French, but via Japan: Peugeot's first SUV

Peugeot's Japan-built 4007 crossover.

French carmaker Peugeot is going into the lifestyle crossover segment in New Zealand for the first time with its 4007, coincidentally the first Peugeot to be built in Japan.

The 4007 (pictured) is a product of the Peugeot-Citroen/Mitsubishi Motors collaboration and comes direct to New Zealand from the Mizushima plant in southern Japan.

It is a good example of the automotive world's product-sharing policies. It shares its all-wheel-drive platform with the Citroen C-Crosser, Mitsubishi Outlander, B-Class Mercedes-Benz, and Hyundai Santa Fe.

The 4007's 2.2-litre diesel engine is a joint development with Ford; its five-speed manual Aisin gearbox is made in Japan; and its optional six-speed dual-clutch automatic by Getrag in Germany.

It has been available overseas for some time but Peugeot New Zealand has landed the facelifted model, priced at $49,990 for the manual five-seater, $55,490 for the automatic seven-seater and $59,990 for the seven-up model with leather and other goodies.

Peugeot has revised its sales target of about 100 units a year to around 170 after research showed more buyer interest in the 4007 than expected.

It has aligned its marketing campaign for the vehicle with fashion designer Kate Sylvester. A DVD showing Sylvester and her family in the 4007 will be mailed to owners of competing vehicles, such as the petrol-only Mitsubishi Outlander.

"The 4007 gives us a diesel which Mitsubishi doesn't have," says Peugeot New Zealand general manager Simon Rose.

The 2.2-litre turbocharged unit delivers 115kW at 4000rpm and 380Nm at 2000rpm. Drive mostly goes to the front wheels but the all-paw system will bring the rear rubber into play when needed.

Peugeot claims town-and-around fuel economy of around 7 litres/100km (40mpg) and CO2 exhaust emissions of 192g/km, which meets the Euro 4 standard.

The 4007 has a four-star crash rating, one short of the maximum five stars.