Peugeot's new baby MPV - On the road

We won’t get to drive the 1007 until early in 2005, so our final appraisal of how it performs will have to wait until then.

We do have experience of the 2-Tronic gearbox, however, as it features in Citroen cars, branded as Sensotronic. Using an automatically activated clutch, the system provides a fully automatic mode as well as the option to select gears manually with a gear lever or steering wheel-mounted paddles.

However it’s not a particularly impressive system in Citroens, which are afflicted by slow, jerky gearchanges. Peugeot might have improved the responsiveness of the gearbox, but we’ll have to wait until next year to find out.

The transmission will be fitted to both of the petrol engines – the 75bhp 1.4- and the 110bhp 1.6-litre. The 70bhp 1.4-litre diesel will use a five-speed manual gearbox.

The car’ likely to be heavier than 206 superminis using equivalent engines, so expect it to be a little slower.