privateer rally product
range, 208 GTIs entered into the
Nurburgring 24-hour
Loeb's Pikes Peak
car Peugeot Sport has been keeping the flame alive for a brand close to the hearts of many PHers. So its first proper road product has had us excited since we first heard about it. Excited enough for Matt to take a standard RCZ out and go and pay them a visit for
an exclusive preview
, via a navigational SNAFU and unexpected diversion around the Arc De Triomphe. He's still quivering now.
The R pleasantly surprised us and others
pull himself together
for a return to the south of France for the proper launch of the car, though he wasn't going to fall into predictable traps. "This review will not be, it cannot be, a sprawling piece on how the RCZ R is a return to form for fast Peugeots. Many others undoubtedly will be." Were they? Well, once they'd settled on a consensus on the ride. Too firm? Just right? "The R's inherent firmness is immediately apparent," said Matt. "However, it's so much more satisfying than the standard RCZ. Where that can crash and thump, the R feels properly honed, tied down and actually more comfortable as a result." He continued, "Those looking for that last degree of Megane-style adjustability will be slightly disappointed by the RCZ R though. It feels pleasingly neutral however, and we'd like to drive it in the UK before making a definitive verdict."
TG: 'Masses of power just where you want it'
to Top Gear
and Sam Philip. "We know the phrase 'we'll have to wait till we get it on UK roads to find out' is overworn to the point of threadbare, but... we'll have to wait till we get it on UK roads to find out," was his assessment of the uprated chassis. He did, however, identify an interesting USP, claiming the RCZ R as the most powerful French car in the world. Hang on, asked TG's conversational Q&A review format, what about the Bugatti Veyron? "The Veyron is not French. It is German and you know it. And though the RCZ-R doesn't sport a 8.0-litre W16 engine - packaging issues, apparently - it does boast a notable powerplant of its own: a 1.6-litre turbo four making 270bhp. Which makes it the most powerful 1.6... in the world."
Autocar: 'Still a decently refined car'
Powerful enough to bring tears to
Autocar man
Steve Sutcliffe's eyes it'd seem, his description of the RCZ R's delivery of its 266bhp (Autocar works in old money here) as 'eye watering' surely having regular readers hoping Sutters keeps a hanky handy on his roadtests to dab his seemingly constantly streaming tear ducts.
Suitably recomposed, Sutcliffe concluded the RCZ R was "much better than we thought it would be", which might seem damning with faint praise. But with the expected disclaimer about smooth French tarmac possibly flattering to deceive he said the stiffened up chassis is "is still acceptably comfortable. He went on, "Despite the numerous suspension upgrades, this is still a decently refined car. We're not talking about Cayman levels of interaction between man and machine here, but neither are we talking about a car that is beige dynamically, either."
MSN: 'Mission accomplished'
Describing the RCZ R as "one of the surprises of the year",
MSN Cars'
(and occasional PH moonlighter) CJ Hubbard was another fan. "The RCZ R is also refreshingly free of artificial enhancement. There's no flappy-paddle gearbox, no variable weight steering or suspension or driving modes, no torque vectoring electronics. Just a mechanical limited-slip differential, an uprated six-speed manual gearbox, and electronic stability control you can switch all the way off." And the praise kept coming. "As Peugeot Sport's first overt attempt at a road car, it is very much 'mission accomplished'."
But then a now familiar caveat, CJ concluding, "The only fly in that particular potion may be the ride quality. The standard RCZ is already firm, and the R is stiffer with even less damper travel. While it never crashed over French bumps, we certainly noticed them, and British tarmac could prove an entirely more challenging proposition."
AE: 'An almost rally-car like character'
for Auto Express
was certainly singing from the same hymn sheet. "The high level of tuning gives the RCZ R an almost rally-car like character. There is a whoosh from the turbo on lift off and once the revs climb above 3,500rpm it races towards the red line, keeping you busy snatching for the next gear in the short-throw six-speed gearbox." All good. And then... "The stiffer springs and the 10mm drop in ride height can throw you off course if you hit bumps in the road or adverse cambers - something which might be a bigger issue on UK roads."
Are our roads really that bad? Forget the thin, high altitude air of Pikes Peak - if Peugeot Sport wants testing terrain it could do with sending Loeb along the B65-whatsit to Chipping Bumpstops. In the 208 T16.
"Yay! 13 years after my 306 I actually want a Peugeot again! And a holiday to Vence." Dazed & Confused
"Good work Peugeot, arresting 20-odd years of mediocrity with a car that looks great and by this account, drives as well as its looks hint." forzaminardi
"This one though...very, very tempting! Price is a little high but I can't think of a similar 'performance' car with these looks and 44mpg! The 370z I owned was closer to 20. And that is a consideration for a lot of people, I can see this being a winner. We just need RWD now!" ozzuk
"What only 1 hairdresser comment and no "rather have a used Cayman" comment, come on Pistonheads please don't disappoint me on a Friday!! Lol" Blanchie
"I hope that with the R models things are changing for Pug as I've owned 3 different 205 GTIs (1 1.9 and 2 1.6s), a 309GTI and a 405 Mi16 and since these cars pug have made nothing of any note that I would bother buying..." Agdavie