat. The new RCZ now gets xenon headlights with titanium surrounds and 19-inch alloy wheels which were previously optional.VALUETalking of options – there aren’t any. In a move that will appeal to those potential buyers who would otherwise have to bring a calculator to the showroom to try and work out what they did and didn’t want, the Peugeot RCZ comes with one specification level and one price.But with the high value of the Australian dollar we’re becoming used to the prices of imported cars remaining the same or even dropping, so it’s a bit of a surprise to see the price of the RCZ increasing by $4000 to $58,990.However Peugeot has valued the additional, previously optional, equipment now standard at $5800. In addition to the xenon lights and 19-inch alloy wheels this includes satellite navigation which is displayed on a pop-up screen from within the dashboard.Unusually, that price of $58,990 is the same regardless of which of the three powertrain alternatives you choose: 1.6-litre turbo petrol, six-speed manual; 1.6-litre turbo petrol, six-speed automatic; or 2.0-litre turbo diesel, six-speed manual.ENGINESThe engines are unchanged from before with the petrol automatic having peak power and torque of 115kW and 240Nm and the petrol manual 147kW and 275Nm. The diesel version wasn’t available at the time of the RCZ’s Australian launch but we’ll report on it when we carry out our extended road test in the coming months.DRIVEThe Peugeot’s launch was based at Melbourne’s Sandown Park racetrack, with a 120-kilometre morning drive around the Dandenong Ranges in the automatic and then two hours of track driving with the manual in the afternoon.We have to admit returning from the road section of the drive program a little disappointed with the performance from the lower-powered engine and its automatic partner. As regular readers will know we are biased in favour of doing our own gear changing in sporty cars and while there is a tiptronic manual override with the auto RCZ it doesn’t come with the paddle shifts that we’ve come to expect in cars of this type.On the positive side this is a beautifully balanced car and there is plenty of grip and very little body roll even when pushing hard through corners. Although relatively firm the ride is still quiet and relaxing enough for long trips albeit with the usual problem of tyre/road noise on the typical coarse chip surfaces found on many Australian rural roads.Any lingering doubts about our preference for the manual RCZ were quickly dispelled when we hit the racetrack. As any driving enthusiast will confirm there’s a real buzz in getting the maximum from a small engine and doing so by working the gears to their optimum level. The sharp turns combined with the long straights at Sandown allowed us to let the little Pug show what it was capable of doing.There’s enough torque to go through the tight Sandown bends in third gear and we were able to hit 175km/h in the long straights. The buzzy engine note adds to the enjoyment.

A rash of new sub-compact SUV style vehicles is about to flood into the country with Holden bringing in the Trax, Opel the Mokka, and Peugeot the 2008. Others will follow soon after. It's predicted to be the next big thing as people around the world downsize their vehicles and go for quality, features, practicality and compact size.The change makes sense particularly in our increasingly urbanised world.Peugeot's entrant is due here by October this year and will sell from a starting point in the low $20,000 range.At that money, the 2008 is a tempting proposition.We drove three versions of the car in France last week and came away sold on the idea of "small is good" in terms of SUVs.Why pay for more vehicle than you need.It's a front wheel drive five door wagon on stilts for want of a better description and is built in France using the same basic platform (stretched a tad) as the recently introduced 208 hatchback.It uses the same powertrains too with a big emphasis on a new three cylinder 1.2 litre petrol engine that is available in turbo and non-turbo form. The turbo is actually the performance leader in the 2008 rangeWe drove the 1.6-litre turbo diesel and 1.6 litre naturally aspirated petrol four bangers and the 1.2-litre petrol triple non-turbo.All had their own character, strengths and weaknesses. The diesel has gobs of torque and pulls like a train rated at 84kW/270Nm but is a tad laggy at low revs and there's no auto, just a six speed manual which is fine.The 1.6-litre naturally aspirated petrol four was the best of the three we drove, with 88kW/160Nm it sings sweetly and gives the 2008 a light responsive feel.The 1.2 was a surprise as we were expecting it to be a dunger, but that couldn't have been further from the truth. It actually goes well and doesn't sound like a ride-on lawn mower.No decision on specification or the model range has been made for our cars yet. That will happen closer to the launch date.But we reckon the three we drove will be on the short list.It's a good looker with a pleasant face and stylish lines around the body including a stepped roof and roof rails.Peugeot built on knowledge gleaned from the ugly but good 3008 model for the creature features inside 2008 which isn't that much smaller inside.It has a decent boot, folding rear seats and comfortable driving position. All Aussie cars will get a reverse camera.All models also get a clever Grip Control system that splits drive between the front wheels and applies the brakes all round to optimise off road driving. It works pretty well but this is no mud plugging, stump jumping, rock crusher.The 2008 is a pleasant little all-rounder capable of delivering safe, entertaining, economical transport in multiple environments aided by the latest in multimedia connectivity and other tricky stuff with apps that may make it to Australia. Cruise control is standard and some models will likely get the big 7-inch info screen which also houses satnav if fitted or optioned as the case may be.We drove the cars over an extensive route through mountain roads, on auto-routes at high speed and on dirt roads. It was up for anything we demanded and was actually quite handy in the tight going, sporty even.The 2008 gets a five star Euro NCAP rating with all that brings and the engines are capable of sipping as little as 4.0-litres/100km depending on the model. The auto we are likely to get is a four speeder on the 1.6 petrol, possibly the only let down on this fine little car.  

The 205 GTi hit like a missile when it was aimed and fired at youthful driving enthusiasts in 1983. It looked great, it was compact and responsive, it was affordable and it was so, so, so much fun to drive.There was also a rawness about the car that I remember well from my first drive on roads around Canberra. The 205 was always egging you on, encouraging you to rev the engine, stand on the brakes, then exploit its go-kart grip and response.It was a lightweight car but a heavyweight player as the world woke up to the potential in hot hatches, led by Volkswagen's landmark Golf GTi. But the 205 was a type of car that cannot be built in 2013. Today's safety regulations have added weight and complexity and customers demand much more quality and refinement.To be honest, the 205 GTi was a bit ropey. I remember seats that flexed and wobbled, plastic trim that was well behind the Japanese pacesetters of the day, and even an engine compartment that was too crowded for power steering and aircon to share the space.The non-steer 205 GTi was hard on your arms, but aircon is essential in Australia and the French eventually got with the program. Later. I'm looking forward to driving the 208 GTi but, despite all the hype, I'm not expecting a return of the 205.The Golf GTi is light years better now than it was, delivering performance, safety, economy and quality that was just a dream in the late seventies and that's what Peugeot is promising. The cooking 208 is a nice car, comfy and refined, but it's too costly against its rivals and that's likely to be the biggest hurdle for the GTi.We're expecting it to be more costly than a Polo GTi, and that car is a cracker, and it will have to battle the rapid Renault Clio RS I've just driven and enjoyed in Europe. But it's great to see that Peugeot is going rallying with the 208 GTi to build a halo for the car, just as it did with the 205 T16 that conquered the world in the 1980s.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover 

Famed cinema verite short film Climb Dance may see a sequel after 25 years. The blistering 1988 footage of Ari Vanaten attacking Pikes Peak in a Peugeot 405 T16 went on to win several film awards and become a benchmark for motorsport movies.Peugeot is back at Pikes Peak again this year with a 208 T16 helmed by World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb. And there’s talk of another film, in conjunction with Loeb’s sponsors Red Bull.“It is not yet yes but we are pushing hard,” Peugeot’s global head of marketing and communication Xavier Crespin says.“Red Bull is taking care of all of the communication of Pikes Peak so we had to also bring them Climb Dance (as an introduction to the Peugeot campaign). “So now we are in the talking ‘shall we do a Climb Dance 2?’ and that was the discussion we had some days ago with Sebastien Loeb.”Crespin says there is interest in the project from director Jean Louis Mourey, who oversaw the 1988 film.“He is a bit like a doctor in that he is more than 70 now, but he is excited like a kid,” Crespin says. “He is calling me every day almost, sending me messages asking ‘can we do it, can we do it?’.“I would love to see Ari Vatanen and Sebastian together and Jean Louis Mourey also.”Vanaten won the 88 Pikes Peak International Hillclimb in the four-wheel drive, all-wheel steering Peugeot 405 – posting a record time of 10:47.220  -- with Robby Unser taking Peugeot to victory again the following year.Peugeot is pinning its hopes for this year’s event in June on the 208 descendant, a special edition with reconfigured platform and carbon-fibre bodywork built by Peugeot Sport. Details of the engine have not yet been released, but is likely to be a tweaked version of the 192kW turbo 1.6-litre announced for the RCZ R. Crespin says the 208 was chosen as the foundation as an echo of Peugeot’s first assault on Pikes Peak with a 205.“You know with 208 GTi it is a revival of 205 … and that’s the idea, to say 205 didn’t make it at the time in 1987, so let’s do it with 208. And that is how we would like to tell the story, but we have to be also clear that we want to win.”This journalist is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

The alliance between General Motors and Peugeot-Citroen is the only chance for the struggling French auto group to survive, an executive admits. Peugeot director of marketing and communications Xavier Crespin says the deal – which will kick off with co-development of automatic transmissions and three vehicles – is crucial. “If you want to be considering protecting PSA you have to be considering this alliance,” Crespin says. “It's just like it's the world war, and the size of PSA is too small. To have PSA surviving is only with an alliance with a bigger group. And to have the first (leading) car group in the world is the best security for PSA.” Crespin believes it would be shortsighted for the French government or unions to place hurdles in the way of the deal. “I don't see how the government could be putting at risk this alliance, considering it is the only chance for PSA to survive. “We have no alternative to this. This is the survival scenario for PSA.” However new automatic transmissions to replace and fill gaps in Peugeot’s aging stock are still three years away. “Nothing will come before 2016 and hopefully we will be able to fill all the gaps that we have currently,” Crespin says. Three vehicles are already on the plan – with one tipped to be a replacement for the 4007 compact crossover – and possibilities for the alliance to branch out into other projects. “We are co-developing three vehicles. We promised we will come with combined vehicles production, but that is only the start of the potential cooperation,” Crespin says. “There is much more space for more co-development which is not just vehicles… which could be powertrains, which could be gearboxes.” However he says despite demands for quick action – in the face of PSA losing $6.5 billion last year as European markets continued to slump -- it will take time to roll out the plans. “The difficulty is to because it's a complex situation of putting right prod into right markets you have to consider the timing of how much you have to put on the table to make it work,” Crespin says. “So you have to consider choices, make sacrifices or postpone. When you are in the current situation and looking at how European markets are going, I cannot promise that anything will come next year, because we are first to do 2013.”  

Small could become the new big in SUVs. The subcompact Nissan Juke is taking off in Europe, and Peugeot has been quick with an answer in the form of the 2008 -- a softroader that will also be the wagon solution for the 208 range when it arrives here in October."The 2008 will enter into a yet to be defined market: the sub compact SUV. It captures the versatility of a hatch whilst combining the practicality and functionality of an SUV," Peugeot Australia boss Bill Gillespie says."The 2008 is a product for the inner urban resident with its compact dimensions. We believe it will appeal to buyers who would have traditionally bought a hatch due to price and fuel economy as it offers the option of an SUV-like vehicle at similar pricing to a hatch."The 2008 range will start in the low $20k area, with equipment and fit-out levels to echo the hatch. That means the chunky little steering wheel, a raised instrument binnacle, clear 7-in touchscreen and all the expected safety equipment. Overseas models get an automatic parking system but Peugeot Australia is likely to drop that in favour of locally fitting a reversing camera -- there isn't one on the French options list.Peugeot says it doesn't have any true rivals here yet, but people are likely to shop it against the $18,990 Suzuki SX4,  the $26,290 Skoda Yeti and even the $34,100 Mini Countryman.  The real competition is on the way from the Nissan Juke arriving by the end of this year or early 2014 -- the vehicle against which the French carmaker benchmarked the 2008.Based on a version of the 208 hatch platform stretched 20cm longer and 5cm wider, the 2.5cm higher-riding five-door is also 9.6cm taller -- set up to give you the practicality of an SUV in a petite package that targets metropolitan adventurers.There's a strong design cue in the stepped roofline topping tall windows that are joined by a panoramic sunroof to flood light into the cabin. Vodka-bar blue LED lighting sets off the instrument bezels and sunroof, and there are similarly stylish chrome and saddle-stitching details.But some of the materials are budget ones, and the pinstripe finish across one test vehicle's dash and door grabs will date quickly -- although the black mock-weave in another is handsome and will have more longevity.The 2008 sports the hatch's scalloped bonnet and swept-back headlights, but gives a nod to the 'parks and rec' lifestyle with beefed-up arches housing 17-in wheels shod with 'mud and snow' rubber. A wide tailgate promises easy loading  into a 360-litre boot that balloons to 1194-litres with the rear seats dropped.Black bumpers and body sills, plus and front and rear stainless steel scuff plates will help protect paintwork from scrapes with nature -- and urban obstacles.Of the eight drivetrain choices offered overseas, we're confirmed to get the 88kW/160Nm 1.6-litre petrol four-cylinder in both manual and auto, and the likely chance of the 60kW/118Nm 1.2-litre three-cylinder in manual only. One of the diesel options is also on the cards -- hopefully the 1.6-litre e-HDi we tested with 84kW and 270Nm that rises to 285Nm on overboost.It doesn't get all-wheel drive, but instead the front-wheel drive range has the option of the multi-mode Peugeot Grip Control we already get on the 3008.  The system uses a smart traction control to alter the torque sent to each of the front wheels, meaning you'll be safe tackling soft and greasy surfaces as long as you don't want to venture into really rough stuff.There has been some tinkering with the suspension -- a pseudo-McPherson front and a rear set-up with deformable crossmember -- to give more stability to the taller package.Since the 208 gets the full five crash stars, you can expect the same of its toughed-up sibling, with similar airbag complement, stability and traction controls, and anti-skid brakes with extra tech for panic stops and to allow for extra force needed for wheels under uneven loading.Those looking for a teaspoon taste of SUV won't be disappointed. The slightly higher ride height and jacked-up driving position mean the 2008 delivers the crossover feeling.The 1.6-litre diesel behaved most like an SUV on the road: slightly heavy but with a huge serving of torque via the six-speed manual to keep the 2008 humming. Peugeot does great diesels, and it shows in the sound of this one: smooth and refined with no agricultural clatter -- and with an almost seamless stop-start system keeping an eye on economy.However the four-cylinder petrol engine that followed was even better, despite having lower outputs. Being 100kg lighter helped, but largely the five-speed manual dovetailed neatly with the engine to keep the response sprightly -- which raises the question of whether it will do as well with the four-speed automatic transmission we'll also get.The 1.2-litre promises good economy at 4.9L/100km (although the diesels are the leaders at 4L) and despite being only a tiny unit it gets along well as long as you keep the revs up to it.Being a tallish box, it wasn't surprising to feel the body tipping a little going into corners, but it's still surefooted and you'd have to try very hard to get it out of order. Over the wet and winding launch route it showed good grip, only briefly scrabbling for traction in one very extreme exit.The ultra-compact size makes this a great proposition for city dwellers who want the SUV looks and practicality, but realise that a true 4WD would be entirely without point. The only unknown will be how well the sparkling petrol engine performs with the auto transmission that is likely to be a popular choice in our market.