Ever wondered what the country's best-selling SUV of 2008, the Mitsubishi Outlander, would be like with a diesel?
It's not an experience Mitsubishi itself will be able to deliver for another year at least, but sit behind a Peugeot badge ... and voila, wish granted.
It is the 4007, an Outlander with a prominent Gallic beak and a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel married to two six-speed transmission - treats also denied Mitsubishi drivers, a shift-yourself manual and a trick automated version.
It is a great fusion. The engine is as well-suited to this platform as we had hoped it would be; not especially fast, but refined, smooth and strong.
Just right for Kiwis? Seems so. Peugeot NZ ordered 100 cars, thinking that would be enough for the foreseeable future. However, by launch day, November 5, all but 19 had been spoken for.
Peugeot's first proper soft-roader - which, by the way, is being called the four-thousand-and-seven, rather than four double-O-seven - takes the brand's newest four-cylinder oiler, a Euro IV common rail HDi unit.
The engine is shipped in, as is the orthodox manual, while the dual clutch semi-automatic gearbox is from the Lancer Ralliart. The latter should be a major selling point; it provides the convenience of an orthodox automatic and manual thrift. Also enhanced is the towing ability, raised to a sturdy 2000kg.
Initial demand, at least, is expected to be for the range-topping Luxury, the only edition with full leather and the most loaded with creature comforts: Heated seats, chrome trim inside and out, xenon lamps with washers and reversing sensors.
All models get climate control air conditioning, a CD player (but only the Luxury's is multi-disk), trip computer, cruise control, electric folding and heated door mirrors and front foglamps.
Perhaps as a result of its mixed heritage, the car misses out on the small touches given any made-in-France Peugeot - no headlamp height adjust control, for instance. An auxiliary plug for an MP3 player, though now an Outlander fixture, is absent from the Peugeot.
Out on the road, the similarities between the Peugeot and its cousin are strong, meaning a firm ride and some road roar. But, with this drivetrain, such foibles are easily forgiven.
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