20Daily Record, June 13, 2008ROAD RECORDDriven byCAR makers are
working flat out
trying to
engineer the
most efficient engines as
fuel prices rocket.N
one more so than Peugeot.
They recently set a fuel
economy r
ecord of 90.9 miles per
gallon driving a diesel-engined
308 acr
oss A
ustr
alia.
W
ith an exper
t
at the wheel,
thousands of miles w
er
e
covered
in a car po
w
ered by the French
marque8217s latest two-litre HDI
engine
.
I8217ve just put Peugeot8217s two-litre
diesel engine through its paces in
the new 308 SW 8211 and the results
are impressive.
Ov
er a set r
oute thr
ough
countr
y
lanes and under nor
mal
dr
iving conditions
,
I
achieved
55.4mpg in the 308 SW 8211 almost
16 per cent mor
e
than the official
seats r
emains strictly for the
youngsters.
Nevertheless, the 308 SW is a
v
ery practical family vehicle with
plenty of user-friendly touches,
such as an opening rear window
in the tailgate which eases access
to the boot.
Air conditioning is standar
d
acr
oss the line-up
,
a
panor
amic
r
oof is fitted to S
port and SE
models but electr
onic stability
control is not available with S trim.
I
t8217s distinctively styled 8211 the
design team was actually led by a
B
rit, Keith Ryder, with the
char
acter
istic wide fr
ont gr
ille
and sweeping lines carried over
from the hatchback.
The appear
ance of the r
ear
end is also much mor
e
acceptable
than on pr
evious v
ersions
.
Wher
e
the 308 SW scor
es is with
its engines
.
The higher-powered
1.6-litr
e
THP petrol and two-litre
HD
i
diesels ar
e
exceptional.
A
part from great economy, CO2emissions ar
e
r
elatively low, with
the entire range spanning
125g/km for a 1.6-litr
e
diesel to a
maximum of 187 for a two-litre
diesel automatic
.
While the petr
ol engines ar
e
smoother and quieter to drive,
it is the 136bhp two-litr
e
diesel
which is most impressive as an
all-r
ounder
.
N
ot only does it deliv
er better-
than-average fuel figures, its
mid-r
ange acceler
ation belies
the 0 to 60mph time of
11.1 seconds
.
I
t
can be as spor
ty or as
economical as you want 8211
and ev
en using the official
average fuel consumption
figur
e
of 47.8 mpg, with
sev
en on boar
d
that
equates to about 1.6p
per mile per passenger
,
which is cheaper than
using the bus
.
2149 litr
es with all seats folded
down.
The front passenger seat can
no
w
be flattened to enable long
items to fit in, while the middle
and back seats can be taken out
completely if necessar
y
.
H
andling the seats is easier
than on pr
evious P
eugeot SWs,
but once r
emo
v
ed they are still
fairly heavy and cannot be stor
ed
in the v
ehicle 8211 unlike the fold-flat
arrangement available on many
MPVs
.
The seven-seat arrangement is
standar
d
on top-of-the-range SE
models
,
pr
iced fr
om 16319,195, and
optional on the mid-line Sport,
priced from 16316,395. Entry-level S
models ar
e
fiv
e-seat only and will
cost fr
om 16314,395 for a 1.4-litr
e
petr
ol 308SW
.
The 308 SW is significantly
bigger than the last gener
ation
307 SW and while ther
e
is more
r
oom in the cabin, the back pair of
av
erage fuel consumption figure
of 47.8mpg.
Equally remarkable was the
42mpg I managed in a 1.6-litr
e
petrol-engined 308SW, a 13 per
cent improvement over the
published 37.6mpg.
I
t
demonstr
ates just ho
w
much
can be sav
ed b
y
driving economi-
cally 8211 light use of the thr
ottle and
r
ight gear/r
ight time.
I
t
also proves that Peugeot have
some exceptional engines
av
ailable in the 308 range, which
was expanded when the SW
w
ent on sale this month.
As with pr
evious SW models
,
it
is basically a compact estate car
which can be configured as a
sev
en-seater on all but the basic
v
ersions
.
L
uggage space is a minimum
of 674 litr
es 8211 a super
mini boot
bigger than the r
oom av
ailable
on the 308 hatchback 8211 and
can extend to a maximum of Impr
essive. Remarkable.
Exceptional. Ther
e
can be
little doubt that CHRIS RUSSON
was well impr
essed by the ef
ficient
engines in Peugeot8217s 308 SW rangeA
SPECIAL edition
P
eugeot 207 aims to add
a
touch of glass to the
hatchback range.Complete with panoramic
glass roof, the 207 Cielo also
includes Bluetooth phone
c
onnectivity
,
cruise control and
metallic paint.
It will be available in three
d
oor and five-door versions,
a
nd with a choice of two petrol
engines, a 1.4-litre 75bhp unit,
or a 1.4-litre VTi 95bhp.
Prices start from 16311,995 for
the 1.4-litre 75bhp three-door
model, which Peugeot say
represents a saving of 163550
c
ompared to a 207 Sport
model specified with the above
as optional equipment.
S
ince its launch in 2006,
more than 118,000 Peugeot
207s have been sold in Britain.THE F
ord Fiesta ST is to
gain a special edition
packed with extra
equipment.Priced from 16315,000, and
called ST500, it will be limited
to just 500 in number and will
be distinguished by unique
styling touches and extras.
The Fiesta ST is renowned
for its punchy two-litre 148bhp
engine, sports-tuned steering,
lowered and stiffened sports
suspension and short-shift,
close ratio gearbox, which
creates its exciting ride.
The sporting heritage of the
best F
ord cars is carried on to
this special edition with
unique U-shaped stripes,
designed to echo the livery of
the classic Escort RS2000 of
the 1980s, and matching side
livery.
The Fiesta ST5008217s features
include 17in 11-spoke black
alloys, red brake callipers
and carbon fibre pattern
interior trim.
The interior also features a
Sony audio system and ebony
leather heated seats.Special 207
with clear
advantagesFord Fiesta
ST500 gets
its stripes
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