Fire up the...Peugeot 207 CC

THE chap outside The Champion offices said it all when he cast eyes on the latest in a long line of Peugeot cabriolets; it's a girl's car.

That's the cruel preconception most people have of open-top Peugeots, no matter how meaty this particular 207 CC's mechanicals are under its pretty, posey curves. But dismissing this latest version because it seems a bit girly is a big mistake, because it's a striking surprise from behind the wheel.

If anything, I reckon this particular Pug, the snappily-named 207 CC GT THP 150, is more masculine than most give it credit for. For starters its black paintwork and big alloys set it off a treat, and the 150bhp turbo motor means it isn't exactly left wanting in the performance stakes. It's still not as immediately stylish as either the MINI Cooper Convertible or the Vauxhall Tigra, but they trade practicality for their good looks.

Unlike the tiny Tigra you get back seats - although it's not exactly roomy at the rear - and whereas MINI moguls are stuck with a traditional canvas top, in the 207 you get one of those fantastic metal roofs which folds away in a flurry of whooshing and whirring noises. It looks spectacular, which is exactly what you'd want in something as pose-worthy as this Peugeot.

For all the things you'd want a cabriolet for the 207's a massive improvement on its 206 predecessor; roomier, better built, and grown-up enough in its style to not make a man feel self-conscious driving it.

But the big surprise is when you stop showing off, put the roof up and really drive the thing, because on some truly nasty roads it forgot it was an open-top and suddenly remembered it has 150bhp, firm but not uncomfortable suspension and communicative steering at its disposal. At least once I forgot I wasn't at the wheel of a mild-mannered hot hatch.

I don't know if it's a girl's car, but I do know it's a good one.

As published in The Champion on March 31, 2010