Peugeot 207 Active

The Peugeot 207 has been on the UK scene for more than five years now, so it’s not the most up-to-date supermini. It’s not the roomiest or the best to drive, either, and it doesn’t match the Volkswagen Polo for quality and reliability. In its favour, it has two excellent diesel engines (a 70bhp 1.4 and a 92bhp 1.6) that we’d recommend to company car drivers who can benefit from the fuel and tax savings, and two turbocharged petrol engines (a 95bhp 1.4 and a 120bhp 1.6) that were developed by Peugeot and BMW. The 1.6 is only available with an automatic transmission. There’s also a non-turbo 1.4 developing 75bhp. The 207 Active is competitively priced and equipped. Air conditioning, remote locking, electric front windows and electric door mirrors are standard, but there are no side curtain airbags, and electronic stability control is an option.

Good points

The 207 is a smart-looking car that’s pleasant to drive. It’s agile in corners and has Peugeot’s trademark soft suspension. The two diesels and the turbocharged 1.4 are very good, and the interior is nicely finished, if not class-leading, for quality. There’s a good range of driver’s seat and steering column adjustment, and with air conditioning, steering wheel-mounted stereo controls and a Bluetooth phone connection as standard, it’s not necessary to go crazy splashing out on options.

Bad points

The 207 isn’t really big enough for more than a couple of adults and small kids, so if you need something with plenty of rear-seat legroom, this isn’t the car for you. Electronic stability control, which is standard on a Ford Fiesta or Kia Rio, is a £210 option. With the base 1.4 engine the 207 isn’t very powerful, but this is the only version that’s priced at less than £12,000, and you’ll lose around two-thirds of what you paid over three years – make sure you take advantage of the big discounts that are available at dealers. Reliability has sadly proved to be patchy.

What you get

• Folding rear seats
• Passenger & Driver airbag
• Front side airbags
• Front fog lights
• Manual air conditioning
• Leather steering wheel
• Height adjustable driver's seat
• Front electric windows
• Single CD player
• Bluetooth

Recommended optional extras

• Electronic stability control

Our choice

The diesels are the best engines, but it’s hard to justify the cost of them unless you do a high mileage, so the 95bhp 1.4 petrol is the one we’d pick.