2003 PEUGEOT 307 CC 1.6L 16V 5MT FWD (110 HP)

Vehicle Overview

The 307 was the European Car of the Year when it was introduced in 2001. Two years later, the French car-maker introduced the convertible version, with a retractable hard-top: the 307 CC.

Peugeot was the first car maker to introduced a hard-top convertible vehicle. It was the Peugeot 402 Eclipse in 1938, but the bulky system made the constructors drop the idea until the mid-’90s when Mitsubishi brought it back on the 3000 GT Spyder and the Peugeot 206 CC in 2000. Three years later, the system was introduced on the bigger brother, the compact 307 CC.

The 307 CC was an unusual car for its time. It was the first affordable coupe-cabriolet on the compact-car segment. While the front was similar to the regular 307, everything else was changed from the A-pillars to the back. The long frame-less doors and the rear panels were bigger. An electric folding mechanism was fitted behind the rear seats and could make the top disappear in twenty seconds.

The interior was fitted with sporty seats or with bucket seats for the top trim level. While the base models featured cloth upholstery, the top versions received leather interior. There was room for four adult passengers, and Peugeot didn’t even try to install three seat-belts in the back. In terms of practicality, the 307 CC was no way near its brothers, the 307 hatchback or the 307 SW, but it gained points for its style.

Under the hood, Peugeot installed a choice of diesel and gasoline engines mated to a 5-speed manual. Only one version was fitted with a 4-speed automatic transmission. The compact, front-wheel-drive vehicle featured a front-wheel independent suspension and a rear torsion beam.