Peugeot 207 SW

It goes without saying that Peugeot have a long history of making solid and reliable cars. Pretty much every car in Africa is a Peugeot of some description which goes some way to explain how highly regarded they are. I too, have been known to be a Peugeot fan. The timeless 205 GTI, crisp 405, elegant 406 and cheeky 106 are just a few of my favourites. Unfortunately around the beginning of the new millennium something went seriously wrong at Chateau Peugeot.

The 7’s, 8’s and 9’s have got progressively worse in the looks and inspiration department. I think it says something that they are such a common hire car – this was the third I’ve had in recent times. What kind of private buyer would be mad enough to buy one?? In this instant the car in question was a 207 SW. I don’t need to describe the oddball and ungainly looks. I struggled to find a good angle on this slab-sided, fish faced monstrosity... eventually deciding on the rear quarter. Even then, it’s hardly eye-pleasing.

Inside is equally poor. The dash is quite plain with lots of black plastics, only the dials hinting at any level of quality. Another irritating feature was the location of the cigarette lighter – actually inside the ash tray which meant you had to have the lid open to plug in the sat-nav. This looks untidy. The steering wheel controls and Bluetooth were quite nice extras. In the boot, accessed by the big square and low lipped opening, the parcel shelf was particularly naff and awkward to use. Boot space wasn’t anything to write home about either. Nor were the seats very supportive. But by far my biggest gripe is that the A-pillars are so far forward that it gives the impression that you’re sitting in the middle of the car. This makes plotting a safe course challenging. This task isn’t helped by the steering which is too light and numb. This, it transpires, is a shame because it actually handles quite well. The particular journey saw me travelling through North Wales and the Peugeot coped remarkably well with the twist and turns thrown at it. Peugeot do know how to make cars go round corners.

The HDI engine was lacklustre. Not slow, not fast. Gear changes were a pain due to the narrow power band and there was absolutely no point revving beyond 3,500rpm. Changing your mind set to change up early however and progress was swift. Generally I found leaving it in fourth resulted in the most fluid progress. This appealed to my lazy nature.  

The problem with the Peugeot 207 is that writing this review is challenging. It’s not so rubbish that it infuriates you, yet neither is so special that it inspires you. It’s just a bland, characterless car. As someone that spends countless hours each day enthusing about cars of all shapes and sizes I reckon that’s a crying shame. Whenever I see a Peugeot on the road I think that the people behind the wheel have only bought the car because Peugeot was their nearest dealer. I honestly can’t think of another reason why you would choose one over its rivals.