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Pushing Tin In A Peugeot
06/04/2006David Linklater
Theoretically, the end-of-summer rainy season should be the time for
a car like the Peugeot 307 CC to shine.
Top-down motoring on summer days and balmy nights? Anybody can
provide that. But convertible motoring on demand, with no compromise
on safety and wet-weather protection, is still the preserve of the
folding-roof coupe convertible (that's CC to you and I).
In that context the facelifted CC is a fine effort. The complex
folding-roof mechanism gives tin-top security and refinement, yet you
can motor it up or down at the flip of a switch in 25 seconds. You
can even operate it while the car is moving, at speeds of up to
10km/h - perfect if a downpour threatens and you're stranded in a
traffic jam on the motorway.
The roof locks are activated by an electronically controlled
hydraulic system and are fully automatic. The roof assembly is
manufactured by CTS, the same German company that supplies roof
mechanisms for the Mercedes-Benz SLK and SL models.
It's practical, too. The boot offers a sedan-like 350 litres when the
roof's up. With the protective blind in place (the roof won't operate
without it), you're left with a still-respectable 204 litres,
although you'll need shallow luggage or soft bags to make the most of
it.
And yet the CC is a strangely unsatisfying exercise. The 307 is a
perfectly nice small hatch - smart looking, spacious and relatively
sharp on the road. The CC, er, isn't.
Roof-down, the CC could almost be called elegant. The high waistline
of the four-seat cabin forms a continuous line with the rear deck and
the massive windscreen arches over the front seats in a dramatic,
dare-to-be-different way.
Roof-up - the way it's going to be for most of its working life - the
CC is a design disaster. The excessively cab-forward profile and
pudding-bowl roofline are awkward and the big fat arse (required to
accommodate the folding roof mechanism) is, well, butt-ugly.
You sit low in the CC, and you might as well stretch out because the
rear seats are little more than a marketing exercise. The tapered
cabin (that folding-roof mechanism again) means that the rear chairs
are upright, extremely narrow and sans space for adult legs. Shame -
although they're very handy for small packages.
The addition of a new variable-valve-timed 2.0-litre engine to the CC
is welcome. Although the power gain has been minimal (an extra 3kW
and 10Nm) over the old mill, the improved flexibility has given the
CC a new lease of life. In its previous guise, the 100kW 2.0-litre
automatic powertrain really struggled with the bulk of this portly
1573kg machine. There was a 134kW version with manual transmission
that had considerably more verve, but they couldn't give those away
to Kiwi buyers; it's not a manual-gearbox kind of car, you see.
As it stands, the new 103kW CC automatic has an acceptably lively
feel and a harder edge at the top of the rev range than the old car,
although it's still no traffic-light racer: in the 12-second sprint
to 100km/h you'll be hard pressed to outrun a well-driven $20k
supermini.
The four-speed automatic transmission is responsive if you're
pressing on like a fashion model who's late for a photo shoot, but
awkward and indecisive in regular around-town running.
The CC is the only 307 to have electronic stability control as
standard (it's in a $1970 option pack, along with cruise control and
alarm, on the hatch and SW versions). It's a system that monitors
steering wheel angle, yaw speed and wheel speed, and can
automatically adjust engine torque and individual brakes in order to
correct a skid. Sensible bit of spec - not just because you expect
such equipment on a $53,990 car, but because the CC needs it more
than any other model in the lineup. It weighs a whopping 250kg more
than the equivalent 307 hatch and you feel every kilogram on the open
road.
Decent steering feel and a pleasant low-speed ride are the CC's
dynamic strong points. But on rough surfaces the car flexes and
fusses, while at speed the extra bulk introduces sluggish handling
responses and unwanted body roll. You can still feel the fluent
chassis of a 307 lurking somewhere underneath - it's just that
somewhere along the way they cut the roof off and added the
equivalent of three burly blokes to the body structure.
There are some pretty clever bits on the 307 CC. The plastic front
wings (as per the other 307 models) are superbly practical for the
inner-city driver, look past the styling and roof mechanism is neatly
integrated into the body structure, the fingertip satellite controls
for the audio are perfectly placed and the combination cruise/speed
limiter (Citroens have it too) is dead-easy to use.
But being a Peugeot, there are also the inevitable build-quality
niggles. Our test car was cursed with squeaks and rattles, and the
wobbly boot wouldn't click shut unless you laid your hand dead-centre
on the lid to ensure it landed squarely on the latch. There are clips
provided to hold the unused rear seatbelts in place - ignore them at
your peril. Left dangling, the high-frequency flapping at anything
over 70km/h will surely drive you insane.
Personally speaking, I struggle to see the point of these kinds of
cars at the best of times. With a few notable exceptions, the only
proper convertibles are the ones that actually let you enjoy having
wind in your hair - bespoke sports cars like the Mazda MX-5 and
Porsche Boxster. Or indeed the natty new Mercedes-Benz SLK, which
manages to combine a folding roof with svelte rear styling and a fun-
-drive chassis.
Otherwise, all you've got is an open-top car that's less attractive,
less practical and a whole lot heavier than the hatch on which it's
(all-too-clearly) based. The regular 307 is a perfectly nice car -
but in the transformation to CC, Peugeot seems to have engineered
away most of the good bits and added $20k to the price.
Or perhaps the fault lies more with me than the car. I'm ill at ease
in the CC and I probably don't understand the appeal; if empirical
evidence is anything to go by, the 307 CC is really a car for brandconscious
Mademoiselles with big hair and even bigger sunglasses.
Presumably, they don't mind a load of stylistic and dynamic
compromise in exchange for the pleasure of a little low-speed opentop
motoring.
But as far I can see, you loose an awful lot to keep a proper lid on
your Peugeot convertible.
PEUGEOT 307 CC
How much? $53,990
Engine and transmission: 1997cc inline four with variable timing
producing 103kW at 6000rpm and 200Nm at 4000rpm. Four-speed
automatic, front-drive
How fast? 0-100km/h 12.0 seconds
Suspension and brakes: Struts front, torsion-beam rear. Ventilated
discs front, solid discs rear, anti-lock with force distribution,
brake assist and stability control
How big? 4357mm long, 1759mm wide, 1440mm high, 2608mm wheelbase.
Kerb weight 1573kg, luggage capacity 350/204 litres (roof up/down),
fuel tank 60 litres
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Received on Tue May 2 21:33:16 2006
