11/04/08

• Price22,790-£25,490
• We like...Smooth ride, punchy engine
• We don't...Too dear; cramped rear seats

The 4007 gives Peugeot fans a seven-seat off-roader. But how ds it rate against other 4x4s?Peugeot has never made an off-roader here before but, with an eye to the 160,000 of us who bought a new one last year, it’s joined the party. Will it make it as a newbie? Well, the Peugeot 4007 certainly looks distinctive. But, if it is to lure buyers away from the Land Rovers or Hondas they’d look to first, it needs a trick or two.

There’s plenty that’s good about it. On-road, it’s easy to drive and smoothes the bumps beautifully. The Peugeot 2.2 diesel engine is peachy smooth and quiet even at motorway speeds. The cabin is comfy and looks hard wearing. The boot is big and has a handy tailgate flap that’s strong enough to sit on.
Its strongest claim is that it can seat seven when a similarly priced Land Rover Freelander or Honda CR-V takes just five. In the 4007 there’s an extra pair of chairs, stowed in the boot floor until you need them.

But they’re not much cop. First, to summon them you need strength and cleverness. And even then they are suitable only for small kids, who’ll quite reasonably complain that they can’t see out of the windows. Finally, in ours they were cloth covered where the other seats are leather.

And there’s the question of how far will it take you off-road. Peugeot, perhaps sensibly, reckons few owners will ever go bolder than a muddy corner of the car park. So it lets them keep to front-wheel drive, with the option to switch power to all four wheels or lock the differential (for maximum grip), where needed. We’ve taken the 4007’s near-identical sister, Citrn’s C-Crosser, across a muddy field and can say that it did okay. But if you’re buying an off-roader, it should off-road, right? And where a Freelander has the gears, ground clearance and grip to go anywhere, the 4007 just isn’t there.

Which wouldn’t be a problem, were it not for its price? As it stands, you can buy a Freelander or a CR-V for plenty less. The Peugeot 4007 has its extra seats and a few more gadgets. But its rivals promise, respectively, ground-crossing toughness and utter dependability while each gives off a whiff more class. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi’s Outlander shares the 4007’s body and running gear and sells for £19,400.

If Peugeot dropped spec and price to introduce a £19,000 version, to match Mitsubishi and beat the others, we’d say, buy it. But, at the 4007’s current costs, we just can’t do that.

• Engines2.2 HDi
• Power156bhp
• 0-60 mph9.9sec
• Economy39.2mpg
• CO2g/km191
• Insurance groups13
• EuroNCAP
• Airbags6
• Seats7

Motors.co.uk value verdict: