More Than Just A Pretty Face?
by David Finlay (13 April 2006)

2006 has proved to be a good year for the 307 CC so far. First-quarter sales are 44% up on last year, so there's clearly strong demand for what remains one of the best-looking cars in the folding-roof coupé class. But that class is about to become much stronger, with the introduction of the Ford Focus Coupé-Cabriolet, the Vauxhall Astra TwinTop and the Volkswagen Eos. How are these cars going to affect the 307?

Among Peugeot devotees, they are not going to affect it at all. For those who are prepared to pick and choose, on the other hand, they represent very strong opposition. The 307 has been around for three years now, so it's certainly well-established, but at the same time there's a risk that it could be starting to feel out of date.

It doesn't look it. In this form the 307 has an elegance that is almost entirely missing from the hatchback on which it's based - that's why Peugeot used its profile for the 307 World Rally Championship contender. But although it seemed fresh and new three years ago, aspects that you could quietly forget about back then seem more of an issue now.

For example, the CC's case is not helped by the fact that its luggage volume amounts to 350 litres with the roof up. The opposition can beat that, admittedly not by much in some cases (and the reduction to 204 litres when the roof is stowed away isn't too bad for the class).

Other manufacturers are also promising decent room for four passengers in their forthcoming cars, and this is something the 307 CC simply doesn't have; despite claims that you can carry four adults, it would have saved a lot of effort and expense, and not really reduced the car's practicality, if Peugeot had abandoned the idea of a rear seat altogether.

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