Category: Peugeot

The Distinct Qualities of the Peugeot 308

In 1984 Peugeot introduced the stunning 205 GTI, 3 door & T16 – cars to reign supreme in the buying public’s affections.

Over the nine years which followed, Peugeot sold vast numbers of GTi’s worldwide. Just before the 206 GTi got in and Peugeot then retailed around the thick end in the UK before the model finally bowed out in the spring of 2006, to make way for further progress and development.

But in 1983, Peugeot launched the pleasantly looking, mass-market 205 hatchback, discovered a cheaper type of plastic with which to trim its cabins, and started to pump out motors by the million. This is where the point at which Peugeots became seriously popular and world renowned, however, this is also the moment that they stopped to be a cut above Fords, Vauxhalls and Renaults.

At present, Peugeots are not notable for being of high-quality, classily and well built furnished cars, and that makes it all the more surprising that the Peugeots new 308 hatchback has a cabin that’s a lot nicer even just to sit in compared to that of the Volkswagen Golf. The Peugeot 308’s dashboard is more elegantly sculpted, and skinned with pleasantly tactile plastics and elegant faux aluminum creating a beautiful ambience of near luxury and riches.

The area is large, meekly retro-styled, a sensibly sited sat nav screen, though this one is an option, air-conditioning controls that is comparable to an Audi, and most importantly very comfortable seats that would make for a delightful cabin. This Peugeots is generally spacious and a little roomier than the class average. This vehicle can also be optionally crowned with a huge pane of tinted glass.

Peugeot has truly made its quest for improved quality and this has been very well projected with the emergence of the 308, it enhanced cabin ambience, and in these respects the 308’s 307 predecessor fell well short of the mark. The 307 was sleekly finished and practical, but some of its early versions and models have met serious electrical problems. Extensive fixes had already been sorted and the component of the 308 is considered the enhanced and is deemed far better than the 307.

Although silhouette and great height is comparable to 307 owners, the 308’s excellent exterior and finer detailing gave it a more classy and elegant look, and its extra restraint and “open-mouth” grille produce an assertive look. The newer generation Peugeot 308 is really too large because of the spacious area, but this one is very distinctive and unique.

This modern-day evolution of 80s hot hatchery bears a reputation for being practical and easy to live with in even in town or country and boasts the interior space to accommodate passengers and their belongings with great ease. The lack of high-speed noise is complemented by the suppleness absorbing most bumps other than the short, sharp kind acquired from broken surfaces.

This soft suspension produces safe, fluent progress over twisting roads and corners, even if the 308 is neither as poised nor as deft as the best-in-class Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf. Keen drivers would certainly enjoy this particular vehicle with its unique and distinct characteristics.

Passengers would prefer to have the 308’s airy interior, roomy at both front and rear. The Peugeot 308 has great space for everything and this is one of its diverse qualities. If the space it provides is on a par with the VW and Ford, then the discretionary glass roof and pleasant trim colors make it a nicer environment.

The Peugeot 308 is yet another fine effort and innovation showing that, despite the changing rules has emerged a dictated and more grown-up approach. The French car maker has lost none of its edge in the search for quality and excellence.

About the Author

Written on behalf of Total Fleet Services by John Eva Peugeot Leasing – Peugeot 308 Leasing

Feb 03, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

The History of Peugeot

Peugeot began its reign in motorsports since the very beginning with the entering five cars for the Paris-Rouen Trials in 1894. These motorsport trials are largely recognized as the first motor sports competition. It was not until 1912 that Peugeot made its most notable contribution to the world of motor sports when one of the entered cars won the French Grand Prix. This winning Peugeot car was advanced and influential for later designs as the Peugeot featured a dual overhead cam configuration with four valves per cylinder. The Peugeot innovation made it such that the engines could be smaller and kick out maximum horsepower versus relying on larger heavier engines to get the desired horsepower.

1913 marked an excellent year for Peugeot in racing as they won the Indianapolis 500 and the French Grand Prix. Interestingly enough, when one of the Peugeot racers remained in the US during WWI, parts could not be acquired from France for the 1914 season. The owner of the car, Bob Burma, had the Peugeot serviced under the mechanic, Fred Offenhauser. The familiarity with the Peugeot engine was the basis of the Miller racing engine which led to the Offy racing engine.

The racing team had a great deal of success wit hthe Peugeot 504 and the four wheel drive turbo charged 205 model. The 205 model is by far the best selling Peugeot model of all time, with the discontinuation of the model happening in the near future. The Peugeot 206 rally car enjoyed successes in championships beating the well known Subaru Impreza. The 206 was retired from rally racing after being nearly unbeatable during its reign as a racing force. The 206 was replaced in rally racing with the 307, which is nowhere near what the 206 established. In the races, transmission troubles gave the car poor results, which made it a far cry from the 206.

In the 1990s, the Peugeot 406 saloon was largely referred to as a sedan in many countries. The Peugeot 406 competed in the touring car championships worldwide with success in France, Germany and Australia. The mid-1990s were characteristic of the 406 losing popularity because of lackluster performance in racing. The lack of success was largely based on suspension problems, and the Peugeot 406 earned a poor reputation. After the fact, the Peugeot 406 was declared to be underpowered and the team was underfunded. Had the Peugeot team been better funded, the Peugeot 406 could have a better standing reputation today. In 2001, Peugeot entered three 406 models in to the British touring car championship to compete with Vauxhall Astra coupes. The Peugeot 406 was at the end of its production life cycle and was not competitive with the newer, more technologically advanced vehicles in the race. The Peugeot 307 replaced the 406, with the 307 having lackluster success as well. In all reality, had Peugeot stuck with the 206, they might still have a dominant rally racing prowess.

About the Author

Paul Ruston writes articles on Robins and Day. More articles written by the author related to Peugeot Dealer, Peugeot 206 and Peugeot 207 which can be found on the web.

Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_524621_31.html

Feb 03, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

An In-Depth Look at the Peugeot 307

The Peugeot 307 is a family car which has been in production since 2001. In the year 2002, it was awarded the European Car of the Year title. Production continues to this day for the Peugeot 307, despite the launch of the 308, the intended successor to the Peugeot 307. The hatchback production models were first introduced back in European markets in 2001as the successor to the 306. The Peugeot 307s were sold worldwide in Australia, New Zealand and Asia, but not in Canada. Peugeot 307s were even sent to Mexico and were sold in a 1.6 and 2.0 liter engines which were gasoline powered.

The Peugeot 307 made use of a reworked 306 platform, which is consistent with the Citroen Xsara and the Citroen ZX. Despite using the same platform, the 307 is much larger than the 306 in every direction. The styling consistent with the 307 was first seen on the Peugeot 206 and Peugeot 607 models. The Peugeot styling came with upswept headlights and a highly sloped windscreen. The styling seen on the 206 was the first departure from the Pininfarina styling and the 307 is consistent with this departure. The Peugeot 307 has a height of 59.4 inches which lands itself in the middle of the spectrum between small family cars and compact MPVs. Some people even consider the 307 as a low compact MPV because of its height and profile. The wedge shaped body of the Peugeot 307 gives it a very long front end, but the car is equipped with four doors, making the Peugeot 307 a family car.

Initially, the Peugeot 307 was a 3 and 5 door hatchback and was not made into a sedan until the year 2002 with the release of two estate models. The Peugeot 307 Break and 307 SW are externally identical, with the SW version having silver roof bars and a ¾ length panoramic glass roof as standard equipment. The Peugeot SW is much more versatile than the Peugeot Break model as the SW features an optional third row of removable seats, which makes it of the MPV configuration. The Peugeot SW only exists because a compact MPV was not developed by Peugeot, unlike Citroen. Citroen developed the Xsara Picasso to exhibit a flexible but road stylish car.

The 2005 models of the Peugeot 307 were revised to compete with the rivals that emerged in the market since the original release of the Peugeot 307 in 2001. Among styling changes, the Peugeot 307 featured a larger air intake which was first established by the Peugeot 407.

Rally racing in the form of the Peugeot 307 WRC based on the 307 CC, which replaced the very successful Peugeot 206 WRC in the World Rally Championship in 2004. The vehicle was nicknamed, “The Flying Frog” and “The Whale” was plagued by transmission problems and only came into its racing prowess as the model was discontinued at the end of 2005.

About the Author

Paul Ruston writes articles on Robins and Day. More articles written by the author related to Peugeot Dealer, Peugeot 206 and Peugeot 207 which can be found on the web.

Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_524623_31.html

Feb 03, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post