Peugeot 307 2004 review

It is not often that you hear the saying "two for the price of one" in relation to a car, but that's what will be coming out of the mouths of Peugeot dealers across the country with the new 307 CC.

At the press of a button, and in 25 seconds, you can be driving either a hardtop or a convertible, depending on your mood and the weather.

The 307 CC Pug offers a range of unique features, but the steel roof, the only one in its class, is the thing (along with being a four-seater) that Peugeot Automobiles Australia says justifies the $50,000 price tag.

There have been rumours that the roof, which was designed by German manufacturer CTS, supplier to the Mercedes SL and SLK models, had had problems overseas. Peugeot's Australian arm, however, says it had not heard of any problems, and that if there had been any, they would have been ironed out before the car made it to our shores.

The 307 CC has two engine choices; the Dynamic has a 100kW 2.0-litre variant with 190Nm of torque and the Sport gets a 130kW engine with 202Nm.

The gearbox is limited to a five-speed manual and four-speed tiptronic automatic.

The Peugeot comes packed with equipment including anti-lock brakes with brake assist, climate-control airconditioning, dual front and side airbags, rain-sensing wipers and rollover bars concealed in the passenger headrests.

Novelties include the boot-opening button hidden in the "0" of the 307 badge, and the fancy rear headlights consisting of 80 diodes.

The Sport, which costs an extra $7000, has leather upholstery, 17-inch wheels, parking distance assistance and an alarm.

Inside, the car screams style and features clever inventions, such as the airconditioned glovebox. The weight of the car – close to 1500kg – hampers its performance, though not its handling. The 2.0-litre engine struggles off the mark, but when up to speed it is a comfortable ride. The car is smooth and quiet on the highway.

Both engines struggled to pull the weight up hills and first gear had to be used on a few occasions when second should have sufficed. Steering felt remote in the Dynamic but noticeably firmer in the Sport – along with a stiffer ride and slightly better handling.

The increased power of the Sport is only noticed at higher speeds. The car tested stalled a few times on the way back after an hour on the freeway, something that was stopped only by increasing the revs when not moving.

While overall sales of Peugeot have slumped by more than 60,000 units in France, due to the release of the Renault Megane and Golf V, sales in Australia were up 10 per cent in 2003 at 7300 vehicles. Peugeot is looking to sell about 950 307 CCs this year and 1000 in 2005. It expects only slight sales cannibalisation from the 206 CC.

The company hopes the new "Blue Billboard" design of the dealerships will help bring people through the doors, customers it thinks will be in the 35-to-45 age group.

Peugeot Automobiles Australia marketing manager Richard Grant says the 307 CC is aimed at what the company calls the "masstige" market.

"These people are looking for products that are priced at a premium above conventional products but which sit at a price well below super premium products," he says.

Next will be the 407, which will take over the 406 and be on sale in the final quarter of the year.

There is no new 206 in the works, but PAA says models have a six to seven-year cycle. The 206 was released in 1998.

The 307 CC Dynamic manual costs $49,990, the auto $52,190 and the Sport manual $56,990.