New Car Test - Peugeot 307

1 June, 2002

After test driving a Peugeot 307, potential customers will be divided into two sharply different groups...

By Julian Edgar

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After test driving a Peugeot 307, potential customers will be divided into two sharply different groups.

There will be those raving over the car's handling, its feedback, its composure on the road. They'll fully understand why the 307 was awarded the 'European Car of the Year 2002' title. But there will be another group left distinctly cold by the car - people who wonder what the others are on about as they look at the build quality, feel the average NVH, and puzzle over how a trip computer panel escaped from the factory that's impossible to read when wearing polarising sunglasses...

However, in neither group will there be indifference; the 307 is a car to inspire reaction and emotion.

The replacement for the very long-lived 306 (more than 2.7 million 306 models were built), the 307 is a much larger and more upright car than its predecessor. In fact, despite its 'small car' styling, the 307 is really medium-sized. That's no problem, but most people are surprised by how large a car it is when they meet it in the metal for the first time. The designers of the 307 have elected for an upright stance (the car is no less than 1.51 metres high!) combined with an enormous swept-back windscreen. The result is a rather bus-like driving position, although it takes only a little time to get used to this.

But there's no doubt that this is a stylish looking car. In fact, like the smaller 206, when looked at as a whole - or its detailing is examined - the 307 has a wealth of wonderful touches. It's aero-efficient too, with its low drag co-efficient helped by the near-flat underfloor.

On test was the XSE 5-door 2-litre, which costs $31,490. For this price the equipment level is very good, especially in the provision of six airbags. Head and chest airbags are used to protect the front occupants, while side 'curtain' airbags run the full length of the cabin, protecting both front and rear passengers' heads in the event of a side impact. ABS is fitted, and brake assist (which helps in keeping the brakes applied hard during an emergency stop) is also integrated. Curiously, when the brake assist function is working, the hazard flashers are activated, warning following drivers of the car's rapid stopping. Other safety features include very effective auto rain-sensing wipers (the wipers are of the 'clap-hand' design and cover a very broad area), auto headlights that turn themselves on at dusk and in other low-light conditions, and interior headlight height adjustment.

The long-stroke 2-litre engine is the same as fitted previously to the 406. It develops an even 100kW at 6000 rpm and a peak torque output of 190Nm at 4100 rpm. However, more importantly from a driveability perspective, there's at least 169Nm available from 1800 rpm right through to 5750 rpm. This flat torque curve gives response in all gears; while the 307 is no road burner its power is adequate. However, at idle the engine is throbby, feeling more like a large four-cylinder rather than one that's fairly typical of its class. The gearbox has long throws and the clutch at times can be a bit grabby. The 1219kg 307 can get to 100 km/h in about 10 seconds and go on to a top end of just over 200 km/h - again specs fairly typical of this size car. Fuel economy on the government test cycle is 10.9 litres/100 in city conditions and 6.2 on the highway; we recorded a consumption of 9 litres/100 km.

On paper the suspension is nothing fantastic - inverted front MacPherson struts with dual triangulated steel wishbones and an anti-roll bar, and at the back a sheet metal U-shaped torsion beam rear axle that uses a hollow anti-roll bar. However, on a twisty road, the 307 is a very special car. The steering - handled through a large diameter leather wheel - is direct and sensitive, and the feedback through the seat and controls continuous and unambiguous. Especially when there are backseat passengers, the handling is extraordinarily poised, being nearly neutral in all cornering conditions. (Drive the car alone, though, and the beam rear axle can hop around a little - it never strays to a disconcerting extent, but it can be felt moving.)

Despite the lack of traction control - a surprising omission given the generally high equipment level - the brilliance of the chassis means that the car is almost impossible to get out of shape. As you'd expect, when one end eventually slides it's the front, but the throttle-steerability of the rear means that the car can be waltzed in and out of understeer/oversteer - those who believe that a front-wheel driveline immediately consigns a car to pig understeer have obviously never driven one of these...

Point-to-point over bad roads the 307 has that exemplary flare that Peugeot seems to do so well - good ride and great handling. In fact, the worse the roads get, the better the car goes - if Peugeot told you that their engineers had developed a completely new design of active damper, you'd believe them...

At 283 x 26mm the ventilated front brakes are large - in comparison, the 247mm rear solid discs look tiny. Over the top of the brakes are 16 x 6.5 alloys, shod in 205/55 Pirelli P7 tyres.

Open the wide-opening doors and inside the cabin you'll find that the equipment level is good. In addition to all of those airbags, there's climate control, electric windows, heated exterior rear vision mirrors, 5-CD in-dash stacker with steering wheel stalk repeater controls, and a trip computer.

Despite the car's exterior dimensions, initially you could be forgiven for thinking that room in the back seat is a bit tight. However, it's more a case of the front seats having overly long runners: move the front seats forward a little and there's good rear room. The split rear seats also fold down, with their squabs being lifted first so that they stand vertically against the back of the front seats. The boot volume is already large at 341 litres - it becomes a massive 1328 litres with the seats folded. A full-size alloy spare wheel is provided.

Apart from a very small glovebox, (half of its internal volume is taken up by a black box!), there's lots of cabin storage spaces with a sunglasses holder and big door pockets. Fold-down inner armrests are provided for the front seats.

So the story's pretty damn good - handling, practicality, equipment.

But there is a downer - the car doesn't feel or look very well built. The suspension is noisy, the door hinges can be heard working, and in the test car there was a buzz in the dash and the front left-hand door handle was very stiff (and that door also shut with a loud clang). The panel margins (the gaps between adjoining panels) vary around the car, as do the gaps in the plastics of the dashboard. Lift the lid on the underbonnet fuse box and you'll be confronted with dozens of unwrapped wires spilling in apparent confusion. The minor controls also feel imprecise - it's quite easy to flash the headlights when indicating, for example.

And that's why those who never explore the 307's dynamic envelope are likely to be only mildly impressed - for the non-enthusiast, the 307 is just a competent, practical car. But for those who like the challenge and enjoyment of driving a car that could only have been built by dedicated engineering enthusiasts, the 307 is one long reward.

Which category do you fit in?