Peugeot 1007: First Look

Peugeot has come clean with its new 1007 small car, the first of a number of new models that will make use of the French marque's new '00' naming convention.

The Peugeot group is absolutely chuffed with its new 1007, and you can't blame them - it's small proportions and high roofline increase practicality, and the sliding doors are an incredibly simple and indeed sensible approach to improving ingress and egress.

Big things are expected of the attractive small car, which will be available with a choice of three engines: a 1.4-litre HDi diesel engine with 52kW, a 1.4-litre petrol engine with 56kW, a 1.6-litre petrol engine with 82kW or 110bhp in the old money.

The 1007 will also introduce a "2-Tronic" gearbox on petrol engine versions, which will see Peugeot using controlled manual gearbox technology for the first time.

The 2-Tronic gearbox offers two gear change modes: one entirely automated, eliminating manual gear changes in favour of "automatic" driving; the other sequential, offering the enjoyment of going through the gears manually with either the gear lever or the steering wheel control paddles.

Overall dimensions for Peugeot's new baby, that will compete with the likes of the Mazda2, Honda Jazz and Hyundai Getz, are an overall length of 3.73m and a height of 1.61m, and this size of 1007 great on-road versatility as well as providing the driver and occupants with good visibility thanks to a large windscreen.

Getting back to the innovative sliding doors, which are causing almost as much hoo-ha as did the Mazda RX-8's suicide doors, they give the car a people-mover look and feel, albeit on a much smaller scale, and Peugeot reckons that the new 1007 "will change the way small cars are perceived and experienced."

Big words for such a small car, but the more we look at it, the more we like it, and a quick Web Wombat office poll showed a great deal of positivity toward it - though it must be said that the yellow colour seen in the photos wasn't to everyone's taste.

There is a hint of the new Mercedes A-Class in the rear windows and the C-pillar, but the front end is unmistakably Peugeot, with ellipsoid headlights, sloping bonnet and a large air dam.

The fitment of a single electric sliding door on each side of the vehicle is unique feature in any market segment, particularly on a compact car.

The arrangement essentially offers unparalleled access that is little short of revolutionary.

And how's this: a simple press on the remote control keyring and the electric doors slide rearwards, providing unrestricted access, as though no barrier existed between the outside and inside.

This automatic activation of the doors will attract many people who never thought of buying a small car before, and will be a godsend when your hands are full.

Furthermore, the sliding doors can be opened manually via the door handle or at the push of a button, and once opened fully, they present a 92cm wide portal.

When open, the electric doors require only a small lateral/sideways clearance that puts conventional doors to shame. The extra width needed to open the electric doors is roughly equivalent to that of the door mirrors, thereby enabling the car to be parked in very narrow spaces that are inaccessible to vehicles with traditional doors.

Peugeot's clever 1007 comes with a good list of safety features too, which includes up to seven airbags, one of which is mounted on the steering column, and, for child protection, Isofix fixtures that comply with the new three-point fixing standard.

The 1007 is a true four seater, but with an innovative and flexible interior. The two independent rear seats govern the numerous ways in which the 1007 can be used and are an integral feature of the car's modularity. For example, the interior space can be adapted to seat four people, or to provide maximum boot space for carrying long items.

The possibility of interior personalisation on mainstream vehicles is usually limited by decisions made by the manufacturer, but again Peugeot is forging ahead and breaking with convention. The Peugeot 1007 can provide customers with the possibility of choosing an individual interior for their car, by way of the availability of twelve different trim kits.

These 'kits' consist of replacement trims for the seats, doors, rear side panels, air vents and the fascia and can be installed and removed without the use of any tools. They range between striking decorative patterns or simple primary colours, and allow owners to create an interior that can be tailored to particular tastes, whether it be bold, original statements, or restrained and classic elegance.

With it's electric sliding doors making life much easier for most drivers, and eliminating the need for wide berths either side of the vehicle, it is by now obvious to see that Peugeot is setting new trends for the small car market, and it's only a matter of time before other mainstream automakers adopt similar concepts.

As it stands, the new 1007 is an historic vehicle for Peugeot, not only because it will go down in the automotive annuls as the first vehicle to use the '00' naming convention, but also because it represents a shift in the way small cars are designed.