USED Peugeot 1007 Hatchback (05 - 09)

Many cars in the supermini market are very similar in look and ability. That can’t be said of the Peugeot 1007. It uses MPV-style electric sliding doors to make it easier to get in and out, especially in tight parking spaces. It’s an attractive gimmick, but in reality, while it does help in a tight spot, access to the rear is actually harder than in five-door rivals.

The other problem is weight. The 1007 is extremely heavy, and this means performance suffers. To make matters worse, the suspension is stiff-ish to stop the hefty car wallowing in corners, and that makes the ride too choppy over rough surfaces.

Cabin space is pretty good, but other competitors provide much more. Some of the materials used look a bit cheap, but they should be durable.

All versions get air-con and a CD player, and safety is well catered for, as proved by a five-star Euro NCAP score.

We’d recommend the entry-level engine, which is an eight-valve 1.4. With only 75bhp in a car as abnormally heavy as the 1007, it's desperately slow and needs to be worked hard. However, it’s the cheapest way into a 1007.

There’s also a 16-valve version of the 1.4, giving 90bhp, but performance is almost as pedestrian. The 1.6 has more power and copes better with the car’s bulk, but it still needs to be worked hard. Besides, it also gets a horrible semi-automatic gearbox as standard (it’s optional on the smaller engine), which gives notchy gearchanges. The 1.4 diesel also gives pretty lacklustre performance, but at least you get good fuel economy and a proper manual gearbox.

Dolce trim, the most basic, provides you all you need, with air-con, remote central locking, curtain airbags, traction and stability controls, a CD player and electric front windows. Sport trim adds climate control and alloy wheels, but this isn’t worth the extra.

The 1007 is pricey in comparison to other superminis, and the only consolation is that you get a lot of kit for your cash. Used examples are likely to have shed a good chunk of their value because residuals are fairly weak from new, but buying a 1007 will still cost you.

On the plus side, servicing costs are pretty cheap. In fact, you’ll pay less than you will for the Peugeot's smaller city car, the 107.

Fuel economy isn’t too bad, either. The 1.6 fares worst, but it still returns a respectable 42.8mpg. The diesel, meanwhile, will return 60.1mpg, and that’s not bad considering the weight of the car. Our recommended engine, the eight-valve 1.4, will give 43.5mpg.

Insurance costs are about par for the class. The entry-level petrol engine and the diesel sit in group 3, while the 16-valve 1.4 commands a group 4 premium and the 1.6 group 5.

The 1007 only hit the new car market in April 2005, so there isn’t yet enough data to give an accurate assessment of what faults and problems may or may not occur.

We can make some educated guesses, though. Peugeot usually achieves mid-table respectability in our reliability surveys, so while there will be more solid cars out there, many will be far less so.

However, we’ve seen a trend for electrical gremlins in small Peugeots in the past – the electric folding roof of the Peugeot 206CC being one example. If the electric sliding doors on your 1007 develop a similar fault, it will probably be fixed under the car’s remaining warranty, but it will be a pain. If your car has no warranty, it’ll be expensive, too. Franchised Peugeot dealers charge fairly steep hourly labour rates, so long repairs have the potential to be quite expensive.