Car Test
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R0337 | |
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May 2003 |
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| First Drive | Peugeot 307 Estate | |
| Printer Friendly Page | Featured model: 1.4HDi LX | |
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Load-lugging 307s come in two guises: there’s the SW, which is an up-to-seven-seater estate with MPV pretensions (its back seats can be removed), and there’s this one, which is a straightforward five-seater estate with conventional seat folding.
Both share the same body, that’s 22cm longer than the hatchback’s and boasts a 10cm-longer wheelbase. The result, at the tradesmen’s entrance beyond the high-lifting tailgate, is a carpet-clad cavern with flat-sided wheelarches making it practically cubic. Folding the 60/40 divided backrests and unclipping the cushions (if necessary) doubles the deck length. The floor is low so loading is easy, and minimal luggage disturbance is required should you need to lower the (grubby) underslung spare wheel. Sensible plastic cladding protects the rear bumper’s paintwork, but the concertina-style luggage cover isn’t ideal. There’s a wide choice of engines for the estate; this eight-valve 1.4 turbo-diesel is the smallest and least powerful – and it shows. The words pull, skin and rice pudding come to mind as you wait for the tacho needle to reach 2000rpm. At this point, there’s a mild stirring from the boiler room and speed steadily rises, but by 4800 it’s run out of steam. It’s a good job that the slick shift makes gearchanging no hardship. Actually, though, apart from its woeful lack of lustre – particularly with a full house – it’s a delightful little engine that’s smooth and quiet; in fact, it’s almost inaudible on a motorway. But why Peugeot doesn’t offer the more powerful 16-valve/92bhp version (as fitted to the relative-by-marriage Citroen C3) is a mystery. We’ve no criticism of the estate’s nicely weighted steering or its relatively wieldy and remarkably roll-resistant cornering prowess. The ride, too, though not especially supple, is adequately compliant for much of the time, and proves less jittery than the hatchback’s, thanks most likely to the extra weight, longer wheelbase and 65-Series tyres. The brake response remains a little too light, however. Both front seats on the LX have inboard armrests and ratchet-type height adjusters, but annoyingly, the higher you sit, the less thigh support you get. Otherwise, we like the driving position. The wheel is adjustable for reach and rake and the switchgear and controls are sensibly sited, although the heater controls are rather low. Generous window space aids all-round vision and takes the guesswork out of reversing, so the optional rear parking sensors aren’t essential. There isn’t a surfeit of rear knee space or legroom, but the backrests are comfortably angled and shaped for two (although a third passenger doesn’t fare too badly), and there’s lots of foot space and plenty of headroom for all. |
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