My Little Jem! (Peugeot 107 5-door)

Member Name: bluejules

Product:	Peugeot 107 5-door
Date:	04/06/07 (2852 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Small car, cute, nice to drive

Disadvantages: Blind Spots

As you may know, I work as a weekend telephonist at a Peugeot (and Chevrolet) Dealer and I've wanted the 107 since it was launched! In April I decided I could afford one now so I ordered one at work. My parents paid the deposit for my 18th birthday :-) and I am paying for the rest monthly. I waited for this car for several weeks and I've now been driving it for 4 weeks.

*Despite working for a Peugeot dealer, I am not a sales executive and I am in no way biased about the quality of their cars. This review is purely based on my experience as a customer driving a 107.*

I have been adding things to this review since I first got the car as I thought of them so I hope I haven’t missed anything out.

~ About the Car ~

The 107 is available with 3 doors or 5 doors. Originally I was going to get the 3 door but my mam and dad tried getting in the back of the car in the showroom and although they said it was reasonably spacious once inside, there was not a lot of room to get in. So, I have a 5-door, to make it easier for people getting in and out of the back.

The 107 was launched in summer 2003 and is the successor to the 106. The Citroen C1, Toyota Aygo and Peugeot 107 are all built in the same factory and therefore look very similar. PSA Peugeot Citroen and Toyota Motor Corporation build them at the Kolin plant, Czech Republic. The prices between these models vary but I believe each is finished off a little bit different.

~ Colours ~
The 107 is available in two solid colours, which are at no extra cost. These colours are Laser Red and Citrus Yellow. Diamond White is a solid colour available on the sport model.

There is a choice of three metallic colours; these are Zircon Grey (silver), Raven Black and Antigua blue (which is the colour I have). The metallic paint is £350 extra, but I don’t like the yellow one and my previous car was red so I wanted a change. I have liked the blue one for ages so I thought it was worth the extra money.

~ Exterior ~

I think the car looks really cute. (Mine is a girl and she is called Jem – because my name is Jules, and I thought Jules and Jem sounded good together!) I think it looks like she has a smiling face with the headlights being her eyes!

The car is small which makes it easy to park and manoeuvre. It has a turning circle of less than 10m!

Looking at the car, at first glance you wouldn’t know it was 5-door, as it is almost identical to the 3-door. The back doors come right up to the rear lights (it has no quarter panel). I was standing talking to my friend after sign language and I opened the car and put my bag in the back. She said she hadn’t even noticed that it was 5-door and couldn’t understand how she had missed that! (She had actually come to look at my car too!)

Lots of people have told me that I should have got the 3-door because they look nicer, but in this instance I think the only difference is the fact that there are door handles on the back! Even the windows look the same regardless of door number. Anyway, I don’t think it matters what other people think – I LOVE my 5-door Jem!

~ Interior ~

There is a CD player and radio on the panel in the car. I still haven’t used the CD-player, though I do intend to! I listen to the radio every time I’m in my car. You can program it to 6 radio stations and all you have to do is press the button with the number that corresponds to the radio station you want to listen to. These were already programmed in when I got the car, and as my favourite radio station was one of those, I have had no reason to change it.

I paid extra to get air conditioning (£500), as it was really hot driving my old car without it. Also, I suffer badly from hay fever and the air-conditioning has a pollen filter too. I have my air conditioning on almost all the time I am in the car as it makes the air nice and cool which is nicer to breath in! At the moment it still blows out a new car smell, which one of my friends said he didn’t like but it doesn’t bother me! The air conditioning is easy to use and works just as well on hot.

The speedometer is quite unusual. It is just a round display in front of the steering wheel. The warning lights etc are in the middle of this circle and the fuel gauge is a small rectangle just next to this. There is no rev counter, although you can pay £30 to get one factory fitted. I was going to get one but the car was going to take longer to arrive. It is possible to fit one after purchase but I’ve been told (at work) that it is much more expensive, so I won’t bother. I’m sure I can manage without one!

There are electric front windows. I haven’t needed to use these much as I use my air-con but I’ve used them a couple of times. These are quite good but the only control at the driver’s side is the driver’s window. In my old car the controls for both front windows were in the middle so it was possible to open either window when sitting the driver or passenger seat. The controls for these electric windows are on the doors. As it is a small car, it is within reaching distance to open the passenger window, but obviously only when parked!

The control panel glows orange when the lights are on. I think this looks quite good! The heater controls are also illuminated orange when the lights are on.

When I showed the car to my older sister Joanne, the first thing she noticed was that it was a 4-seater. She thinks it looks cute, as she has never seen a 4-seater car before! I don’t think this is really a problem for me as it is unlikely I would want more than three passengers at one time anyway. This helps make the car smaller so I don’t mind :-)

I think the car is good quality considering the price. However, you can tell that it is a cheaper car (especially compared to the cars that my parents drive, both Peugeot’s) in the way that it is finished off. The controls for the air con are nothing flash but they do the job just fine.

The car does not come with a glove box lid (on any model) so I paid about £15 for one – honestly! I’m not joking, my friends thought I was just having them on when I told them I paid extra. “Don’t be silly – they come as standard!” was one friends response! I told her that’s not the case with the 107!

When I am in the car, it doesn’t really strike me as being small (not that I am saying it’s not – but it is not something I think about). But when I got into my dad’s car the other day after travelling only in my car for a few weeks, it seemed huge! Before I got my car I didn’t think my dad’s car seemed particularly big but mine is so small it makes my dad’s look enormous! :-)

~ The Drive ~

When I first decided I might want to get a 107, I took one on a test drive. I went for a short drive and I decided I liked the car very much.

This car is really nice to drive – so much better than my nine-year-old Citroen Saxo! The power steering is great, I learned to drive in a car with power steering but my Saxo didn’t have it so it’s nice to have this luxury once again! The brakes are also really good. My dad says the best thing about a Peugeot are the brakes. (He drives a Peugeot 307 Estate as his company car) I wouldn’t say this was the best thing about Peugeot’s but I agree that they are good. I always come to a safe, smooth stop. The car has ABS.

Due to the car being small it feels really light when I’m driving. This is probably also due to the power steering. The car has a 5-speed manual gearbox but it is also available in 2-tronic. I find that it is easy to change gear.

It is comfortable to drive and the seat and steering wheel can be adjusted. I haven’t travelled a long way in my car; the furthest being only 10 miles in one journey but this was comfortable.

Occasionally I over steer when going round corners but I think this is because I am still getting used to power steering again, rather than it being the car.

The mirrors are good but took a little while to get used to as the wing mirrors are quite round and are smaller than the ones on my old Saxo. I am used to them now though. I don’t like the mirror on the left very much, as it has quite a big blind spot. This makes it a bit difficult to see cars at my left when I am coming off a round about as I don’t see them until they are quite close, however glancing over my left shoulder solves this problem.

~ The Price ~

The 5-door 107 urban is £7795 on the road. This price does not include air conditioning or metallic paint. When I purchased the car there was £1000 off this price (for all customers) and I also got 5% staff discount.

~ CO2 Emissions ~

The Carbon Dioxide emissions are109g/km, which places the car in band B so it only costs £35 per year to tax! I am pleased about this not only as it will cost me less money but also because the carbon dioxide emissions are low so it won’t have such a large impact on the environment.

The fuel tank holds 35 litres. I’ve had my car 4 weeks and have only done 195 miles. The car came with a full tank of petrol and it is just less than half full now.

~ Handbook ~

The handbook comes in a plastic case along with the service book, which has the famous Peugeot Lion on the front. The handbook is easy to use and has an index for easy access to relevant information.

The Peugeot Dealer should also provide you with a folder, which you can keep all your important documents relating to your car in one place.

~ Servicing and Repairs ~

The car comes with a 3-year manufacturers warranty, which covers manufacturing fault or defective materials. It doesn’t cover routine maintenance or servicing etc.

When you purchase the car you are provided with a service book to keep record of the servicing the car has had. My car had its one-month check this morning. The next service is due at 10,000 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first. (Something tells me that one year will come first – but you never know!)

~ Things I don’t like ~

* The petrol gauge is a digital display. I don’t like this very much as it is difficult to tell exactly how much petrol I have left. When it is full, this doesn’t matter but I think it will be difficult to gauge when it gets low.

* The car has several blind spots. This is the worst thing about the car. When I first started driving it, I was quite scared but the more I drive it the more I am used to where they are. There are two blind spots at the back but if I use the mirrors as well when I reverse, I can see better. I tried this out outside my house with my dad standing in my blind spots. As I know where they are I know where to check. I am therefore extra cautious when driving!

* The mileage is displayed in whole miles ie 195 (but the trip metre displays in point miles to one decimal place ie 195.3) I have left my display on the trip metre as I like to know how many point miles I have done.

~ Things I like ~

* I think it is a lovely colour and the air-con is fabulous! It is the best thing I could have got for my car and the think the luxury of having this is worth the extra money!

* The boot is easy to open. I struggled to open the boot on my old car as I had to use my key but I am pleased to see that I only have to press a button when my car is unlocked and the boot releases with ease.

* The car is spacious despite the small exterior; this is good, none of my passengers have complained about the room.

* It smiles and winks at me when I press the central locking on the plip key. (Translation: the car looks like it is smiling and when it is in the garage you can see the lights, which tell you it has locked!) lol :-)

~ Overall ~

I think this is a great car for driving around town. It is easy to drive, reasonably priced and looks good. If you want a little car, which is economical and has low emissions, then this is the car for you!

If you made it this far – thanks for reading!

Summary: A great little car for driving around town!

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