Leeroy Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 I was at a Peugeot dealer this weekend having an exhaust fitted, and borrowed an RCZ while the work was being done. It's not a car that I (or probably anyone here) would aspire to, but I've read good things about it, particularly in Evo and was keen so see how it drove. I only had it for an hour or so mind, but I thought I'd give my opinion. First off, the clutch is really light, clearly the controls have been designed to be easily used by the sort of people who generally buy a...well....mainstream coupe. Backing this up is the button right in the middle of the centre console to pop the rear boot spoiler for posing - although be fair I did play with it few times The steering is twirly light at parking speeds but actually weights up nicely once you're pressing on and press on I did - at around 3500-4000rpm in 3rd/4th (on boost) the thing shifted really well. The rest of the time it felt a bit 'breathless' and engine braking seemed non-existant (the engine is the 197bhp 'Mini' unit). 1st and second gear are very short so pulling away from rest is a bit of a chore. Grip was excellent and feel through the wheel was impressive, very neutral on corners. Weight transfer was dealt with well too, it was fun to thread through the bends on my local B-road and the brakes were excellent. The exhaust note was good too and would be even better with an S/S item, apparently there's a new dealer option to add another 2 exhaust tips to the right hand side which would give 4 tailpipes and improve the already good looking back-end. That brings me neatly onto the styling. I like it (there I said it!) but the front end is all wrong. Peugeot made a major ****-up using the current generic Pug front end - they did so well with the rest of the car, double bubble roof and all. Apologies for the crappy 'phone pics. The interior was alright too. You can see why the top spec GT comes in at only £25K though, there's a fair bit of hard plastic, but it was offset by the leather trimmed dash on the car I drove. The back seats are unusable unless you're a dwarf or 3 years old. All in all it's a good thing to drive and it was fun to be managing slip and oversteer at the front after driving a RWD. As I said to the sales chap, it's not ballsy enough for me but it might make sense as a second car for the other half. I'd definitely consider one if I was in the unlikely position of looking at TT's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Front, no. The rest of it, hell yeah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oedo Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 My neighbour has one which I've sat in and had a nosey round. Like most people I really like the looks apart from the corporate nose. The interior I thought was high qaulity, a very nice place to be. It'll be marmite to some but the faux leather dash really appealled to me. There is some sort of higher spec model now which comes in white with stripes down the doors, blacks alloys and the 4 exhuasts you mention, looks brilliant. Would like to drive one some day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chesterfield Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Needs more grunt and the back end evening up with another twin exit pipe. I can see insurers upping the glass excess for those too. However unlikely they are to break, in the event of a freak accident, a rear screen replacement is going to be stupid money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Backend - supercar Front end - evil dog rough pile of turd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 agreed, front , the rest pretty good if peugeot didn't muck up the face/front from the 207 onwards then i may not have had my Z, had 4 Peugeots before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetSet Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 I really like these, stick a 250 engine in and redesign the front end and they'd be pretty desirable. Rear wheels look a bit lost but a set of spacers would soon sort that Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimjim Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Not my cup of tea at all, front OR back... Friend of mine bought one when it first came out... all excited and happy with it... Just found out she is pregnant and needs to sell it... can't GIVE it away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 wait abit and i'm sure a decent aftermarket front bumper would come out. also pugs new corporate image is due to change soon with the introduction of the new pug 408 coupe thingy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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