Puttin" on the Biarritz

Peugeot"s new Biarritz styling for its 207 model is designed to give a warm and luxury feel to the car. The name Biarritz conjures up images of sun and seaside from France"s luxury resort on the Atlantic coast, so it"s a tall order to match that feeling in the shape of a hatchback car. The Biarritz"s red hot colour selection certainly gives the car a feeling of warmth. But you really need the Biarritz sunshine to get the full benefit from the panoramic sunroof that runs almost the length of the car. This gives a very airy and spacious feeling to the five-door hatchback that I had on test and it coincided with the first week of good weather that we in this country recently enjoyed. So I was able to enjoy the Biarritz experience - or at least dream that I was driving along the French Atlantic coastline rather than the M4 to Longford. The Biarritz option for the 207 adds the extras of the panoramic sunroof, front fog lights and Bluetooth mobile phone operation. The sunroof is impressive in modest hot weather, but I"m not too sure if I could stick it when - or if ever - the real sun shines. All the same, it looks the part and sunroofs are always a much-regarded feature for Irish drivers. The front fog lights give the 207 Biarritz a better and stronger front-end look. They are a simple extra which add to the look. I gave the Bluetooth kit a try but it was not that satisfactory and took too much time to get connected. My mobile talks to most Bluetooth systems - some more easily than others - but in the case of the Peugeot 207 Biarritz, it was not the easiest or the clearest in terms of the connection. Apart from these extra features now being offered as standard, the car itself is a solid little performer. However, the 1.4 litre petrol engine is proving less popular as the swing to diesel power continues across the country. There"s a €1,000 price difference between the 1.4 litre petrol-powered Peugeot and the 1.4 litre diesel option. After the petrol car drive, I think that I would advise taking the diesel route, although I have not yet driven this car. That"s because of the economy numbers show that the diesel-powered car wins out hands-down. The slightly slower diesel version is almost 40 per cent more fuel efficient, while you take a modest drop in acceleration speed. Diesel power delivers lower CO2 levels, dropping the 207 diesel to band A from Band C for the petrol version. This means a saving of almost €200 in annual road tax costs on top of the economy savings. I"ve looked at the other petrol-powered 1.4 litre supermini cars on the market to assess the value of the Peugeot offering. That means focusing on the performance and measurable features rather than the extras, such as the panoramic sunroof. In performance terms, the 207 produces 75bhp which is a little less than average for this market segment of 17 other petrol-powered 1.4 litre cars. Engine torque is about average while the acceleration pace at 13.9 seconds for a 0 to 100km/h race is modest. The more expensive new Honda Jazz wins out in terms of power and pace. The 207 Biarritz is slightly below average in terms of economy with a final figure of 6.3 litres/100km (45mpg) regarded as relatively poor in today"s economy-conscious times. Ford"s new Fiesta scores better, as does virtually every other car other than the Volkswagen Polo and Seat Ibiza with their 1.4 litre petrol engines. Cars such as the Mazda 2 and Hyundai i20 with smaller engines deliver a more impressive acceleration pace with better fuel economy and lower prices. In an overall sense, the 207 Biarritz with its 1.4 litre petrol-powered engine is modest but expensively so. The car comes with a list price of €17,120 before delivery charges and 2009 special offers, for the three-door model, while you can get a slightly lower specification five-door SX entry model for €15,482, with the same engine performance. That seems like a lot extra for the Biarritz kit when one would like to see more economy and perhaps a little more pace. There are 'stop start" versions of the 207 on the way that will deliver these economy benefits. That"s what I would wait for.