Peugeot 207 GTi

Road Test

Your Say

Test date 30 May 2007 Price as tested £16,995

For Spacious interior, good value, wide powerband, grip

AgainstInert handling, gearbox, snatchy brakes, unsupportive seats

Another Peugeot 207 road test? Indeed: this is our third and probably last. But it is not the end of the development of Peugeot’s supermini. Indeed, ‘supermini’ hardly seems the right word. These cars, the large side of four metres long and 1300kg, are expected to be all things to all men: family hatch, cabriolet, there’s an SW estate to come, and here the 207 is – or is attempting to be – a performance car. A 173bhp 1.6-litre turbocharged engine and the promise of 0-62mph in 7.1sec suggest that it will attempt to be a good one. But Peugeot’s most recent form in making fast cars suggests that it might not succeed. We’ll see.

The 207 GTi largely shares its styling with the regular three-door ‘Sport’ 207 hatchback, but adds a few extras. It gets a metallic grille, tailgate spoiler and new alloys. And though we try not to talk too much about styling here – beauty being in the beholder’s eye and all – this model has gone down better than most other 207s with the people to whom we’ve shown it.

Under the skin, changes are pretty minimal. The body is no different from that of other 207s and it has the same 2540mm wheelbase, while the front and rear tracks are actually down slightly at 1469/1463mm versus 1475/1466mm on standard models, by dint of its wider wheels.

But the springs and damper rates are different, as are the flexible lower arm mounts on the MacPherson strut front suspension, while the rear torsion beam has had its stiffness increased by 30 per cent over the GT 150’s. Ride height is unchanged. The steering is still electrically assisted, but with less assistance.

It’s a similar story when it comes to the GTi’s engine. We’ve already driven the 148bhp 1.6-litre version of this motor in the Peugeot 207CC. Each unit gets different engine mapping, obviously, but also a different turbocharger casing. In this case, steel is chosen over cast iron, because it’s allowed to spin faster (up to 220,000rpm) and gets a lot hotter.