Has a certain endearing Gallic aplomb, but TDCi Fiesta is better

What is it?

This is Peugeot’s familiar 207, here in five-door form and fitted with a 1.6-litre, 112bhp engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission. That makes it by far the warmest (‘hot’ isn’t the appropriate term here) of the oil-burning 207 variants.

What’s it like?

Not too bad. Generally speaking, the 207 is a well screwed together, neatly finished supermini with a comfortable if somewhat plain interior, and the car we tried here, supplied in upper-midrange Sport trim, is no exception.

At the risk of damning with faint praise, it’s not too bad to drive, either. Dynamically this is no Ford Fiesta, but the 207 rides okay, albeit with a slightly rubbery response from the suspension to rapid surface imperfections. Steering, too, while fine around town and in day-to-day cruising, feels a little indirect and artificial when cornering with any degree of enthusiasm.

That diesel engine is a little hit-and-miss. Around town, in first gear especially, it feels somewhat unrefined. In fact, below 1500rpm there’s a distinct lack of drive; from 1501rpm upwards there’s almost a surplus of it, and the sudden transition from one to the other can catch you out and lead to less-than-smooth getaways.

Once rolling, however, the 1.6 HDi smooths out and is quite pleasurable to use. At motorway speeds in particular it’s a quiet, fluid and impressive performer.

Should I buy one?

Maybe. The 207 carries itself with a certain endearing Gallic aplomb, and its distinctive styling will be a draw to some. And the claimed economy figures, a low CO2 rating of just 119g/km and a five-star Euro NCAP rating are all tempting too. But then so too are the superior, more well rounded attributes of a TDCi Fiesta.

 

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crummystaned 15 August 2023

I've had a couple cars with a fast road/track configuration, I'm used to the harsh and, if you want ones that last and are adjustable, pricey coilovers. It's easy to relax after a ride in one of these cars phrazle. 

rakuzuhol 27 April 2019

Good Review

the design doe snot gel like the 3008 ,the sid eview looks at odds with the rear end ,the spoiler and rear glass looks as though it was not meant for the car.it should be called the Peugeot Prolapse. cool captions

rodenal 22 June 2010

Re: Peugeot 207 1.6 HDi Sport

It's definately a matter of opinion, the problem for autocar and the like is that whilst the ride in most audis is generally perfectly acceptable (I had one, an 8l A3 with 18" Alloys with 'sport' suspension, it was still ok, big difference when i put it back on 16's though) it's the fact that all the other manufacturers seem to be a step up with their suspension / tyre setups. It wouldn't look good for autocar to go around just saying that every manufacturers ride is fine, they need to have some sort of benchmark.

It generally doesnt bother me, i've had a few cars with a fast road / track setup which generally means very hard usually very expensive (if you want ones that last and are adjustable) coilovers. After driving these, everything is comfortable