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Peugeot 1007 1.6HDi SE - Diesel Road test

DIESEL MOTORING

Peugeot 1007 1.6 HDi SE

Thirty years ago you had to get up to turn the telly over and, worse still, go out to go shopping. Technology has definitely lightened the load.

Yet despite Ford's research which shows we're all getting lardier, we still somehow muster the energy to physically open our car doors. Like perpetual motion, the electric sliding-door car has remained a non-starter.

Except no one told Peugeot. The 1007 is a two-door mini MPV that sidesteps (or should that be slidesteps?) the headaches of cramped car parks, condensing the practical need for four portals into two clam-shelled apertures. Brilliant, said the crowds at Paris Auto Show 2002, where the Sesame concept flagged the idea.

Parisians are an excitable bunch though, and I can't help thinking this is a succinct answer to a question we've never asked. Sure, Fiat's Useless, sorry, Ulysees, and Chrysler's fat ugly Voyager have incorporated rear sliding doors, but the Peugeot was the first to make it the only point of access and egress. In my bones, I wanted to egress away as fast as possible.

And then there was the drive. Barely anyone makes a delicious duffer we can have a good guffaw at any more. So I was tickled by the 1.4HDI 1007. With an acceleration time of 15.4 seconds, it's slower than coastal erosion. You might just have found this car's performance acceptable, if you like watching kettles boil. Otherwise you'd have jumped out (if you could activate the electric door while moving, which you can't) at the nearest Samaritan's hotline.

But full marks to the French for listening: for its mid-life freshen-up, the revised 1007, on sale now, sees the two trim levels of Dolce and Sport merged into one neater SE package, while enfin, they have added a beefier diesel.

For storage, you have the flexibility of being able to shift the rear seat bench forward by more than six inches, while the bench folds dead flat for larger loads. Add storage drawers under the front seats, hidden cubbies in the central console and drinks holders everywhere and long-haul stays look feasible.

It certainly looks more appetising, given a lick of upmarket polish to the exterior, including a honeycomb front grille, smoked headlamps and a neat chrome exhaust. The top-heavy dimensions aren't going to seduce Golf drivers, but the outline is cute and first impressions are of something solidly built.

It takes five seconds from opening the handle to the door being open (and the same time to close it when you prod the command button to the right of the steering wheel). Doesn't sound long, but if your driving day is bitty, it could get tiresome. That said, once you're in (and rear-seat access is no problem, given the huge doors) it's a nice place to be - the driver's seat adjusts for height, the rear seats (only two, mind you) slide for and aft for better boot space when short-legged occupants are on board and everyone (thanks to the body's girth) has lots of elbow-space.

Equipment-wise, to the old model's air con, ABS, six-speaker CD radio, illuminated glovebox, heated door mirrors, fogs and a trip computer we can now add MP3 compatibility for the radio, Bluetooth connection, seven airbags, tyre pressure monitoring, cruise control and a speed limiter.

Of course, you wouldn't have needed the latter before, so what of the drive? You hardly need me to expound on the difference between the 1.4 diesel's 70bhp at 4,000rpm and 120ft lbs of torque at 2,000rpm, when measured against this model's 110bhp and 194ft lbs at the same engine speeds. The 1007's now a model you can contemplate rash choices in. In one morning I actually overtook two whole cars. And they weren't parked up.

On the motorway, it can breeze along, the engine very smooth and quiet. Mated to this unit, the steering feels less disconnected and, though it's not going to outpace or out-handle a superbike on the B4132, you will at least not be left reeling like a startled milkman. True, to satisfy Euro NCAP's five-star rating those heavy doors ensure the 1007 handles a little ponderously, but as an all-round little family car, it's now perfectly practical and certainly quick enough.

So how does that affect the fuel figure? The 1.4 claimed to put an average of 64.2mpg. Admirable but hard to prove, given the above. This one lays claim to 58.9mpg, which is hardly a planet-wrecking sacrifice (with the CO2 being up by just one gram per kilometre, at 125) for the price of actually getting there. On my test, albeit brief but with a fair mix of roads, 38.7mpg was achieved in all. Clearly a figure comfortably into the 40s should be feasible.

We can safely consider this 1.6 as the 1007's redemption from Tiscali's diesel dog house. The door thing remains an issue, but if you want a neat, small MPV with (surprisingly) practical rear load space thanks to the slide-action rear seats, this is an affable and attractive choice - and a marked step up from those key rivals that whiff of adapted van.

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