Peugeot 4007 SV

Peugeot 4007 SV

Road Test

RRP: $53,190 (manufacturer's list price, excluding on-road costs and dealer delivery)
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Metallic paint $900, 18-inch alloy wheels $500, hands-free phone $500, Rockford Fosgate audio $1500
Crash rating: TBA
Fuel: Diesel
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 7.3
CO2 emissions (g/km): 192
Also consider: BMW X1 xDrive20d, Volkswagen Tiguan 103 TDi

About our ratings

For its size, price, brand cachet, diesel efficiency and sophisticated transmission, the Peugeot 4007 has all the hallmarks of a near-luxury SUV of the ilk of BMW X3 or Volvo XC60.

Yet we suggest that few buyers will consider the Peugeot against the BMW or the Volvo. While the Peugeot has a price advantage, it's a bitzer, unlike the other two. Combining a French diesel engine with a German twin-clutch transmission in a Japanese derived body actually works fairly well, but too many buyers in this market segment will struggle to get past the obvious Mitsubishi DNA.

Inside, the 4007 feels very much like the Mitsubishi Outlander on which the Peugeot is heavily based. The beauty of the French company slotting its 2.2-litre HDi diesel engine into the well engineered Outlander shell is that Peugeot has a ready-made SUV to offer the market, without all the expenditure normally required to create a new car from scratch.

The decision to settle on the Outlander as the platform donor was a pragmatic one, since the Mitsubishi is pretty well packaged and crams a lot of volume within a compact footprint. As Peugeot's first SUV, the 4007 has arrived in the local market with near-small-car width and parking sensors for manoeuvrability, respectable on-road dynamics, solid and safe engineering -- all supported by a fuel-efficient drivetrain supplied by Peugeot itself.

A few minor changes set the French car apart from the Japanese donor: the indicator stalk on the left-hand side, with lane-change facility; the removable ashtray/bin receptacle in the centre console (much beloved of French manufacturers); an ignition lock barrel for the key (higher-grade Outlanders offer keyless access/start); and the transmission mode switch for the exclusively Getrag-equipped 4007.

As for its Mitsubishi cousin, the 4007's head and legroom were better than adequate in the front and the same could be said for the second-row seating; perfectly roomy for two average-sized adults there. It's the optional third-row seat fitted to the Peugeot on test (an option in the basic Outlander LS auto also) that presents some degree of difficulty in operation.

For a start, there's the sheer lack of space for anybody other than younger teenagers once you leave enough room in the second-row seats for adults. The headroom would be adequate for most occupants, but the leg and kneeroom is really tight. And there's inadequate wriggle room under the second-row seating for toes.

Then there's the question of raising and lowering the seat. Not having driven the Outlander LS with this option, the Peugeot was our first exposure to it. When lowered into the floor (leaving respectable luggage space, it must be said), the seat rattles and thumps over bumps. Raising the seat is not especially straightforward and requires some muscle to accomplish.

Furthermore, to extract the seat base from its well in anticipation of sliding it forward into position, you virtually need to lower the fold-down section of the tailgate to reach the strap. Ergonomically, it's a good idea that lacks a certain something in execution. Mitsubishi must take credit and blame in equal parts...

That need for a bit of muscle also carries through to the second-row seat, which doubles over and tips forward on the driver's side 40 per cent section for easy ingress to the third row. It works well and quickly, but hauling it back down into place is a two-handed affair requiring some grunt.

As in the case of the Outlander, the two-piece tailgate of the 4007 is a clever piece of engineering and nearly redeems the rear seating vices. From its peak though, the upper section needs some weight to haul back down, but at least it opens high enough to leave clearance for average-height adults to walk beneath it without braining themselves.

On the other hand, it doesn't rise so high that it will make contact with a low roof in a garage, for example. And since the tailgate flips open in two units, it will allow grocery-loading in tight parking spots too. And if items being loaded in the rear of the 4007 are particularly heavy, the lower section of the tailgate can be folded down for the purpose of sliding the goods into the luggage section without having to lift them over the loading lip.

The Peugeot clearly benefits from other Mitsubishi legacy features such as the LCD display for the trip computer info in the instrument binnacle between the speedo and the tacho. It's clear to read in broad daylight and easy to use. The 'Info' button that operates the trip computer functions is tucked away out of sight behind the right arc of the steering wheel, but once you know it's there, it's easy enough to use.

Not everyone will necessarily appreciate the Mitsubishi stylist's art in a Peugeot -- or what Peugeot has done to the front end of the Mitsu, for that matter -- but the 4007's interior is attractive enough, while also being practical and serviceable. There's a nice mix of leather and bright-finish decorative trim to offset the dark plastic fittings. Seats are Euro-style in being firmer and flatter than is typical of many compact SUVs.

The adjustable elements of the driving position provide enough flexibility for optimum comfort and an unobstructed view of the instruments through the wheel, which is leather-bound and pleasant to steer. Power assistance for the steering is moderately weighted and the feel is there, although not in the same degree as in some compact SUVs.

Turn-in is better, especially with two-wheel drive selected. The Peugeot feels considerably more lively with just the front wheels driven, and even on unsealed roads you might prefer to leave the system in 2WD until the going gets tougher.

As a word to the wise though, too much torque from the engine through just the front wheels will generate substantial torque steer. Roadholding is up to standard, but the stability control system allows very little latitude for anything other than tracking around corners.

The Peugeot's ride is somewhat unyielding when compared with the Outlander XLS. Conversely, its on-road handling isn't as well resolved as in the case of the Outlander VRX. It seems, actually, more like a conventional SUV in the way it rides and handles than either of the two Mitsubishi variants.

It is not 'assisted' dynamically by the intrusive and over-protective stability control system on dirt. In other words, if you want a vehicle with wagon packaging allied with rally-car handling, you'd be better off with a Volkswagen Tiguan or a Mazda CX-7 -- or indeed the Outlander VR-X.

While the Peugeot diesel powering the 4007 is sporty in character, it's also undoubtedly noisy. During the week the 4007 was in our possession, we drove a diesel-engined light commercial vehicle that was actually quieter than the Peugeot, and a diesel-engined passenger car that could have been mistaken for a petrol-powered car after driving the Peugeot.

Other than the noise though, the engine complements the rest of the vehicle well. On open roads, it was consistently using under 8.0L/100km and in heavy traffic and commuting it was up around 11.0L/100km with a figure of 8.8L/100km overall.

Where the Peugeot's engine feels sportier lies in the way it rushes through the higher reaches of the rev range from a standing start -- once it's past the modicum of turbo lag and twin-clutch delay. It will literally reach as high as 5000rpm, and quickly with it.

This sporty character is further improved once you change the six-speed 'DSC' (twin-clutch Getrag) transmission's operating mode from 'Normal' to 'Sport' and shift manually.

The Getrag box was smoother than we recall of the same unit in the Ford Focus TDCi 12 months ago, and proved responsive for the most part, especially when shifting sequentially using the shift paddles, which are fixed to the steering column but are large enough to grab quickly when needed.

One concern with the Getrag transmission was its slowness selecting reverse gear on at least three occasions. The first such occasion, the driver thought he hadn't shifted the lever past Neutral into Reverse. The delay was at least a second or two.

Tyres could be noisy on coarser sections of road, but over the majority of country-road surfaces they were not too bad. Typically, wind was the principal source of noise once the car was running at cruising speeds.

Sadly, the 4007 is a car that offers little to back up the traditional Peugeot badge cachet and even less in the way of traditional Mitsubishi value. For the money, it's a purchase that's hard to justify.

Both BMW's newly released X1 and the Volkswagen Tiguan are ultimately better cars for less dosh. We also expect they'll hold their resale values better than the Peugeot.

But then, French car with Japanese engineering; maybe you would pay more for that?

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