It may take several days of experimenting to get used to wearing the right amount of clothing.Cycling is possible in almost all winter weather, as long as you take care. If you’re cycling in the rain, remember that it will take longer to bring your bike to a stop. If you’re riding on icy roads or snow, make sure your tyres have decent tread – it may even be worth upgrading to more knobbly tyres for the coldest months of the year.Above all, however, don’t be put off by the winter. And if there are days you want to catch the bus instead, don’t feel guilty about it There’ll be plenty of other opportunities to ride.. Specifications
Price: £14,345.
On sale November Engine: 1,598cc, four cylinders, 16 valves, direct injection, turbo, 150bhp at 5,800rpm, 177lb ft at 1,400-3,500rpm Transmission: five-speed gearbox, front-wheel drive Performance: 131mph, 0-62 in 8.1sec, 40.3mpg official average, CO2: 166g/kmHere is the product of a slightly confused marketing mind. The Peugeot 207 GT Turbo with a 1.6-litre petrol engine you see before you looks exactly like the GTs with the 110bhp, 1.6-litre HDI diesel engine you may have seen driving around since the 207 range’s recent launch. There aren’t even any unique badges to signal the difference.
But difference there is. This 207 GT Turbo, far from being a mere blinged-up version of the regular article, is the signpost for the rebirth of the Peugeot hot hatchback. This is massively significant for anyone who loves driving, because Peugeot created in 1984 possibly the most driver-engaging, most entertaining hot hatchback there has ever been.
And, 306 Rallye apart, the company hasn’t managed to repeat the 205 GTI’s magic since.It claims to have tried with the 206 GTI in its two forms, but the spark had gone out and, besides, in most markets it wasn’t even called GTI. The sacred letters had been reduced from what was the very definition of an automotive mode of thought to a mere trim and power grade. If a car is a real GTI, it must be called that everywhere – like the Golf originally was and now is again, but wasn’t during the wilderness years of 1992 to 2004.We’ve received some conflicting messages about Peugeot’s intentions for its new performance hatchback. On the day I drove the 207 GT Turbo, I was assured that next spring’s 207 GTI really would be the real thing. Had I been told that before the drive, my preexisting cynicism would have been maintained. After all, for the previous few days I had been driving the GT HDI 110 and had been unimpressed by its jittery, too-firm ride and the artificial feel of its electric power steering, even if the latter was better than it had been on the cars I had originally driven on the press launch.Something happened on the GT Turbo drive to make me think that, yes, maybe Peugeot has rediscovered what needs to be done. As the owner of an old 205 GTI, I was delighted.The 207 GT Turbo uses the 150bhp version of the new, 1.6-litre petrol engine range jointly developed by Peugeot and BMW.
The German company took the lead in design, the French one in parts procurement and manufacturing systems. There will be a normally aspirated version next year for gentler 207s and before then for the new Mini Cooper, plus a more powerful, 175bhp version for the new Mini Cooper S and the 207 GTI. This 150bhp variant differs from the more powerful one in the timing of its two variably timed camshafts and in its electronic calibration, but has the same direct injection, high compression ratio and twin-outlet turbocharger (this last to reduce interference between the exhaust pulses that drive the turbine blades).Its peak of pulling power, 177lb ft, is really a plateau because it’s available all the way from 1,400 to 3,500rpm. The more powerful engine has the same peak torque, plus the facility to increase it for a short time, but it arrives at higher engine speeds. The stage is set, then, for the 207 GT Turbo to pull with diesel-like muscularity from low revs but maybe not prove as energetic as, say, a Renault Clio 197 at high revs. That may be no bad thing, because you’re forever changing down a gear to get the Renault to go.Not so the 207 GT Turbo. Its response to the accelerator is both crisper and stronger than that of the new Mini Cooper S I drove a few weeks ago, with the 175bhp engine.
It does fade away at very high engine speeds, having passed an intrusive resonance around 5,600rpm which the engineers are working to eradicate, but you won’t be troubled by this. It’s one of those engines that keeps you relaxed as it effortlessly thrusts you down the road, like a good diesel but with a broader speed range.Such an engine in a small car is always appealing It’s what the 205 GTI had, after all. It’s a pity about the shift quality of the five-speed gearbox, though, which is rubbery and not at all mechanical-feeling in its lateral movements. At least the gear ratios are quite close, so the engine speed doesn’t drop too far when you change up. It helps cement the sporty ambience.But not as much as the revised suspension does.