1.2 Puretech 130 Allure Premium EAT6 Start+Stop 5dr

A sporty little SUV; nippy round town, refined on a long run

After seven months but only 3000 miles my wife is very pleased with the replacement for our 20yr old family Ford Focus estate. It's a pleasure to drive with a slightly elevated position, the dials visible over a tiny low set steering wheel. It feels a bit like an eager go-kart around town but thanks to the tall gearing (30mph per 1000revs in 6th) a quiet refined big-car feel on main roads. The Ford/Mazda autobox was good, but the EAT6 is like the ZF HP6 'tiptronic' in my Audi - excellent, always in the right gear and responding instantly to 'kick-down' . Controls are easy to get used to; once the touch screen is set up you can use the steering wheel buttons - or just shout commands!
The trim is high quality, the seats are good and the panoramic roof gives a bright ambience. My wife says the ride is more comfortable than our old Focus - although I think it's a bit jiggly on country roads - but then I suppose most small cars are compared with my Audi A8. The tiny engine is surprisingly powerful and torquey; rapid progress can be made with the rev counter rarely above 2000revs, peaking briefly at 2600 on up-changes. Can't be good for the engine, so it gets 'red-lined' occasionally when overtaking, which is rapid thanks to 130bhp and not much weight!
We considered the similar sized Seat Arona (cheap finish and no panoramic roof), Vauxhall Crossland (a close second) and Audi Q2 (rear load area well above knee height , probably to accommodate 4x4). A below-knee flat load area with no lip was high on our priority list - and Peugeot's 'grip control' with its all weather tyres is fine for us. After 3000 miles the oil level is less than 2mm from the max mark where it started - there are 40mm between max and min marks - so the engine is clearly a good'un - so far. The only grouse I have is the lack of a central armrest, but they are available on-line.

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