Peugeot 307 CC (2003-) Review

Comfort and Equipment

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Peugeot has done an excellent job in stiffening the 307 CC's bodyshell; there's barely a trace of shakes and shivers on rough surfaces. The ride is smooth and absorbent without being wallowy (a characteristic of the roly-poly 307 hatchback) or harsh, and refinement is impressive. The seats are supportive and well-shaped for long journeys, and wind noise is well-suppressed - with the roof down, occupants can hold a conversation at normal volume at motorway speeds, even without the optional wind deflector. This feels like a much more upmarket car than the hatch, even if the odd little detail still seems a tiny bit cheapo - while the facia, inner doors and seats are all excellent, and the slightly retro dials clear and stylish, items such as the hard black plastic handbrake lever let the overall cabin ambience down slightly. With the roof up, the 307 CC's cabin doesn't feel quite as light and airy as that of the Megane, as it doesn't have a glass hard top, but there's more actual headroom as the seats are lower-set (40mm lower than those of the 307 hatchback). The rear seats don't offer extensive legroom, but there's enough for short journeys or for accommodating children. The luggage space is well-shaped, and can swallow two decent-sized overnight bags plus plenty of oddments when the roof is folded back (204 litres available), and more substantially-sized articles with the roof up (350 litres on hand). A CD player is standard and SE models get a five-disc autochanger with the stacker in the front panel; the options' list includes a 240-watt JBL amplifier, MP3 capability, two front medium-tweeter speakers and two woofers at the front and two sub-woofers behind - that's more like it. Neat touches include the integration of the radio aerial within the rear spoiler, so as not to interfere with styling or aerodynamics, and reception seems perfectly acceptable. Shame the positioning of the (optional) 7-inch sat-nav screen isn't so neat - it protrudes from the centre of the facia, cannot be folded away, and spoils the otherwise smooth, clean curve of the panel. Also optional is a Bluethooth hands-free telephone kit.