I was rather sorry to see that the Peugeot 307cc sent to me for evaluation was the 100 kW version, lumbered with an automatic gearbox nogal. At over 1 410 kg, thanks to the reinforced body shell and the complicated roof-folding mechanism, the convertible is just too heavy to be the nimble performer its looks promise.
The Peugeot 307cc is offered to the South African public in three guises, all using two-litre four-cylinder engines. Top of the heap is the 130 kW version with a five speed manual gearbox — this is claimed to do 228 km/hr but, more importantly, it offers better response to the goad than the two 100 kW models. The car given to me for evaluation fitted in at the other end of the performance scale — the factory brochure mentions a top speed of 204 km/h for the 100 kW automatic, which would be fairly respectable if the car only there in a reasonably lively fashion. But the test car didn’t. I don’t know what Peugeot claims for the 0-100 km/hr sprint, but I reckon that ten seconds or so would be about right. My real gripe, though, is about the lacklustre performance in the midrange, and that was at the coast. In Johannesburg, with altitude sapping around 17% of the power, it would be even worse.
The tin top of the Peugeot folds down in under 30 seconds at the push of a button and works very well. Having the roof down also diminishes the capacity of the fair-sized boot by about 60%, but that’s not a problem — you can’t have all your cake and eat it. Rear seat space is marginal — small kids will probably be happy enough cooped up in there, and older ones might be willing to trade comfort for the novelty value for a while, but adults are unlikely to be quite so forgiving after more than about 15 minutes.
Roadholding and handling of the Peugeot are good, which makes the lack of steam under the hood even more of a pity. At R311 900 the Peugeot 307cc 2.0 auto is a reasonable buy for those seeking the image projected by the sleek lines and nifty folding roof. Those of us who enjoy driving spirited cars would have to spend an extra R19 000 or so and get the one that goes.