Peugeot 1007 (2005 - 2009) 1.6 Sport 3d 2-Tronic Owner Review

Bought as my first car and it's done well in that role, but for anything more than local trips I couldn't recommend it. Came with zero service history and is the highest-mileage example I know of but mechanically has been faultless - starts right on the turn of the key every time. Fit and finish are ok for a cheap small car but it's certainly rattly and squeaky over imperfect UK roads and at speed.

2-tronic gearbox is awful - the "worst of both worlds" combination of manual and automatic. Doesn't crawl, rolls back on inclines, is indecisive about what gear it wants to be in and is generally just a nuisance which spoils the rest of the experience of what otherwise could have been a fairly nice car. Gearing is definitely tuned for city driving as it changes into fifth just above 30mph and thus cruising at 70 you'll be sitting at around 3500rpm, which is both droningly noisy and delivers disappointing economy on a run. That, combined with the tiny fuel tank, means it feels like I'm forever putting more petrol in it, which is frustrating if nothing else. Handling is surprisingly good with responsive & communicative steering making it fun to throw into corners, although the skinny tyres and high sides mean it's probably not wise to probe its limits too hard. Just as well the 110bhp 1.6 doesn't exactly endow the 1.4-ton 1007 with a great turn of speed, then.

Had a few issues (exhaust tip rusted off and was found laying on my drive one morning, o/s arch liner cracked and started flapping around causing noise under heavy breaking or when turning left, various pieces of plastic have broken off inside but I've never found where any of them actually came from) but it's always been cheap to fix and parts availability is good. Biggest expense was caused by me bending half the front suspension hitting a kerb at 30mph not long after getting my licence, but even that was only around £350 including labour so nothing too bad all things considered.

In all, the 1007 was a perfectly fine first car and would still be a good potential option for someone who just wants something cheap and easy to park for small trips, but. There's a reason they've always been so popular with the elderly, in other words. In fact I'm going to be passing mine on to my great aunt as she needs something ULEZ-compliant. However, if you're planning on doing lots of motorway driving (or indeed just want something that feels like it's powerful enough to get out of its own way) then I'd go for something else.