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Jaggy Cars - August 2009
Peugeot 308 CC
A Hairdresser? Moi?
Hairdressers come in for a lot of stick don’t they? Whenever you see a car that is pretty, rather than handsome, or bling-tricked rather than sticker-bedecked, you think it belongs to a hairdresser.
The cars that fall into this category range from a Triumph Spitfire to a Chrysler Crossfire and everything in between including Audi TTs, Merc SLKs and BMW Coupes.
Well, I thought like that too, until I went to the hairdresser’s. My usual Barber shop was shut for renovation. I think they were taking up the linoleum to wipe down the blood.
Whatever, I went to the place next door with its frosted glass, logo etched windows, a reception desk when you walked in the door, and more shiny machinery round the walls than the flight deck on the Starship Enterprise.
I asked quietly if they did gents. The streaked and spiky receptionist who looked as though she had dressed in a hurry, in the Oxfam shop window in the dark, leaned across and whispered back, yes. I was then escorted to a leather and chrome chair. After explaining the intricacies of my requirements, the crimper set to work with a flurry of clacking scissors and nit comb.
It seemed to take forever just to do a trim round the edges and a general thin-out on top. Eventually the clattering stopped, the mirror waved around my circumference and I was shown the door - via the cash desk.
At first I thought there was some mistake. Did the price they were asking include the swivel chair? Apparently not. Stitched up? I was well and truly embroidered.
So from now on, hairdressers deserve all the stick they get, including from me.
So the Peugeot 308 CC is a hairdresser’s car. It’s pretty, gaudy and fashionable. Even more worrying, I liked it.
Let me qualify that. I would have liked it a lot more, but for the stupid 18 inch wheels with some ex GPO elastic bands (225/40 x 18 SportContact2) wound around the rims in place of some decent tyres. The rubber had about as much give in it as the wife’s porridge. One slice or two?
Ride quality is not a strong point in the car. It was ruined in the pursuit of fashion by a set of unsuitable rollers. And don’t go thinking it was just down to my old bones and less than nubile physique, it really was bad.
In fact this car could be construed a health hazard to super-models. Put Naomi Campbell in one of these, tell her to drive down Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, over the cobbles, and she’d end up a pile of bones in the footwell.
Yes, it looked good, but it was seriously hard on the posterior. And that was despite the comfy seats the good driving position and adequate room up front for most folks with just about enough room in the back to carry two more adults on a short trip.
That was why I almost liked it. Couple that up to the highly practical and reasonably pokey 2 litre diesel and a pretty smooth automatic ‘box (with stick-shift manual over-ride, but no paddles), and you have a truly likeable driving machine- apart from those damn wheels and tyres.
I reckon the standard 17s would be much better and if buying it for myself would probably even go for the standard 16 inch steel wheels and decent tyres!
I also like convertibles, although this probably dates back to do the time I had an Austin Healey 3000 and had to wait ten weeks for a new hood to arrive and so drove it everywhere in all weathers with no lid!
But these new modern coupes with the folding roofs are a big improvement. It also looks better with the roof down than up.
And the hairdresser clincher? There’s a hair dryer built into the seatback. Peugeot will try and tell you this is an air-scarf designed to blow warm air from the heating system through the seat backs around your neck. Rubbish, it’s a hair-dryer, designed to appeal to those in the profession and those ‘Hello’-hooked, vain teenagers who can’t pass a mirror without a touch-up.
Conclusion
Would I buy one with my own money? If I was in the market for a compact, practical 2+2 convertible I could be sorely tempted, but only if it had the standard wheels on it. It drives well and has a reasonable sized boot even with the hood down, and it has a fair turn of pace once wound up. But could I live with the jibes about hairdressers? Possibly not.
In Short:
Price: £23,095
Engine: 1997 cc, 4 cyl. Turbo-diesel with 140 bhp
Performance: 0 - 62 mph in 12.3 seconds, flat out at 126 mph
Economy: 51.3 mpg extra urban, 40.3 mpg combined
CO2 emissions: 185 g/km
Insurance Group: 11
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