Peugeot 207 - Not Quite the Attention Stealer

It's been over a year since the Peugeot 207 was launched. Almost predictably, it hasn't been able to steal market share from either the Toyota Vios or the Honda City, two of the leading non-Malaysian cars that dominate the 1.5L - 1.6L sedan market for non-national cars.

And I must say, I'm not surprised. The chief reason is most likely the Peugeot 207 sedan's hard-to-like looks.

Granted that certain car designs take some getting used to, such that, after a certain time has passed, they epitomise the desired look of the time. While that can be said of the Peugeot 206 when it first came out, the Peugeot 207 has been another story altogether.

Simply put, the 207 sedan is like a 206 hatchback mated to the ugly butt taken from some weird never-before-seen French car.

Note that I'm not referring to the Peugeot 207cc. This two-seater hard-top convertible looks suitably stylish, a description which cannot be easily used for the Peugeot 207 sedan.

Of course, the narrative on the Peugeot 207 sedan at the Peugeot website would make you think otherwise, at least initially. But that's the effect of good copy writing, which doesn't always reflect reality.

"Whenever you travel, the dynamic design of the Peugeot 207 demands that other drivers sneak a second look. At first sight it has an assured and muscular presence, with its sporty curved lines. But take a closer look and you'll be drawn to its stylish and perfectly integrated feline appearance, a characteristic that gives the 207 an undeniably unique Peugeot appeal," says the description.
(see http://www.peugeot.com.my/discover/model=207/)

Really? Emm... I don't think so.

As the "other" driver, I never sneak a second look at the 207 sedan. Rather, I gawk in bewilderment almost every time I see a Peugeot 207 and can't help but say, "God! That's really ugly" most of the time.

And while an owner of the 207 sedan would have to be someone who is really self-assured, the car is far from muscular. Being rather tall, bulbous in many places and narrow in width, the Peugeot 207 does not exude the kind of toughness associated with muscle cars.

Of course, if you make the car look sporty, the Peugeot 207 sedan could look muscular and exciting, but then, you can do that with just about any car if you have enough money. And why should you have to? You might as well get a good, sporty looking car right off the production line, which isn't what the stock Peugeot 207 sedan is about.

Perhaps Peugeot's designers thought that all they had to do to have another winner was to rehash the award-winning, highly acclaimed Peugeot 206 by getting rid of its hatchback and giving it a sedan rear.

Well, clearly, that hasn't worked out very well, has it?

Peugeot may even try to redo the commercial for the 206 and rehash it for the 207 sedan. I doubt that a lot of people would be amused, not because the commercial's storyline is no longer novel, but because many people would simply go "huh?"

For those who haven't watched the 206 commercial, it's about an Indian dude who reshapes his old banger into a 206 because its design was so desirable, he was bound to get lucky with women.

Well, best of luck with the 207 sedan if that's what you're expecting to achieve.