Peugeot 207 1.4 m:play Hatchback

...review will be for the Peugeot 1.4. My particular model is the "S" model and has air conditioning.

As usual, the car comes with a variety of model options, "S" being the second from the bottom. As the lowest range spec car didn't come with an option of having air conditioning in it at all and as this was on my list of "wants", I had to go for the next model up - the "S" in order so that it would ...
...my car new from a Peugeot dealer in North Wales. Amazed at being offered £4000 part ex for my little (much missed!) 1.0 litre Corsa, I simply had to go with them!!

My Peugeot obviously comes equipped with a 1.4 litre engine (petrol in my case) and has 75bhp so is ample able to nip about. (Which is exactly what I wanted!) Being used to my little 1.0 litre Corsa, I didn't really notice how un-nippy my first car had been until it went ... more

Well, another return for Sarah_Louise! I've not written anything for Ciao since 14th March 2007 - I can't believe it has been so long! I'm truly shocked. A lot has happened since then in the life of Sarah I can tell you - not least of all being I'm now a mummy!!

But, onwards to the review....

First things first, this review is NOT technically or the "m:play" model. But as Ciao don't actually have a "Peugeot 207 1.4" section without this little addition (basically just a socket for MP3 players), I didn't want to wait weeks and weeks for the section to be added. I couldn't put off my desire to get back into review writing on hold any longer!

So, this review will be for the Peugeot 1.4. My particular model is the "S" model and has air conditioning.

As usual, the car comes with a variety of model options, "S" being the second from the bottom. As the lowest range spec car didn't come with an option of having air conditioning in it at all and as this was on my list of "wants", I had to go for the next model up - the "S" in order so that it would come with air con. The "Urban" is the lowest spec car, the "m:play" being the next one up from the "S" and finally there is the "Sport".

I was fussy back then you see! I bought my car in September 2006 - just when the new "56" registration plates came out. I bought my car new from a Peugeot dealer in North Wales. Amazed at being offered £4000 part ex for my little (much missed!) 1.0 litre Corsa, I simply had to go with them!!

My Peugeot obviously comes equipped with a 1.4 litre engine (petrol in my case) and has 75bhp so is ample able to nip about. (Which is exactly what I wanted!) Being used to my little 1.0 litre Corsa, I didn't really notice how un-nippy my first car had been until it went in for a service and I ended up with a 1.2 SXi Corsa as my courtesy car - THEN I wanted something with a bigger engine!!

The Peugeot 207 is actually now basically the new version of the 206 that has been mooching about our roads for many years. The 207 is the new shape for it. Initially I'd gone with an interest in the 206 but the garage chap (and my dad!) persuaded me to go for the 207 which were just in production at that time (September 2007) as the value of any 206 model would depreciate rather rapidly once the 207's became mainstream.

It was handy being in the "queue" essentially to get a brand new car and indeed a new model as it meant I essentially had the pick of the crop. It meant I got to sit in the sales office and pick exactly what engine I wanted, exactly what internal and external specifications I wanted, what colour interior, what colour exterior, etc, etc.

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~ The car of Sarah_Louise ~
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Metallic Silver 1.4 8V 75bhp "S" 3 door with air conditioning

http://www.peugeot.co.uk/Showrooms/ModelRange2/?target=2&Mo del=1PA7&GrBodyStyle=3DOORHAT

Comes with nifty looking chrome inserts on the gear nob and chrome finish around the speedometer too on the dash. I believe this latter feature is now NOT found in the "S" and is now only found in the "Sport" model although I haven't found any visible evidence for this - I heard it on the car-hunting grapevine as I'm on the car hunt again at the minute. More about that later though! In which case, visible, the first run ONLY of the Peugeot 207 1.4 "S" model cars will LOOK like the "Sport" model.

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~ How much is that car in the window? ~
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The "On the Road" price for this car today is £10,445 with air conditioning.

Not bad for a brand new model with all the extras!

Here is a PDF document (Adobe Acrobat reader will be required) detailing the prices and specifications - downloaded from the Peugeot website itself:

http://www.peugeot.co.uk/ppp/PPPWEBUK/Brochures_Peugeot/technica l/207HB.pdf

Obviously, for those who plan on buying new, you can easily bagsy metallic paint (or similar) for free!

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~ How expensive is it to run? ~
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Fuel economy is really rather good for a 1.4 litre - averaging at 44.8mpg on "combined cycle". This is towards the better end of many similar sized cars - ranging from 41mpg up to about 48mpg. There are very few similarly sized cars (even with 1.2 litre engines) that fair any better than 48-50mpg when it comes to petrol engines. Obviously the diesels fair a lot better but then any diesel does - heck, a diesel 4x4 could potentially fair better than a small petrol car if driven appropriately!!

I tend to find that with todays (ludicrously high) petrol prices, I have to spent about £48 to fill up from empty (well, well into the "red zone" anyway!!) based on a fill up price of 112.9p per litre. This usually lasts me about 350 miles and (nowadays) I tend to do my driving as "door to door/town driving" rather than anything more economical. So this isn't bad at all.

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~ Whats in it? ~
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A full list of specifications can be found on the PDF document listed above (and at the end of this review) but briefly, the car comprises of CD/radio player, electric front windows, sporty looking dashboard, external temperature gauge is shown by the clock, the "S" model and above comes with sporty interior seats - which feature a "trim" in a different colour.

Mine are black with a red trim. They look rather nice and sporty.

All round airbags are found (passenger seat can of course be disabled for use of a baby carrier on the front seat if required).

Digital trip computer and such things as pressure gauge, petrol gauge, oil pressure, doors open, seat belts unfastened, etc. are all standard in the "S" model. A front positioned cigarette lighter also comes as standard in the "S" model which is something you don't often find as standard these days in new cars. I don't smoke but this was essential to me as I have a GPS system that is charged (or at least can be charged) through the cigarette lighter so this was one of the many reasons I decided to go for a Peugeot 207 over some of the other cars I test drove.

Again, for more details specifications, please see the PDF file I've linked to as I cannot possibly list everything and indeed there is no need to!
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~ Overall impressions ~
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Having now owned my car for 18 months, I am more than happy with it. I've not had to have it back to the garage for anything at all except its first service.

I have done 12,500 (ish!) miles in it so far without any niggles.
The car handles beautifully and is definitely "nippy" for my needs. It gets me from A to B without annoying people behind me shall we say!! :-) Mind you, what I will say now is that although there was a massive jump between my little 1.0 litre petrol Corsa (my first car) and this, in both size and engine capacity, when I first got my Peugeot I wasn't 100% convinced it was massively better than my Corsa. I'm not sure why I thought this as its quite obvious that it is - for a start, it gets me up steep hills in third usually (although second gear sometimes if there is something rather heavy in the back or in the boot!) whereas my Corsa only managed second at best, and that was with a good run up!

In some respects, it just doesn't "feel" as nippy to me as the 1.2 SXi Corsa model I drove as a courtesy car. Aside from short test drives I've had in a variety of cars, I don't have much experience of owing anything other than my Corsa and now my Peugeot 207.

I like the look of my Peugeot 207 although initially I still (aesthetically at least) preferred the look of the Peugeot 206 model - at least externally anyway. In some respects, at least in my mind, the 206 somehow looks "neater" than the 207. Particularly at the front as the large grid at the front of the 207 takes a little getting used to. This is probably solely down to the fact that it was a brand new model out at the time - all new cars that look even remotely different to their predecessors take a bit of getting used to I suppose.

The car handled well for me in the snow during the winter of 2006/early 2007 and believe me when I say we had a fair amount of it! I HATE driving in the snow and I had over a 20 mile round trip to and from work before I went on Maternity Leave so I had to put my 207 through a fair amount of snow conditions (and ice) and I can honestly say it did me proud. Despite me still quivering behind the wheel!!

The car comes with a variety of colour options - both metallic and non-metallic. I particularly like the black model and obviously my silver model. They are both really neat looking. The silver is what I call a "nice" shade of silver rather than anything too "key fob" like as I call it! Some older shades of silver can look a little "odd" to me!! But again, this is an entirely subjective matter. Only you can decide whether you like it or not!

Daft little things like the fact that the key works wonders for me goes in favour for this car - there is a little button on the key fob that you press to release the actual key portion. Meaning it doesn't scratch anything when you have it in your pocket or bag. Very handy feature! And obviously remote central locking buttons form a piece of the key fob itself. As you'd expect from a new car.
The car is spacious, despite it only being a "small" car. It doesn't feel cramped inside at all. Many would say its only because I'm little myself but I've had many people remark on how spacious and roomy it feels.

The bootspace is ample sufficient for a car of this size and is rather deep. For all you mums out here, my buggy fits diagonally no problems at all. Although the original "travel system" (Mothercare "Trent Duluxe" model) didn't fit sideways at all (no where near) so I had to have one of my rear seats down almost permanently to feed the pram in lengthways. Not recommended for that!! You can certainly get ample shopping bags in though! And I also quite comfortably manage two of my dogs (border collie and cocker spaniel) in the boot and could squeeze a third in too (another border collie) so that gives you some idea!

So I guess that could be one minor niggle but nothing too bad - given it IS a small car and I bought it before becoming pregnant so it was hardly on my list of things to look out for!

The only other niggle I have with it (and I do mean ONLY other niggle!) is that of the dashboard dials. Remember earlier when I mentioned the fact that my "S" model comes with chrome effect around the speedometer (etc) on the dash? Well in the recent nice weather we had in May I discovered a slight problem - when driving with the sun through the rear window, if it reflects on the chrome it can really be rather dazzling!! But a slight shift of position around and its soon rectified!

Oh, I've just thought of ONE other niggle! When the car warns you that you could be entering icy road conditions and/or your petrol is getting low, the "beep" warning noise sometimes makes me jump a little. It can be quite harsh, even over the top of the radio/CD you're playing. Good in a way I suppose as you can't miss it but I have jumped on more than one occasion!
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~ Conclusion ~
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So there we have it, the Peugeot 207 1.4 "S" reviewed - pros, cons, prices, etc. briefly listed. Like I say though, the Peugeot website itself is the best place to go for everything else you could possibly wish to know about the car. It is pointless be going into absolute specifics with you here.

Overall, I would highly recommend this car and I'm going to be sad to see it go. I'm on the car hunt again at the moment as I'm really needing a 5 door model. Typically I fell pregnant just over a month after purchasing my 207 or else I'd have gone for a 5 door model there and then! That's what I call Sods Law!! I've enjoyed driving my 207 so much though that I am hoping to find a 5 door model in my price range.

I've looked into part ex prices for my car and it looks like I should get about £6000 for it with the current 12,500 (ish) miles I have on the clock. Given that I'm now in a much worse off financial state (no longer working full time with no commitments) I cannot afford a new car again so I'm going to have to go for second hand for the first time ever! EEK!

The Peugeot website can be found here:

http://www.peugeot.co.uk
and the PDF document listing the prices and specifications of the 207 model range in general can be found here:

http://www.peugeot.co.uk/ppp/PPPWEBUK/Brochures_Peugeot/technical/ 207HB.pdf 

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