European car of the year. (Peugeot 307)

Member Name: sikim

Product:	Peugeot 307
Date:	30/04/02 (6239 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good handling, Driver friendly, plenty of gadgets

Disadvantages: No mudguards, Heavy Doors on 3-dr

After driving my new car for a couple of weeks it is not difficult to see why this model was voted European car of the year.

I bought a 3-door 1.6 Rapier in Black, with black interior.
The Rapier is the mid-range model, falling in-between the LX and the GLX, it comes with single-disc CD player, Air-con, power-steering, ABS, air-bags all over the place (including curtain air-bags), and it is a driver's dream (in my opinion).

This car is so easy to drive, it has a responsive engine, excellent handling, smooth changing gear-box, very light steering (but still good feel), comfortable seats, everything electric and easy to reach.
It is a very driver-friendly car.

One thing that you think straight away when you sit in the car is how big it feels from inside - the cabin is incredibly roomy and the all-around view from the driver's seat means very few (if any) blind-spots. However, when I parked it next to a Vectra it looked quite small (apart from in height).

The controls are excellent and the arm for the stereo situated on the steering column has been up-graded from older Peugeot's (206/306). The models with Air-con also feature a chilled glove-box compartment for small bottles/cans.

The only criticisms I can level would be the size/weight of the doors on my 3-door model, although it makes climbing into the back so easy, and the lack of a foot-rest for your clutch foot - apparently this is only on the GLX/XSi models. Lack of mud-guards (£49 per pair extra).

One other criticism is they are only made in France so it can take anywhere between 1-2 months to get hold of your car once you have ordered it.

Overall I am thrilled with my new 307, and I am glad I took my time when selecting, test-driving and finally buying it - the garage knocked roughly 10% off the price of the car (little did they know I was convinced the first time I sat in one!!).

UPDATE: 8/5/2003
After driving the 3
07 for just over a year I can honestly say this is still a very good car.
I've had one or two little niggles with it:
Loose bit of carpet in driver's footwell
Indicator has a little fault turning right - it can click itself off when you're sitting waiting to turn or rolling up to a junction.
Electric window is sensitive - when you hold and click it to auto-shut it occassionally re-opens, not if you hold the button for a normal close.

All of these things Peugeot will fix for free, and the 6000 miles service was free. I'm on 18000 and due for a service in about 6-7 weeks - which I think will be my first big expense. Although I think the front tyres might need replacing soon.

I also had a replacement windscreen as it got cracked on a dual carriageway - that is one downside of the good visibility in this car - its a big windscreen to hit!!

As far as MPG goes - I get 35-40 miles per gallon depending on how fast I drive, or if I do a lot of town driving it goes down. I'm a bit disappointed with the MPG as the 307 diesels get easily 45+ mpg.

I think this car would be ideal for someone who will use it regularly and for more than trips to the shops/pub/school etc - I wouldn't recommend it to someone who does a lot of town driving - its much better on the open roads.

It's got good bootspace - I've had my mountain bike in it with only one wheel off, it can also cope with big suitcases, my parents always travel with big Samsonites and it fits 2 of them and 3/4 rucksacks/holdalls at the same time without removing the parcel shelf.

Summary: