Peugeot 207 : FAMILY FAVOURITE

June Neary and Family Put The Peugeot 207 to the testâ€¦.

The arrival of any new car is always an event in our household. The kids crawl all over the back seats looking for new gadgets. My husband pops the bonnet and scans the cam covers. And me? I just take a step back and take it all in. With the Peugeot 207, doing just that was an enjoyable experience. And an enlightening one. I hadn't expected much interest from my neighbours in an affordable model like this one but I was wrong. Words were exchanged over the garden fence. Cups of sugar were borrowed. It created a stir.

First and foremost, I'd say that in my view after having completed a few hundred miles in this car, I think it would be an easy one to own. You slip in behind the wheel and everything feels just right, the major controls falling to hand easily. Too many of the cars I test require you to get out and study the handbook before you can explore all the functions available but with this one, I was up and running almost immediately. If you can operate a payphone, you shouldn't have much trouble with this car. There were lots of little touches around the cabin which showed just how much care the designers had taken to get things just right. We lost count of what car marketers call `surprise and delight' features - basically, clever little additions you simply wouldn't expect on a car like this.

The engine responsiveness of the 1.6-litre 110bhp HDi diesel engine in the Sport variant I tried was more direct than I had expected from this class of car - a boon when overtaking slow moving traffic. It's a very torquey powerplant too - in other words, there's plenty of pulling power. And that's a help not only when overtaking but in urban traffic as well. Unlike other cars in this class, I didn't find myself constantly having to change gear to keep the engine on song. No matter how characterful an engine is, if you're constantly having to row it along with the gearlever, it quickly becomes an irritation. All-round visibility is great, again, a boon when you're manoeuvring around crowded city streets. You also feel very safe behind the wheel: it's one of those cars you could trust to your eighteen year old daughter (if you absolutely had to), knowing that she would be as safe as it was possible to be. Finally, it's secure. Tests have shown that it's one of those cars that crooks just walk away from.

Peugeot are offering a choice of six petrol and three diesel engines. The petrol models offered are a 1.4-litre 8-valve unit producing 75bhp, a 1.4-litre 16-valve unit producing 90bhp, a 1.4-litre VTi with 95bhp, a 1.6-litre VTi giving out 120bhp, plus 150 and 175bhp 1.6-litre turbo options. The diesel offerings are all second generation common-rail high-pressure direct injection powerplants and start with a 1.4-litre HDi producing 70bhp. This is followed by a 1.6-litre HDi 16-valve delivering 90bhp and a range topping version of the same engine with a variable geometry turbocharger producing 110bhp. This car isn't the cheapest in its sector but then you wouldn't expect quality to come without a price. When you sit down and compare it to rivals, it actually stacks up extremely well. Especially when you take account of the high level of specification included. For example, air-conditioning is available to 207 buyers in two specifications, dual zone manual or automatic. I particularly liked the fact that each vehicle is equipped with a fragrance diffuser which is discreetly incorporated into the fascia panel and dispenses one of seven selectable fragrances to keep the interior of your 207 smelling sweetly. Each fragrance has apparently been specially developed by a leading French perfume supplier. Other useful features include automatic activation of the dipped beam, automatic front windscreen wipers, electric front windows with one-touch automatic reverse control and a remote control for the radio situated under the steering wheel.

I'd say so, yes. This car looks good, the family like it and, when you add everything up, it's also very good value for money. That's a pretty difficult combination to beat.