A
Anonymous
Guest
Greetings RCZ fans. I joined your forum from afar (I'm in Melbourne Australia) to try an get some background on the RCZ which has just been released here in Aus. In fact, I just test drove a THP 200 Sport this morning.
I've never owned a Peugeot before. I've never owned a French car before. My current car is an 2008 Volvo C30 T5 R-Design, which was preceeded by a 2004 Alfa 147GTA (a red one of course) and a 2001 Audi TT 225 quattro coupe (in silver of course). Frankly, I think that everything that Peugeot have built since the (beautiful) 406 Coupe has been (pretty much) hideously ugly. But the RCZ I saw in the metal today was stunning. I have to say though that I think the RCZ looks better in darker colours. The one I drove today was black with 19" wheels and the black colour combination with the black roof divided by the aluminium roof bars was awesome...and it also took a little bit of emphasis away from the corporate smiley grill...the piece of the design I'm probably least keen on.
Driving impressions were...
Engine/Performance: I was expecting to be a bit underwelmed by 147kw/200hp but the car was decently quick. It didn't feel a lot slower than my C30 T5 and, of course, it sounded pants-wettingly brilliant. Nice spread of torque. Spins out nicely and is very smooth. A very pleasant surprise. Don't understand the critcism I've read/heard about the gear change. I thought it was accurate and direct. I didn't care for the clutch though. I thought the clutch was too light and took up too high on the travel.
Handling/Roadholding/Steering/Ride: An excellent ride/handling compromise. I've driven more adjustable front-drive cars...my 1998 Honda Prelude VTEC springs to mind and so does Peugeot's 206/306 hot hatches...but the handling very good and the roadholding (no doubt due to the 235/40R19 tyres) was excellent. Steering was a pleasant surprise. Nice a darty off-centre (a bit cart-like) and pretty damn good compared to most modern cars...none of them steer like a '70's 911 anymore :-( Ride was firm but very good....better than my Volvo!! Good to see that Peugeot have upgraded the front brakes to 340mm units on the Sports model too.
Fit/Finish/Interior/Equipment: Can't complain about any of it. Standard equipment levels are excellent. The interior is nicely upmarket and frankly I can't see why anybody would pay extra for the leather cover dash when the standard one looks so good and is probably more durable. I would be springing for the "Monaco pack" (JBL & Xenon's). The Dynaudio system in my C30 is brillant...the Peugeot's JBL system I can live with although it's not a patch on the C30's. Xenons? Well I haven't had a car without them for 9 years and I don't intend to start now. The packages with the carbon fibre stuff looks like a terrible waste of money though.
Overall: A very pretty and very impressive little car. With Aus taxes/duties it's going to cost me about USD$65k (about GBP40k) on the road (with metalic paint, 19's, JBL/Xenons) but that's about AUD$10k less than a TT would cost me.
Going away for a weeks in leave in Bali to ponder things, but I'm seriously thinking of joining the club.
I've never owned a Peugeot before. I've never owned a French car before. My current car is an 2008 Volvo C30 T5 R-Design, which was preceeded by a 2004 Alfa 147GTA (a red one of course) and a 2001 Audi TT 225 quattro coupe (in silver of course). Frankly, I think that everything that Peugeot have built since the (beautiful) 406 Coupe has been (pretty much) hideously ugly. But the RCZ I saw in the metal today was stunning. I have to say though that I think the RCZ looks better in darker colours. The one I drove today was black with 19" wheels and the black colour combination with the black roof divided by the aluminium roof bars was awesome...and it also took a little bit of emphasis away from the corporate smiley grill...the piece of the design I'm probably least keen on.
Driving impressions were...
Engine/Performance: I was expecting to be a bit underwelmed by 147kw/200hp but the car was decently quick. It didn't feel a lot slower than my C30 T5 and, of course, it sounded pants-wettingly brilliant. Nice spread of torque. Spins out nicely and is very smooth. A very pleasant surprise. Don't understand the critcism I've read/heard about the gear change. I thought it was accurate and direct. I didn't care for the clutch though. I thought the clutch was too light and took up too high on the travel.
Handling/Roadholding/Steering/Ride: An excellent ride/handling compromise. I've driven more adjustable front-drive cars...my 1998 Honda Prelude VTEC springs to mind and so does Peugeot's 206/306 hot hatches...but the handling very good and the roadholding (no doubt due to the 235/40R19 tyres) was excellent. Steering was a pleasant surprise. Nice a darty off-centre (a bit cart-like) and pretty damn good compared to most modern cars...none of them steer like a '70's 911 anymore :-( Ride was firm but very good....better than my Volvo!! Good to see that Peugeot have upgraded the front brakes to 340mm units on the Sports model too.
Fit/Finish/Interior/Equipment: Can't complain about any of it. Standard equipment levels are excellent. The interior is nicely upmarket and frankly I can't see why anybody would pay extra for the leather cover dash when the standard one looks so good and is probably more durable. I would be springing for the "Monaco pack" (JBL & Xenon's). The Dynaudio system in my C30 is brillant...the Peugeot's JBL system I can live with although it's not a patch on the C30's. Xenons? Well I haven't had a car without them for 9 years and I don't intend to start now. The packages with the carbon fibre stuff looks like a terrible waste of money though.
Overall: A very pretty and very impressive little car. With Aus taxes/duties it's going to cost me about USD$65k (about GBP40k) on the road (with metalic paint, 19's, JBL/Xenons) but that's about AUD$10k less than a TT would cost me.
Going away for a weeks in leave in Bali to ponder things, but I'm seriously thinking of joining the club.