PEUGEOT’S 107 three and five door city car is built in the Czech Republic as part of a collaboration with sister company Citroen and also Toyota but like the others it has its own distinguishing features. Initially, there was just one specification, the Urban, but a new entry model, Urban Lite, was introduced just before Christmas and a more racy Sport XS with go-faster stripes has now been added to the line-up.

The mainstream Urban, most recently supplied for appraisal, costs £7,795. Power is provided by a one litre three cylinder petrol engine ordinarily it is mated to a five speed manual gearbox; there is the option of a five speed 2-Tronic dual mode box. Another extra is a rev counter which stands proud of the speedometer on the fascia; it costs £30. The speedometer markings, incidentally, are especially clear either in the daytime or when backlit – even my tired old eyes had no problem with the smaller kilometre markings.

At full belt the car can travel at 100 miles an hour and reach 60 mph from standing in just over 14 seconds - but these matters are considered by Peugeot to be of academic interest to buyers in their target market. The company have found that the vast majority of 107 owners are female and around 23 years old (which is presumably why vanity mirrors are affixed to both sun visors!) and most definitely not boy racers.

The steering is electrically powered and speed sensitive while the wheel itself is adjustable for height. The door mirrors are manually altered from inside the cabin.

Standard features of the 107 include central door locking with remote control, electric windows up front, a five speed heater fan, a 12 volt power socket and an audio system incorporating a CD player and an MP3 socket that’s integrated into the fascia. Another of those options is air conditioning.

Safety features include four airbags, ABS brakes supplemented with electronic brake force distribution and brake assist.

Even though the car’s frame is 25cm shorter than that of its predecessor, the 106, there’s room for six footers to sit comfortably behind the steering wheel or in the back of the car. Access and egress are enhanced by the width of the doors.

The front seats can each be reclined while the rear seat is back is evenly split. All of the seats have especially supportive head restraints but handgrips over the doors would have been useful. A transponder immobiliser is also fitted to the 107 and there’s a lock on the fuel filler cap. The car’s insurance group is 1E, the lowest you can get.

There are no less than nine storage compartments within the car including one for CDs and the carpeted boot features a full sized spare wheel and a tailgate of tinted glass. There are also three cupholders up front – but don’t ask me why!

The headlamps can be adjusted from inside the car and if you leave them on inadvertantly a warning will sound. No two Peugeots have the same kind of screenwiper mechanism and here the glass is swept by a quite huge single blade.