Cast your mind back a few years to Peugeot in the mid to late 2000s. It was hardly an inspiring place, was it? It was the bad old days of the '07' models, with everything from 1007 to 407 not delivering when Peugeot really needed them. Alright, so the 107 was a decent little thing but the range was in dire need of a lift.
You can Aldi TT all you want, the RCZ R is great
Then at Frankfurt in 2007, Peugeot showed the 308 RCZ and maintained it would reach showrooms largely unchanged. A production version arrived a couple of years later to warm reviews - finally there was a fast, interesting Peugeot to get properly excited about again. The
RCZ R
followed at the end of 2013 to yet more positive verdicts.
However, Peugeot's streamlining of its model range spells the end for the RCZ and it won't be replaced once this generation has run its course. By 2022, Peugeot wants to halve the number of models in its range from 26 to 13, necessitated by big losses in recent years. Niche models like the RCZ are expected to form the bulk of those losses. Shame.
According to Peugeot's boss Maxime Picat the focus will be on developing the core models such as the 108 and 208. Apparently "chasing niches is for premium brands; for us it has been a distraction." Hopefully this doesn't mean a return to tedious Peugeots, and at least the Peugeot Sport nous has made its way to the 208 after the RCZ. And for those who baulked at the RCZ R's £31,995 new price, there are barely used cars with at £25K. It's far better than you would give it credit for. Really.
[Source: Autocar, pics by Tom Begley]