2007 Peugeot 207 CC

Peugeot have been in the coupe cabriolet business for some time, during the 1930s Peugeot made a name for themselves as the world’s number one producer of coupe cabriolets – but that was nearly 80 years ago.

Skipping a few decades to 2001, Peugeot launched the 206 CC. Starting from just $37,990, the 206 CC went on to become of Australia’s best selling convertibles with a worldwide sales figure of 360,000 units to date.

With the 206 CC starting to show its age, Peugeot began working on a successor, named 207 CC. And as of this week the new 207 CC has gone on sale.

Priced from $34,990, the new 207 CC is available (from launch) with two engine options, a 1.6-litre petrol (88kWs) and a 1.6-litre turbo petrol (110kWs). The naturally aspirated variant is available in a 5-speed manual (with the option of a four-speed auto using Porsche Toptronic technology) while the performance 1.6-litre turbo only comes in manual guise.

The 1.6 litre unit has a fuel economy of 6.5 l/100km, with award winning emission ratings. Meanwhile the turbo-charged 1.6 litre 110kW (240Nm of torque) ‘THP’ engine, sourced from the 207 GT hatchback delivers power from an incredibly low 1400 rpm. Built with the help of BMW and Citroen the 1.6-litre turbo was recently voted best in its category at the International Engine of the Year Awards.

Of course, for a coupe cabriolet, its all about style. The new electric folding roof for the 207 CC has taken put Peugeot alongside the best from Europe. With a completely automated operation (hold the bottom down for 25 seconds), the new roof system is a big improvement over the 206 CC which required the use of manual release handles.

Back in the 1930s (and all the way to the early 80s), accidents in roofless cars significantly increased fatality rates, eventually manufacturers started taking notice. The 207 CC comes standard with an active roll-over protection system.

Peugeot had to go back to the drawing board to specifically design two new airbags for the 207 CC, the car comes standard with four airbags, two adaptive front airbags and two ‘head-chest’ side airbags located in the side of the front seats.

Other standard safety features include:

• ABS with Electronic Brake Force Distribution,
• Emergency Brake Assist

The 1.6-litre turbo also gets ESP including traction control as standard. Unfortunately the naturally aspirated variant does not come with ESP standard.Peugeot claims the 207 CC has rear seats that are actually usable.

We don’t tend to believe such claims, of course the rear seats are good enough for a short journey but no one in their right mind would spend more than 10 minutes back there.

CarAdvice are getting the 207 CC (and 207 GTi) in late August so expect a thorough road test of both vehicles come early September.