PEUGEOT 307 Test drive 5 doors 2001 - 2005 hatchback

Aquarium

The Peugeot 307 SW station wagon, presented last fall in Frankfurt, has already appeared in the salons of official dealers and is waiting for its buyer.
 
Honestly, I don't like the PEUGEOT 307 hatchback, despite the fact that he is an enlarged copy of the 206th. The tendency to create a range from cars on one face sometimes plays evil jokes. Another thing is the station wagon 307 SW: just a few strokes, and we have a completely different, although familiar car.
 
Due to the fact that the wheelbase increased by 10, and the rear overhang is 12 cm, it turned out to be a very harmonious profile with a well -expressed single -volume effect. But this is not a high minivan, like Renault Scenic, but rather an elongated hatchback with correct proportions. Let it not have the swiftness and aggressiveness of the Italian Sport Wagon, but it is also not like the heavy German Avant or Touring. Station Wagon is the most suitable name for it.
 
External changes affected the details inherent only to the station wagons. The rear lights gave a simpler shape to make the doorway wider. Ringing appeared on the roof for attaching the trunk. The third window extends the general silhouette and makes the rear racks not as wide as that of the hatchback, providing more viewing back. In this form, the car does not seem too high and hunchbacked.
 
For some time now, manufacturers have been trying to expand as much as possible the possibilities of using the salon, turning station wagons into real transformers. Peugeot 307 SW is no exception.
 
The seats of the second row are made in the form of three separate seats: two extremely 460 cm wide, the average - 410. They look very modest, but in fact are quite convenient. Each has slide for longitudinal movement and adjusting the back of the back, each is easily folded and rearranged. Two more seats can be placed in the trunk.
 
On the second row, there is enough space for legs, even when it is moved forward, but on the third, perhaps, only the children can accommodate: the floor is high and the roof is close, and to the rear window only ten centimeters.
 
If you remove all the seats, except for the front ones, you get a cargo compartment with a volume of more than 2 m3.
 
A rather interesting solution is a glass roof, thanks to which 307 SW resembles an aquarium. I don’t know how nice it will be to be in the cabin in winter, but in the summer it is excellent: the blue sky, the sun, even droplets of rain create a special, cozy environment. And from the curious views of passengers of trolleybuses and trams, you can fence off a hard curtain. True, when closing, for some reason it creaks, and the control key is located in an uncomfortable place - between the front seats, but these flaws do not spoil the overall impression of a car, stuffed with pleasant trifles: here you have folding tables in the backs of the front seats, and magnetic holders of castles Safety belts, and a grid for securing the cargo, and much more. Comfort consists of such trifles.
 
From a technical point of view, some changes have also occurred. Due to the increased mass of the car, the stiffness of the springs and the thickness of the reptile stability stabilizer are increased, and shock absorbers are used in the rear suspension than on the hatchback. The 16-inch wheels 205/50 not only gave the car a solid look, but also increased control accuracy. Thanks to all this and increased base, the behavior of the station wagon on the road has improved. On irregularities, it is no longer so shocking, and in control, the car began to resemble a family sedan more.
 
The tested car was equipped with a 2-liter 16-valve engine and an automatic four-speed TipTronis transmission that allows manual gearboxes. This version of the station wagon has perhaps the widest opportunities among others. The machine facilitates movement around the city, 137 hp. And manual switching allows you to pat the nerves to rivals on traffic lights, and a good supply of traction is to move confidently even with a fully loaded salon.
 
You can also use two automatic transmission modes - sports or winter. In sports switching occur in the zone 5500-1, which is only 500 revolutions less than the maximum. However, do not forget that the settings of the car are shifted to a comfortable area, and try to go through a turn with a handbrake - this is not a spectacular turn.
 
We especially note the brakes. Equipped with ABS and an electronic brake forces regulator, they allow you not to bring the matter to turn on the anti -circus system and work very accurately in any situation. The driver feels exactly the slowdown that he counts on.
 
Here you have a new modification! In appearance - Peugeot 307, but in practice - a completely different car: other behavior on the road, a different interpretation of universality and comfort. In cost ($ 22400), of course, is close to a higher class, but, taking into account the list of configuration for an entire page, we can say that 307 SW is worthy of its price.
 
Technical characteristics of Peugeot 307 SW
 
Body: bearing, whole.
Number of places, people: 5+2
Equipped mass, kg: 1391
Complete mass, kg: 1977
Dimensions (length/width/height), mm: 4420/1757/1544
Base, mm: 2708
Maximum speed, km/h: 196
Acceleration time to 100 km/h, C: 12.0
Fuel control (mixed cycle), l/100 km: 8.8
Engine:
- Type: in order, 4-cylinder
- working volume, cm3: 1997
- Power, L.S. at min---1: \u200b\u200b137/6000
- Torque, NM at MIN-1: 190/4100
- power system: distributed injection
Transmission: automatic., 4-speed
Tire size: 205/55R16
Wheel suspension: independent
Brakes (front/rear): disk, vent./Disk
Steering: with an amplifier
Price, $ - 22400
 
Text: Dmitry Belov
 

A source: Magazine 5 wheel [06/2002]