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The Peugeot 207 1.4 Active is, at first glance, an ordinary little hatchback. Priced at R170 000, it seems initially to be fighting an uphill battle against cheaper opposition. The Hyundai i20 1.6, for example, costs R160 000 and has a bigger engine, with more power.
But the 207’s appeal is something that grows on you. It is a matter of class. The motor is pleasantly quiet and while you might think the little Peugeot is no road rocket, it is surprisingly nimble on the road when you press it hard.
Small things mean a lot in this market. The fact that the driver’s window has an automatic up/down function; that you get cruise control AND a speed limiter; climate control; doors that lock as you drive off; an onboard computer with a wide range of information including distance to next service, as well as standard items such as fuel consumption, distance to emptry, average speed, date, outside temperature, average and instantaneous fuel consumption…
Of course there are French idiosyncrasies. The fuel consumption is shown in km/litre, instead of litres per 100km (it averaged out to about 14km/litre, or around 7.2l/100km in the more usual form. Oh, and the fuel tank holds 55 litres.) And the speedometer is marked out in odd numbers instead of even.
The instrumentation dials are attractive red numbers on while background, there are fuel and temperature gauges, and the whole car has a solid feel.
From the outside, the Peugeot “Prancing Lion” is used to excellent effect on the grille – big and bold, making sure you know this is a Peugeot, proud of its French history. (It must be said that an Italian lady of my acquaintance confused the Peugeot Lion with a Prancing Horse and thought I was driving a Ferrari! That says a lot for the styling of the little 207, and perhaps even more about her imagination.)
There is excellent headroom in the cabin and generally a feel of solid build quality harking back to Peugeots of old. The shiny top of the gearknob, however, looks a little cheap and could easily be replaced with a leather cover. Steel wheels are standard (with a full-size spare) and, another surprise in a car of this price, the rear windows are operated manually. (For anyone who has little kids in the back this could be a plus point as they can’t play with the electric windows …)
The motor in the 1.4 Active puts out an impressive 70kW and 136Nm. As usual for a French car safety is high on the agenda; there are front and side airbags and the 207 boasts five stars in the Euro NCAP crash test. There is a service plan for four years or 60 000km and a three-year, 100 000km warranty.
Peugeot are showing with this features-laden car that they are getting back on track to their proud traditions of the past. You may be paying a little more for the 207 but, in the 1.4 Active, they are making a robust attempt to get right back into the battle.
The new Kia Cerato saloon has earned a lot of praise in the short time it has been on South African roads. Admiration has been expressed for its classy looks, spacious interior and solid performance.
I stepped into the Cerato after a spell in the Hyundai i20 hatchback, which could be called its close cousin because Hyundai and Kia are to all intents and purposes the same company.
There’s an even stronger link than that because the Cerato I was driving, the 1.6-litre, has the same engine as the i20. The difference is that the 1.6-litre i20 is the big brother of its range and the 1.6 Cerato has 2-litre siblings, including one with an auto gearbox.
Pricing on the Cerato is as follows: the 1.6 5-gear manual, R179 900; the 1.6 auto, R189 900; the 2-litre 5-speed manual, R199 995; and the 2-litre auto, R209 995.
It is competing in the class dominated by Toyota’s Corolla, which starts at R179 000 for an entry-level 1.3-litre. VW’s cheapest Jetta, the 1.6 Trendline, costs R216 000.
As I was saying, I came to the Cerato from the i20, which I absolutely loved, so it was going to be a hard act to follow. And so it proved. I did not like the indirect feel of the Kia steering, noted that the driver’s door window had only an auto-down function, not an auto up-AND-down, and that the engine seemed to be more noisy, at the same speeds, than the Hyundai hatch motor. (Yes, I know they are the same, but the one seems to be differently geared).
But the Cerato certainly grows on you. After a while I discovered that when you were in a hurry and drove it hard, the Kia was a lot of fun.
It has other plus points, including connectivity for iPod, USB and auxiliaries; comfortable seats; a comprehensive onboard computer which showed, among other things, that the fuel consumption got as low as 7litres per 100km at one stage; there are smart alloy wheels; and the boot is big. (One irritating thing about the boot that must be mentioned – there seems to be only two ways of opening it, one through a lever next to the driver’s seat and another through a button on the remote-control fob. Unfortunately the fob button did not always work, meaning you had to use the interior lever every time. This might be seen as a security device, preventing passers-by from popping the boot when you are stuck in traffic, but it was annoying.)
Cars in this class are normally regarded as Blandness Inc, but the Cerato is not at all bad-looking. The lines are clean with the suggestion of a power bulge on the bonnet.
Surprisingly the car does not complain when front occupants don’t door up their seat belts, but it does beep if you leave the key in the ignition with the driver’s door open.
There are no door bins for rear occupants but there is a storage bin/armrest between the front seats.
The tank holds 54litres (against the 45litres of the Hyundai i20), the motor puts out a satisfying 91kW and 156Nm. You get most of the things you expect in a car of this class and a lot more than is offered in its price rivals.
The Cerato is part of the Kia campaign to offer as wide a range of models as possible, from the appealing Picanto, the bigger Rio hatch, the eye-catching Soul and the oddly named pro-cee’d (that’s how they write it) , the popular Sportage, the big Sorento and Sedona).
Certainly this classy saloon won’t let the side down and will play a part in the continued growth of Hyundai/Kia.
The Cerato comes with Kia’s extraordinary five-year/150 000km warranty and a three-year/60 000km service plan.
