Fire up the.... Peugeot RC Z

A WARNING: do not buy this car if you don't like being looked at!

So stunning is the riot of curves, dips and lines lavished on the RC Z, the pretty Peugeot hoping to take on Audi's TT at its own game, that you're going to get other road users pointing and staring. This isn't a car for the self-conscious.

I've lost count at the number of pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers I've clocked taking in this coupe's curves, including more than one person who stopped to take photos of it. Given it's the first truly pretty Peugeot in a generation, with a double-bubble roof looking like something that's escaped from a Le Mans racer, I can hardly blame them.

One particularly cruel bystander reckoned the distinctive roof looks like someone's bottom but almost everyone else universally fell in love in with the RC Z. It's hard to think of any car for less than £30,000 that's going to attract as many eyeballs.

The good news is that there's substance behind the style, with the 308-based coupe's boot being far more generous than it really ought to be and the back seats able to take two adults, although in such cramped confines neither of them are going to be happy on a long journey. It's the same story up front, with the low-slung driving position offering plenty of space.

Out on the road it's got a far firmer - but still not uncomfortable - ride than most of its rivals, and it offers a good, but not class-leadingly brilliant, feel from behind the wheel. If anything if feels a little wider than you'd want through the twistiest county lanes, but the low stance means it feels very surefooted.

I wouldn't buy one because I favour feel over style, and on this front it's narrowly beaten by the sprightlier handling of Volkswagen's Scirocco, which doesn't look anywhere near as good but gives the bigger grin.

But if you're smitten by the RC Z's style and just HAVE to have one, you're not going to be dissapointed.

As published in The Champion on September 1, 2010