By EWAN KENNEDY 
11 September 2006

Despite the recent frightening costs of fuel in Australia our drivers have been reluctant to move to manual transmissions in family cars. Doing so can cut fuel bills by about five to ten per cent, but most of us prefer the convenience of a car that does its own gearshifting.

Peugeot has been selling its 307 turbo-diesel variants since the model was launched in 2001, long before the current well-documented swing to diesel passenger cars in this country. But has been hampered by only offering the model with a five-speed manual gearbox.

The guys in head office in Paris didn’t understand the Australian importers cry for help in the form of a 307 HDi with automatic transmission. After all, they reasoned, something like 95 per cent of cars in France have a manual gearbox, so did we need an automatic?

Reading between the lines there's seems to have been some heavy-duty lobbying between the locals and head office, and Australia finally won out. A special model Peugeot 307 diesel auto has now been tailored for our specific needs.

Using what is virtually the same driveline as the Peugeot 407 HDi automatic, the just announced 307 auto is more affordable than its big brother.

Priced at just $34,790 in five-door hatchback format, and $36,490 as a station wagon, the Peugeot 307 XSE turbo-diesel uses a 2.0-litre engine mated to an ultra-modern six-speed automatic transmission. The manual transmission is, of course, still on sale and is priced at $32,590.

The 307 XSE is well specified, with alloy wheels, a Blaupunkt six-speaker audio system and the security of six airbags, including side curtain ‘bags. Then there are lovely little touches like a glovebox that’s cooled by the air conditioning, a pollen filter in the ventilation system and an automatically dipping interior rear-vision mirror.

We have had a solid introductory drive of the new Peugeot 307 and have come away impressed by the smooth, quiet operation of the car. Turbo lag is more than we had anticipated, despite the fact that Peugeot engineers say they have done a lot to try and minimise it.

Other than that this clean, economical engine is a delight to sit behind. Mid-range torque is most impressive and the ability of the engine to climb long steep hills in high gears is most impressive. Should you still want to control the auto yourself there's a sequential manual function.

It goes without saying that this Peugeot has the company’s legendary features of large seats, comfortable suspension, and steering that’s a real delight to sit behind.

Then there's the styling. Though launched almost five years ago, the 307 got a major facelift last year and looks bang up to date in a very chic French manner.

Interestingly, Peugeot has a worldwide alliance with the Ford motor company to develop turbo-diesel engines. Of particular interest to us is the 2.7-litre V6 that’s currently seen in the Peugeot 407. That engine is also used, in a slightly different format, in Jaguar and Land Rover models (both these British marques are controlled by Ford these days).

It seems likely that Ford Australia is looking at a variant of this turbo-diesel for both the Territory and Falcon.

Neither Peugeot or Ford Australia is willing to comment on this matter, but an announcement can’t be that far away.