Review of the new Peugeot 107 Urban Lite

If just over £8,000 for a little citycar sounds like a lot to you, then you're not alone. Peugeot's marketers thought so too. So it is that we have an entry-level 'Urban Lite' version of their 107 for a little over £7,500. After all they reasoned, if Citroen could sell their near identical C1 for around this kind of money, then so could they.

Don't expect too many bells and whistles of course. Those in search of niceties like body-coloured bumpers, electric windows and central local will need to find another £500 for the standard 'Urban' variant, which like this car, can be ordered with either three or (for £350 more) five doors. To be fair, the Urban Lite does come with electric power steering, driver and passenger airbags, a stereo radio / single CD player with MP3 socket, ABS with EBFD (Electronic Brake Force Distribution) and CSC (Cornering Stability Control). Only three colours are available to Urban Lite customers, namely Citrus Yellow, Laser Red or Raven Black.

Those of you who keep tabs on the motoring scene may already know that the 107 came about as a result of as partnership between PSA Peugeot Citroen and Toyota. Manufactured at a specialist plant in Kolin in the Czech Republic, the 107 represents a third of the factory's 300,000 annual output, with a good proportion of the baby bouncing Czechs heading for the UK, one of Peugeot's biggest global markets.

The design brief for the 107 was to engineer a compact car with an assertive character, versatile in use and above all, totally at ease in the urban environment. To meet these criteria, a number of restrictions were placed on the initial proposal. The length of the car wasn't to exceed 3.5 metres, yet a whole host of safety features needed to be included, as well as enough wheelbase to accommodate a five-door body style.

".aimed at those who see a car more as a practical tool rather than a fashion statement.."

The final execution has exceeded initial requirements, breaking the tape at 3.43 metres long. This makes it fully 25cm shorter than the old 106. The dimensions of the 107 can really only be appreciated when walking around the car. Compared to the 1007 that Peugeot introduced around the same time - itself no giant - the 107 is smaller in every regard. The three-door shape looks the most comfortable from a design perspective, but the five-door could well continue to prove to be a bigger commercial success. The angled window line gives the car a cute wedge profile and the flared rear haunches really emphasise the wheel-at-each-corner design.

In recent times, changes to this car's exterior have included a stylish 'new face', with chrome detailing and a revised wheel trim design to bring a more youthful appearance. The interior has also been upgraded and includes smarter upholstery materials which complement brighter exterior colours in the range. The basic design recipe however, has changed little since launch and features some neat touches.

The glazed-in area surrounding the rear window is finished in black, giving it a very distinctive rump, especially when the car is painted in paler colours. The front end also features the wide mouthed Peugeot family design debuted on the 407. Coupled with the huge eyes created by the headlamps, this gives the 107 a more distinctive face than virtually any other car on sale today. Expect to see aftermarket accessory companies launch a range of self adhesive teeth or eyelashes.

Only one engine choice is available - a three-cylinder 1.0-litre powerplant that develops 68bhp. You can see why Peugeot places so much reliance on this engine. It properly reflects the 107's urban bias and offers a sprint to 60mph that takes 14 seconds. More importantly, this engine is predictably excellent in terms of fuel economy and emissions. The combined economy figure is 62.7mpg and emissions are pegged at an excellent 106g/km.

To ensure the optimum safety of its passengers, the 107 relies on its structure for high speed impact protection - quite an accomplishment considering that a small car has to absorb impact energy quickly. Each passenger seat can accommodate a child seat, while the 50/50 split rear bench seat is equipped on both sides with ISOFIX fixtures incorporating three anchorage points for the installation of an ISOFIX child seat. This overall design places the 107 in the best possible position to satisfy Euro NCAP criteria for the protection of occupants.

In the design of the front of the vehicle and the layout of the different mechanical components of the 107, careful attention has been paid to the consequences of a collision with a pedestrian. Thanks to a special impact beam in front of the bumper and a bonnet that creates the maximum possible distance between it and mechanical components underneath, pedestrian protection is maximised.

The Peugeot 107 Urban Lite is aimed at those who see a car more as a practical tool rather than a fashion statement. Certainly, the design of the 107 remains a stylish, practical solution to modern city motoring.

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