Peugeot RCZ R test drive review
Road tests don’t come much easier than this one. Here is the Peugeot RCZ R. It’s a hardcore version of the brand’s flagship coupe and the most powerful production car Peugeot has ever built.
Even after three years on sale nothing else on the road looks much like the RCZ. This R version looks really striking too with forged 19 inch alloy wheels, a fixed rear spoiler at the back to increase down force and a smattering of R badges both inside and out. The pretty coupe body has spouted some serious kit though with huge new brakes and callipers poking out of the wheels and matt black roof rails either side of the double bubble glass roof. But what’s it like inside? Inside, the Peugeot is starting to show its age a bit. Some of the knobs and dials are starting to look a little bit old fashioned especially when you compare them to what you get inside the ultra-modern brand new 308 hatchback. Having said that the R model does have some really nice touches such as an aluminium gear lever straight from the 208 Gti. It’s also got really supportive and comfortable bucket seats and red stitched leather covering the dash and the door panels. You can forget about the interior though as this car was developed by Peugeot Sport. That’s the same team behind the 908 Le Mans car and the WRC team and they know a thing or two about building a proper hardcore road cars!
When most manufacturers go to make a hotter version of an existing model, they tend to just turn the wick up a bit on everything, put some bigger alloys on and then raise the price, not so with Peugeot. This car might use the same block from the 1.6 that’s in the GT but this time they’ve managed to squeeze 270 bhp out of it. That’s nearly the same specific power output as the Mercedes A45 AMG and as you can imagine it’s had a pretty dramatic impact on the performance. 0-62mph now takes 5.9 seconds, torque is up to 330nm and is available from just 980rpm so driving along windy demanding roads is a real physical experience. That’s not because it’s too harsh in fact it feels more like a road car than a hardcore track day special or anything like that. It’s still really supple and it floats over bumps protecting you from the worst surface that the roads have to offer. However, the manic way that the turbo delivers the performance, there’s some response at low revs but once you get it above 3000rpm, it just goes ballistic! It suddenly becomes a lot noisier and you have to keep grabbing through the short shift six speed gear box looking for that extra ratio. It constantly demands your attention. The wheels shift around as you put the power down. You just have to be aware all the time and make sure your governing that power that goes through the wheels.
Peugeot hasn’t just stopped with the engine. The RCZ R also gets bespoke tow and camber angles for the wheels, a wider track, and stickier Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres and stiffer springs all round. All of this means it turns in really sharply and has a massive amount of lateral steer which is handy when you’re racing up narrow mountain roads. But it drives more like a desert hot house than a coupe.
The other thing which is going to sound a bit like a strange criticism is that it almost has too much grip. Because of the coupe body style, a really wide stance and a low centre of gravity, you have to drive it really hard to get the chassis to start to move around. That’s kind of an odd thing to say but if it was in a taller hatchback body style like say the 308, you just get a bit more lateral movement which engages you a little more. When you do get everything hooked up then it’s really exciting. But a lot of the time you’re just left feeling it’s a little too neutral because it has too much grip. Having said that there are some advantages to sticking to that small engine Peugeot reckons that it emits just 145g per kilometre and will return over 40mpg which is not to be sniffed at. The boot is decent too – it’s over 300 litres, although for a hardcore version like this they probably should have thrown out the rear seats because to be honest they are absolutely useless. You wouldn’t fit anyone in there and would struggle to fit a child seat in. Other than that it really is a nice car, it really does feel like a good first effort from Peugeot Sport.
As a shop window for what the Peugeot Sport team can accomplish given a little time and money, the RCZ R is a cracking first effort. The interior might feel a little dated now but they’ve spent the money where it counts – underneath, which as a result feels like a seriously sorted bit of kit. However it’s also priced like one and at £31,995 it costs the same as a seriously well spec’d Audi TT which is probably a better all-rounder. As striking as the RCZ R coupe body is, the car that is really probably worth waiting for is the 308 R which will use the RCZ R’s raucous drive train but with a modern interior and proper high quality materials, and its already in the pipeline.
If you feel £31,995 is a little too much to fork out for a performance version on the RCZ then why not take a look at more standard models by clicking here
