Peugeot 107 Review (2005-2014)

The Peugeot 107 was the entry-point to the French firm’s line-up, its compact dimensions and back-to-basics approach making it a city car that ignored frills in favour of low running costs and reliability.

While the idea of a dependable Peugeot might seem like a contradiction to some, the 107 had a trick up its sleeve in the shape of a shared parentage with the Toyota Aygo (and Peugeot C1). Not only was the car visually very closely related to its Japanese sibling, it shared its robust engine and transmission. As a result, the 107 is the sort of small car that rarely lets you down.

Better still, it costs peanuts to run and is fairly fun to drive, and while it won’t give an executive saloon sleepless nights when it comes to luxury and equipment, it’s surprisingly comfortable and has all the kit you’re likely to need.

The 107 made its debut in 2005 and received a couple of minor facelifts in 2009 and 2015, before being replaced by the all-new 108 in 2014.

Before you set off in the 107, you might want to do some strategic packing planning. As much as you may love the eccentric rev counter that sits on a pod mounted to the speedo, or the old-style, backlit, translucent temperature and air direction sliders, the 107 is not the most practical car.

There’s not even a glove box, and the back seat space is tighter than a rusty bolt, while boot space is tiny, too. At just 139-litres, squishy sports bags and hoodies will be the order of the day when it comes to luggage. The rear seatbacks do fold forward but they don’t go anywhere near flat, so while space is increased to 751-litres it can still be tricky to load awkwardly shaped items.

Still, the flopped seatbacks will at least help when loading longer items. Just make sure everything is well within the confines of the cabin before slamming the boot lid, as it's basically just a sheet of toughened glass. There are other quirks too, such as the rear side windows that are hinged at the front and pop out at the rear for ventilation, even on the five-door cars.

If you spend most of your days in and about town, then you’ll no doubt love the 107’s tiny city car dimensions. The ability to slot into the tightest spots is right up there with a circus contortionist's. The steering is super-light at town speeds, too, so a quick glance over the shoulder and a twirl of the wheel and you’ll be zipping down that secret short-cut, leaving road works in your dust.

The 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine may only produce a paltry 68bhp, but the 107 is so light that you’ll be amazed at just how sharpish it'll zip around.

You will need to subject yourself to a bit of an ear-bashing while you’re doing it, though, as the rat-a-tat-tat of three tiny pistons thrashing themselves dizzy between every grab of the gearstick creates no end of mechanical mayhem.

If you fancy a break from the city, then don't rely on the scratchy radio to block out the elevated levels of wind-, road- and engine noise at motorway speeds. It would be like asking Olly Murs to bash out a tune while skydiving.

Thankfully, the low centre of gravity and the short distance between the axles means the 107 feels almost as wide as it is long, and it's pretty planted with it. The short-travel suspension does a half-decent job of soaking up most lumps and bumps, albeit quite noisily, but the odd devilish depression will hit home with a proper thump.

When it comes to trim levels, it’s a case of how long have you got? Urban, Urban Lite, Urban Sport, Verve, Envy, Allure and Access are just a few of the myriad trims that Peugeot offered over the years.

All have a height-adjustable steering wheel and folding rear seatbacks (not always split), as well as electric windows, central locking, a heated rear screen and radio. You probably want to avoid the absolute basic models, which can be recognised immediately by their lack of rear headrests and split rear seatbacks.

Instead, look out for later models such as the Urban Move, Active or Allure, as they're available with Bluetooth connectivity, alloy wheels and air-conditioning.

In terms of infotainment, there’s not much to get excited by here. All cars had a basic radio and CD player combination, plus an aux-in socket for an external music source, while later cars were available with Bluetooth that allowed music streaming and hands-free phone calls. However, it is fairly easy to upgrade the 107 to accept a modern aftermarket touchscreen system if you want all the latest connectivity in your budget runaround.

Although a diesel engine was offered in some European markets, all 107s sold in the UK are fitted with a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine. Officially, the fuel economy is amazing, as it should return 61.4mpg – later cars are even better at 65mpg – and unless you’re giving it the absolute beans everywhere you go, it should easily return well over 50mpg in the real world.

The automatic transmission isn’t a particularly sophisticated device, but unlike many fuel sapping autos of this period, it manages to stay within 1mpg of the manual car’s returns.

At 35 litres the fuel tank is on the petite side, but this should still give you a decent 350 miles range between fill-ups.

Because of their low emissions all 107s qualify for an extremely low rate of vehicle excise duty, so as things stand, you’ll pay just no more than £30 to put a 107 on the road.

Prices of 107s are amongst the lowest of any city car. The Fiat 500 and early examples of the Volkswagen Up hold onto their value much better. Even so, if you see a car within budget don’t be afraid to haggle. Bear in mind there are thousands of these cars sitting on used car forecourts and you can expand your choice even further by including the Toyota Aygo and Citroen C1 sister cars into your search.

At the time of writing, insurance groupings for the 107 ranged between 3 and 5 (of 50) and this is undoubtedly one of the reasons that the 107 appeals to younger drivers as a first car.

Servicing your 107 at a Peugeot main dealer should cost less than £100 for an interim service, although a more thorough overhaul, due when the car reaches its fourth and eighth birthdays, should cost about £240.

If you’re anywhere near competent with a spanner you can service these cars on your drive with a basic tool kit. Most parts are easily accessible, relatively cheap and easily sourced. With an oil filter retailing at under a tenner, a trio of spark plugs at less than £20 and five litres of oil for under £30, an hour or so will have your 107’s motor feeling fit.

Should a starter motor fail, it’ll cost around £90 to replace, while a set of front brake pads shouldn’t set you back any more than £25. If you have to replace the discs as well, factor in another £50. The timing belt should be replaced every five years or 75,000 miles and although kits aren’t expensive, this job is probably best left to an experienced mechanic.

Like-for-like, the Toyota Aygo was priced slightly higher than the 107 and Citroen C1 when it was new. The Toyota came with a five-year, 100,000-mile warranty, while the others made do with three-year, 60,000-mile cover.

This is less of a consideration now, so we struggle to see why you would rule out a 107 in favour of an Aygo. All three were built on the same production line and although Aygos generally do better in reliability surveys than their French siblings, this probably has more to do with the more attentive level of service that Toyota dealers supply, rather than any other mechanical superiority.

As you might expect for this kind of money, you don’t get that many niceties, but the car’s simplicity does mean there’s not a whole lot to go wrong. Along with the usual checks for bumper and body blemishes, check the wheels/trims for scrapes and make sure the steering wheel is correctly aligned. Also, check for water ingress in the boot as the seals can fail. The rear wheel brake cylinders and exhaust back boxes can also deteriorate, which can be recognised by a quick visual check underneath to look for dark fluid on the inside of the rear drums and sooty deposits on the exhaust.

Cars driven predominantly in town can devour clutches, and these are also prone to wear prematurely because of water ingress. Ideally, you want a car that has been driven regularly, on a variety of different journeys.

There have been a number of recalls with the 107. These include the possibility of the wheel studs working loose, the accelerator pedal failing to return properly and the suspension and rear cross-member corroding. Access to recall information is readily available online, but if you’re still in doubt, employ an experienced mechanic to do a thorough inspection before you buy.