No clutch pedal required

Many fleets are considering small A/B class vehicles for their fleets but many find that some drivers won’t consider a manual vehicle because they are not familiar with the clutch pedal, while others find that the performance of an automatic is lacklustre.

It’s the old conundrum of you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

However, Peugeot New Zealand has introduced a unique 207 XS model for those fleets who want the best of both worlds. It has a single robotised clutch which automatically changes the gear; therefore no clutch pedal is required.

Dubbed A/T for automated transmission, the system is not unlike the robotised single clutch Selespeed transmissions found in Fiats and Alfa-Romeo passenger cars.

Like the Selespeed gearbox the 207 XS A/T requires a different mindset to get the best performance and smoothness from the five-speed transmission. After a week with the vehicle we found that it will appeal to people used to a manual, but those who treat the car as an automatic will be disappointed.

By placing the gear stick in “D” and driving off, we found that the change from first to second a bit jerky and the gearbox is often reluctant to change up but thankfully downshifts are a great deal smoother. The twin-clutch automated transmission found in the new Peugeot 4007 SUV is a great deal smoother.

But as we said earlier people who grew up driving manual vehicles will find the manual mode a great deal more to their liking. By slotting the chrome handled gear shift across to the left drivers can then change up and down the gears using the paddle shifters on each side of the steering wheel. 

Selecting reverse is made simple. Simply slot the lever from “D” to neutral position and straight into “R” for reverse.  We found that patience was needed for the clutch to fully engage reverse gear, because the robot could be a bit slow off the mark at times.

Powered by a 1.4 litre petrol engine that Peugeot co-developed with BMW (for the  front wheel drive MINI) this 207 has plenty of power for all occasions but offers decent economy as well.

Inside the 207 offers plenty of space for a small car, we found that four people could travel quite comfortably for longer distances. However they’ll need to travel reasonably lightly because with the seats up the boot space is only 270 litres.

Like big brother 308 and 407, the 207 has plenty of chrome touches around the cabin, the air conditioning works well and there is a single cup holder for those of us who need to collect a caffeine fix on the way to the office in the morning. We were slightly taken aback by the appearance of window winders for the rear doors but at least rear passengers can open a window should the driver leave the vehicle and remove the ignition key.  

Peugeot have always been good at supplying sporty handling cars with supple suspensions and the 207 A/T is no exception. The 207 A/T provided a quiet ride on motorway tarmac but was also quiet on chip sealed roads which can generally transmit more noise into the cabin.

The 207 A/T offers fleets a frugal, safe and economic car which is a little different to other boring but competent offerings in the A/B class.

Specifications:

Body type Five-door hatch  
Drive Front-wheel-drive 
Engine Type Inline four-cylinder petrol  
Engine Capacity 1360cc 
Max power 65kW @ 6000 rpm
Max torque 136Nm @ 4000 rpm
Fuel Consumption 6.2L/100km
C02 emission 146g/km
0 to 100kph N/a
Front suspension McPherson Strut
Rear suspension Torsion Beam
Roof Rack N/a
ABS Brakes Yes
Air Bags 4

ESP Yes
Air Conditioning Manual
Lap/diagonal belts 5
Satellite Navigation No
Electric seats No
Burglar Alarm Yes 
Panic Button No
Boot release Yes
Cargo Cover Yes
Boot Capacity 270L/1195L
Wheel type 15-inch steel
Spare Tyre Full size