The Wide-Mouthed Option
by David Finlay (30 Jul 07)

Peugeot has been creating vehicles since the 19th century - it was building horse-drawn carriages for the French army as far back as 1869 - but it has taken until the 21st for the company to move into the SUV market.

The 4007 is essentially a Mitsubishi Outlander (see road test). Broadly speaking, the arrangement is that Mitsubishi supplied PSA Peugeot Citroen with its new SUV platform in return for the use of the latter's 2.2-litre HDi turbo diesel engine. Mechanically, these cars - and the Citroen C-Crosser which is another part of the deal - are identical, though each manufacturer has added its own design touches to the basic shape.

Personally, I don't think that the wide-mouth look Peugeot has applied to all its current products is particularly elegant, and I'd place the 4007 bottom of the list in terms of looks. But Peugeot reckons that this model will outsell its close relatives in the UK, and when you compare the sales success of the three companies in this country it's difficult to come up with a reason why it wouldn't.

The 2.2 HDi engine which is one of three that Mitsubishi supplies with the Outlander (in addition to the 2.0 Volkswagen TDI and Mitsubishi's own 2.4-litre petrol unit) is the only one available in the 4007. Having experienced the 138bhp VW unit in the Outlander I was concerned about how successful the more powerful 156bhp HDI would be, and I think that concern was justified.

This is undoubtedly a very fine engine, but in two-wheel drive form the 4007 struggles to deal with the available power. Fortunately, a rotary switch on the centre console can be used to select either part-time or permanent four-wheel drive, and you'd be well advised to make use of it either on twisty roads or in damp conditions.

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