Peugeot 307

Winning the prestigious European Car of the Year in 2002, Peugeot’s popular 307 model was manufactured between 2001 and 2011. The hatchback offered a more spacious interior than its predecessor, the 306, and was also available as a coupe cabriolet. Peugeot engineers gave the car something of a radical redesign in 2005, when changes were made to its headlamps, front grille and bumper sections. In addition, there were alteration that were made to the interior design - although the internal layout remained largely the same. Along with the slightly larger Peugeot 407, the 307 was one of the first of their models to sport the new front-end signature look for which the French car maker became famous.

Although, the 307 ceased to be offered in European markets in 2007, production continued until 2011 for South American and Chinese road users. The 307’s design was a reworking of the previous model’s platform and, when launched, it was available in both three and five door versions. It was also used as a World Rally Championship car, most notably driven by Marcus Gronholm to several victories.

In 2006, Peugeot said that it was developing a prototype 307 which would use a diesel-electric hybrid engine. At the time, the engineering team working on the project said that this 307 version would achieve 83 miles per gallon, but the version was eventually dropped. However, in 2004 a saloon version of the 307 was launched in China which had four doors and this model went on to be sold with some success in Argentina, too.