FirstDrive: Peugeot 4007Peugeot's first attempt in the soft-roader market offers the same as Mitsubishi's Outlander - and a little more, writes Toni Jalovaara
While the soft-road market has been growing fast, the French refused to join the show and as such have lost out. They then found themselves rushing to market. Developing a totally new car from point zero would have taken at least four years, and would be very expensive. So they opted for another route.
PSA Group - owner of the Peugeot and Citroën brands - has long traditions of co-operation with other car manufacturers: Fiat with vans and MPVs; Ford with diesel engines; BMW with petrol engines and so on. So it was very natural to do a deal with Mitsubishi. And only 22 months after signing a contract, Peugeot was ready to launch its first SUV.
Actually, the new 4007 is not technically Peugeot's first SUV. In the early 1980s Peugeot sold more than 13,000 P4-cars to the French army. That car was originally a Mercedes-Benz (or Steyr-Puch) G-series built in France and equipped with an Indenor-diesel. But it was never sold in dealerships, so for non-military folk the 4007 is Peugeot's first real foray into SUV territory.
You may think that Peugeot would try to hide the Japanese origins of the 4007. Not so. They proudly present the 4007 as the product of co-operation with Mitsubishi. Peugeot praises Mitsubishi as a leading manufacturer and specialist in 4x4 technology.
All this leads to a question: what is different in Peugeot's 4007 compared to Mitsubishi's Outlander?
The biggest visual difference is the front. To me, Peugeot and its sister Citroën C-Crosser - the third model to come from the Mitsubishi/PSA agreement - have more personality than the Outlander.
But this is, of course, a matter of taste. Whatever your viewpoint, you can easily identify the 4007 as a Peugeot. At least if you see it from the front. From the side and rear, the triplets are more difficult to tell apart.
There are two things which make Peugeot a better car than its Japanese sibling: the engine and suspension. Peugeot uses a new version of the 2.2-litre HDi diesel engine that it developed together with Ford.
Instead of the former twin-turbo system, there is now only a single turbo. But it doesn't matter, because you'll have a lot of torque on low revs, something you miss with Mitsubishi's 2-litre diesel.
The only option at present is a six-speed manual transmission, but later (maybe towards the end of 2008) Peugeot is going to give you an option of automatic transmission.
MITSUBISHI LIKES THIS NEW ENGINE so much that they'll offer it as an option later this year. In return Peugeot will be offering a 2.4-litre petrol engine, but that will be a special order only in Ireland. You'll get the same performance as the diesel, much less torque and much higher fuel consumption with this petrol engine.
Peugeot has a reputation for building comfortable cars, and it doesn't fall down this time either.
Much of the development time was used to alter the springs and shock absorbers to Peugeot's specification. For example, the rear springs and shock absorbers are not together as in Mitsubishi. But the changes in suspension, steering and brakes work beautifully. Peugeot glides along the road with somewhat more dignity than its Japanese rival, and in corners it doesn't feel like an SUV at all.
Finally to the bad news: Peugeot is trying to target the 4007 at the luxury end of the soft-road market. That means that the 4007 will arrive here in October with seven-seaters and lots of goodies inside. Which in turn means that prices are likely to be significantly higher than the entry-level Mitsubishi Outlander.
Factfile
ENGINE:2.2-litre 16 valve DOHC Intercooled Turbocharged HDi diesel engine putting out 156bhp @ 4,000rpm and 380Nm of torque @ 2,000rpm
SPECIFICATION:Standard features include dual front, side and curtain airbags; ABS With EBD and Brake Assist; ASC (Active Stability Control); Underfloor storage tray in cargo area; 16" alloys; dusk sensor lights; electric windows; climate control; air conditioning; cruise control, radio CD/MP3 player with six speakers and steering wheel audio controls;
Second equipment level adds: front foglights; roof rails; privacy glass; 18" alloys; rear parking aid; leather trimmed steering wheel and gearknob, and radio/CD
L/100km (MPG)
Combined: 7.2 (39.2)
CO2 emissions:191 g/km
PRICE:Unconfirmed but expect to be moderately higher than Mitsubishi Outlander which starts at €35,995