The Peugeot 107 Verve
We review Peugot’s take on the Toyota Aygo and Citroen C1 – the Peugeot 107 Verve – with a road test over a week of mixed driving.
The Peugeot 107 is the smallest car in the Peugeot range. And essentially the same car is the smallest in the Citroen and Toyota range. Why? Because it’s the result of a slightly odd deal between PSA and Toyota to produce the same car in the same factory with different badges and slightly different noses.
Not that that is necessarily a bad thing. And nor is it that uncommon. Co-operation is the name of the game and car makers play at it all the time. The Ford KA and the Fiat 500 are the same under the skin and are also built in the same factory. As are others.
But when the cars look so similar, what’s the point? Well, it’s probably about making sure that Peugeot lovers have a city car if they want one, rather than letting them go off elsewhere. So is it worth having, this baby city car from Peugeot? We asked Claire to find out.
Claire reviews the Peugeot 107 Verve
Claire Reviews / Road Test the Peugeot 107 Verve
Having a dad like mine has turned me into a petrol head. Even from a young age I was out there ‘helping’ him fix the cars (which probably makes me one of the few women who can check her own oil and change a tyre) and wash them religiously every Sunday.
So as a complete petrol-head the novelty of having a new car to play with on a regular basis still hasn’t worn off. I really don’t mind what it is. Four wheels (preferably) and an engine (of any sort) is enough for me. So when dad phoned to say the new Peugeot 107 Verve was here and it was mine to review I was straight round to the office to pick it up.
The Peugeot 107 has a lot to live up to as its predecessor – the Peugeot 106 – was in production for a whopping 12 years before they ditched it for the 107 in the summer of 2005. The 107 is part of a group of three cars that share the same chassis and very similar exteriors (all apart from the nose) – the Peugeot 107, the Citroen C1 and the Toyota Aygo. What – if anything – has Peugeot done to make the 107 stand out from its siblings?
On first impressions I thought ‘oh it’s so tiny’ and ‘isn’t it cute?’. From driving the Peugeot 4007 last week to the 107 this week it was definitely an extreme down size, but I jumped straight in to have a look around.
The interior is pretty basic for a special edition model, even if it is a special edition of a bottom-end model – if that makes sense. It has a ‘plastic’, bland feeling to it, but it’s competent enough. Perhaps I’d expected it to be a bit more funky. I didn’t expect it to have leather seats and expensive trim in a car that costs you less than ten grand. Its just not that sort of car. But the inside isn’t as cute as the outside, although the rev counter on a stalk is quite sexy.
Having long legs I had a bit of trouble with the position of the steering wheel. I raised it to the highest point it went but I still felt like my knees were knocking the bottom of it every time I took my feet off the pedals. I’m usually comfortable pretty quickly in anything. But the 107 was never quite right. Or maybe it was just me.
The 107’s a small a car so I didn’t expect the boot to be massive. But when my boyfriend put his football bag in there it was full, with no room for anything else – not even my handbag. Which was a bit unfortunate as I’d offered to drop said boyfriend off for a round of golf. We obviously had to put the back seats down, but I still had a nine iron poking me in the back. But the clubs went in – just.
The Verve is equipped with central locking and has up to six airbags which can be turned off for when you have your children’s car seats in the car. The 107 gets a four star NCAP rating which gives all you mums and dads peace of mind that you and your family will be safe when travelling in the car. That’s one of the best in the ‘Midget Car’ category.
The 107 Verve has a 1.0L 3 cylinder engine – a new one on me. I’m used to something with more pots than this and it did seem a bit odd at idle. I kept getting the feeling the car was about to stall.It didn’t. It was just me. But I’m going to have to get used to engines like this – they’re going to become a lot more commonplace.
For such a small engine the 107 sat happily at 70mph along the motorway – completely buzz-free. It’s remarkably smooth-riding with an extremely sprightly feel to it. Handling around the town and country roads was very good and almost neutral. It’s very responsive and has a sort of ‘go kart’ feel to it. It feels a lot like the original Mini – loads of fun.
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