Yes as I have mention earlier, Peugeot will be launching its Peugeot 207 sedan today and the event was held at Putrajaya International Convention Center (PICC). As you stride along the road towards PICC, you were greeted with a Peugeot banner on each and every light pole thus you can imagine this event is very important event for Peugeot. As I said very important and yes it marks the 200th anniversary of Peugeot. The event was even more memorable as the car was officiated by our former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir.
So what is all about the 207 sedan? Well this is a very important car for Naza as this new Peugeot baby will be the first Peugeot to be produced in Malaysia that will be exported to other right hand drive markets in Asean as well as Sri Lanka. The first country to be offered outside Malaysia for the 207 sedan that will rolled out from Naza Gurun Plant would be Thailand as this car will join other car makers for the 2011 Bangkok Motor Show and the car will be sent to Thailand starting next week according to COO of Naza Corp during the press conference. Nasim is targeting to sell between 5,000 to 6,000 units of the 207 next year and according to Peugeot the car was aimed for an urban, young, active and independent customer, which is also targeted to young families of one or two children.
The Peugeot 207 sedan as you know was based on the 207 hatchback with a boot thus this car was categories under a B- segment car. This car was equipped with a 1.6 Litre engine that produce 110 hp at 5,800 RPM and a torque figure of 149Nm at 4,000 RPM The engine for the 207 sedan was not from the Prince engine which was installed on the Peugeot 308 but this is a huge upgrade compared to the car it replace which is the 206 Bestari that only manage a 75hp and 120Nm of torque. The engine is mated with a 4 speed adaptive automatic transmission that comes with a Porsche Triptronic capability to enable an eager driver to change the transmission manually. The transmission was also fitted with a sport mode which in turn provides a sharper response to the needs of the driver and also a snow/traction mode to provide more grips on slippery surfaces.
With a powerful combination of engine and transmission, fuel consumption is also one of the trump cards for the new 207 sedan. The rated fuel consumption for the new 207 is only 6.1 litres per 100KM (mixed cycle) thus it would an ideal car for young families when it comes to each dollar and cents. In terms of size, shown below are the comparisons for Peugeot 207 with its competitors the Toyota Vios and Honda City.
Peugeot 207 sedan Toyota Vios Honda City
Length: 4,235 4,300 4,395
Width: 1,669 1,700 1,695
Height: 1,447 1,460 1,470
Wheelbase: 2,443 2,550 2,550
Boot Capacity: 420 Litres 475 Litres 506 Litres
Fuel tank capacity: 50 Litres 42 Litres 42 Litres
All the dimension are in mm
As you can see from the above comparisons, the Peugeot 207 sedan was smaller in every dimension compared to its rival but with the wheelbase of 2,443mm it didn’t felt short for me, as when I have position the front seat which is suitable for my driving style, the rear leg room size is still quite big that it only cm away for my knee to touch the front seat. Mind you, I am 180cm tall thus I think the rear passenger in this car would not feel cramped for the long journey of “balik kampung”.
In terms of features for this car, the steering systems features a tilt adjustable hydraulic variable power steering thus this car would be a great car to be driven especially in town condition but this is only can be confirm during the test drive of this car. Besides that, in terms of safety, the car was equipped with dual SMART airbag for the driver and front passenger with the front passenger airbag can be deactivated via key behind the steering wheel. In terms of braking capabilities, the car features an Anti Lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist (BA) and an automatic emergency hazard warning light activation where the hazard light will be blinking automatically when the car sense a heavy braking situation thus releasing some burden to the driver of the situation in front of him.
Other nice features for the new 207 Sedan would be sensor activated headlights, sensor activated wipers, intermittent front wipers with auto slow down function, “Follow Me Home” headlamp illumination, front fog lamps, electric side mirror (without auto fold) 2 ISOFIX mounts on the rear seat, pre tensioning and force limiting front seat belt, a 15 inch Interlagos wheel with 185/60 series Kumho tires and also a Peugeot rolling code transponder immobilizer security system.
Suspension wise, the car was setup with a front Pseudo MacPherson struts with anti roll bars where the setup has been developed to improve the caster angle to ensure steering accuracy while the rear end was a trailing arm with transverse torsion beam and anti roll bars to keep the car grips firmly on the road.
As for the interior features, the car was equipped with an automatic climate control air conditioning with Pollen Filter, leather wrapped steering wheel, height adjustable driver seat, an instrument panel made by luxury watch maker; Jaeger, a multifunction display, an all electric power windows and also an MP3/WMA audio CD player with Bluetooth capabilities that can be paired with a cellular phone, USB and AUX connectivity. The ICE setup was further complemented with a 6 speakers system for a more enjoyable drive.
With all the nice features for the 207 sedan, the only question to be answered was how much does it cost. To your surprise (mine too), the car was price at RM 72,888.00 OTR thus this price under cuts its rivals with some healthy equipment list thus I think the car is a real value for money and I do hope the driving experience will not hamper its overall impression. The car comes in 5 colours mainly Active Red, Alpine White, Metropolis Bronze, Velvet Silver and Premium Black. To further enhance the driving experience, the car owners will receive 3 years warranty or 100,000KM whichever comes first. I have arranged a test drive for this car and I do hope I can share my driving experience to all reader of Auto Insider Malaysia. Enjoy the pics of the event.
i like... i'll get it one :)
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