13 Mar 07
Nearly two months into possession, how is our 207 THP 150 shaping up?
I was on a high with it during the first few days, loving its easy torque, its punch out of junctions, its determined grip. It was a car to enjoy, to bond with. There was enough dynamic soul here to make this a car suitable for a blast around the lanes just for the heck of it.
But with familiarity can come, if not contempt, the biting of reality. So there are two key reasons why the THP 150, though a pleasing car in many ways, doesn't quite hit the nail on the hot-hatch head. Both are fixable - which I hope will happen by the time we drive the imminent 207 GTi.
The first is surprising, given the THP's sporty intent. The UK's shockingly disintegrating roads have revealed that the ride is actually too firm. It's a problem with small bumps and sharp edges, which suggests that the wheels are too big and the tyres' sidewalls are too shallow, which also brings the side effect of too much road noise. The wheels look great, of course, but, as is so often the case with today's cars, you suffer for the good looks.
So why is this a surprising fault? Shouldn't we welcome firmness in a sporting car? Up to a point, yes; we all like focus and crispness and alert responses. But you can have all that and still have a car able to flow over lumps: Peugeot used to be better at this than nearly every other carmaker. I thought about trying the wheels and tyres from my 205 GTI 1.9 as an experiment - they are 185/55 R15s instead of 205/45 R17 - but the 207's front brakes are too big to let them fit. Pity.
The ride's firmness is more noticeable when four people plus luggage are aboard, which chips away at the 207's family car credentials. Still, just one- or two-up and given the freedom of a smooth, sinuous route, it does all come together rather well.
