Peugeot 107 review
The Peugeot 107 was refreshed in 2012 but it still feels a little long in tooth
The Peugeot 107 completes a family of three cars, which includes the Toyota Aygo and Citroen C1, that are all based on the same chassis and each similarly styled. All these cars are more at home in the city than they are anywhere else thanks to their tiny dimensions and small three-cylinder engines. A facelift in 2012 kept the Peugeot 107 looking up to date and also improved the economy of the one available engine. Problems concern the lack of space in the boot and the noisy cabin at motorway speeds.
Our choice: 107 1.0 Active
Styling
The Peugeot 107 had a mild facelift in 2012, which included an updated front-end that helped to bring it up to date with its more modern rivals. The bonnet now has a more sculpted shape, while the headlights are sharper and there are LED daytime running lights fitted too. The car itself has near-perfect dimensions, with short overhangs, great all-round visibility and a vertical tail for easy reversing. There's a unique style to the interior, with unusual heater controls that glow orange at night, plus a pod-style speedometer. It looks funky, but not as classy as some other vehicles in this class.
Driving
The Peugeot packs a featherweight 998cc three-cylinder engine. It produces 68bhp, and with its characterful exhaust note and distinctive thrum, it’s great fun to use and delivers spritely performance. It’s easy to drive too, with a light clutch and gearshift. Acceleration from 0-62mph in 14.2 seconds means it's fine for town driving but at higher speeds you'll notice the 107 starts to struggle to keep up. Motorway journeys will be incredibly noisy, with lots of wind and road noise making its way into the cabin. The supple ride means you'll at least be comfortable though.
Reliability
In late-2012 the Peugeot 107 was re-tested by Euro NCAP and downgraded to just three stars for occupant safety. This will be a blow for Peugeot, especially as there are now a handful of cars in the class which boast maximum five star scores for crash protection. That said, although French cars don't have the best reputation for reliability, the 107 was jointly-developed with Toyota who do have a good track record in this area.
Practicality
The boot is a major weak point for the 107: the tailgate is a piece of glass, which leaves you with a high load sill, while the capacity is just 139 litres. It extends with the seats down to 751 litres, but then you won't be able to carry any passengers in the back. Even with the seats in place rear passengers will find there's very little space. Making access easier is the five-door model, but that commands a small premium over the three-door.
Running Costs
Updates in 2012 have ensured that the 107 is cheaper to run than ever. The 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine now boasts CO2 emissions of 99g/km, which makes it exempt from road tax. Fuel economy is also up to 65.6mpg. Alternatively, if you opt for the automatic gearbox then these figures become 104g/km and 62.7mpg. Insurance will be incredibly cheap making it an ideal first car, and residual values for the Peugeot are expected to be quite strong.
For an alternative review of the latest Peugeot 107 Hatchback visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk
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I bought one of these brand new towards the end of last year from a dealership and have to say I'm pretty happy with it. I got a really really good deal and really good service from them, so it's cheap and reliable and exactly what I need for nipping around very tiny country roads (it's perfect for this). It's fuel efficiency is brilliant, the insurance pretty good, and as you say, zero road tax!
My only complaints are that the acceleration is zero, which I find frustrating as my last car was a 2.0L Audi A4. So - a bit of a difference!
It is also a bit tinny, but that's what you expect from something at this price. It also gets badly steamed up, which is a problem, as are the number of blind spots, which isn't great news. And yes, the rear boot space is totally rubbish
But I bought it as a runabout not to drive up and down to London on motorways regularly so overall, it is a good buy.