Pretty Peugeot preens in the early morning sun. – Author photo.
When Paul mooted the idea of a Station Wagon week, I knew immediately what I wanted to write about: my partner’s 2007 Peugeot 307 SW – forbidden fruit to many CCers but common (for a French make) here downunder in the land of New Zea. However, deciding to write and deciding what to write are quite different things, and despite my best efforts, I just couldn’t get any inspiration. So I’d decided not to write anything…until I read Paul’s excellent article on the 1966 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser. Suddenly the 307 went from being an undistinguished-everyday-European-family-wagon, to being the MDF-VC (Modern-Day-French-Vista-Cruiser) it is! Let’s take a short gander down Station Wagon Boulevard to see how Peugeot kept the Vista concept alive and well.
1950 Peugeot 203 wagon – all cruiser, no vista (yet!)
In the Olds VC post, Paul wrote how the glassy roof, wheelbase stretch and forward-facing third row of seats were distinguishing marks of GM’s Vista Cruisers. He also noted that this was the “exact same formula Peugeot laid down in 1950 with its 203 wagon” – although the 203 lacked the Vista Cruiser’s vista windows. Peugeot continued to follow this same longer-taller formula for decades, as written about on CC previously. Their familiale wagons all had a longer wheelbase and raised roof, but sadly the 403:
Peugeot 403 Familiale.
…and 404:
Peugeot 404 Familiale. – Illustrations courtesy peugeot-404.de.
…and 504:
Magazine scan courtesy http://www.michaelsemmler.de
…and 505:
Peugeot 505 Familiale.
…wagons were all Vistaless Cruisers. Sacre bleu! Of course as well as their family-class offerings, Peugeot offered other smaller station wagons over the years which followed the longer-taller approach. Alas, they too were all Vista-non!. It was a case of close-but-no-Vista-cigar for Peugeot for so long!
2004 Peugeot 307 XSP. – Author photo.
But in 2001, things began to look up when the 307 was launched in 3/5 door hatchback form. Motor-noters noted that while it lacked the joie de vivre of its predecessor, the 306 was still quite a quietly competent competitor in the small car segment.
Peugeot awakens gently in the early morning New Zealand sunshine. Toyota Caldina wagon sits quietly alongside, awaiting its time in the sun. – Author photo.
A year after the hatches arrived, Peugeot released a 307 station wagon in Break (two rows of seats) and SW (three rows) versions. Many folks wondered if ‘Break’ was a premonitionary name… The other wagon variant, the SW, was known as the Familiale in France, continuing Peugeot’s proud legacy of family wagons.
307 dimensions compared.
Also continuing Peugeot’s wagon legacy, the 307 SW was longer and taller than the hatch. The additional size allowed for additional space inside for the third row of seats, just like the UnVista Cruisers of yore.
Une ‘trois zéro sept’ avec Vista Roof! – Le photo found on l’google.
But unlike the various HiddenVista Cruisers, the 307 wagon’s SW variant had a large glass roof! Mon dieu!! Mr and Mrs Vista, your Cruiser has arrived! This simple change finally – finally! – allowed Peugeot to join the cool kids in the glass-roof playground!
Let the sun shine in… Third row of seats currently not installed, but note seatbelt on roof. – Author photo.
Now, les enfant, I’m a responsible car fan, so when I first met my partner last year, one of my first questions was “…so whaddya drive?” The response, “Peugeot 307 wagon”, was infinitely more interesting than the undistinguished Japanese make I was expecting. And when I first saw the 307 and noticed the glass roof, I was intrigued! I love sunroofs in a car, but this was bigger than any sunroof any of my cars had had, and I couldn’t wait to go for a ride in the truth-in-advertising ‘SW’!
Note to self: prune that tree this weekend… – Author photo.
It wasn’t long before I got to ride in the 307 Vistaplus Cruiser, and what a delight it was! The upward vistas afforded by the Vistafull roof are absolutely lovely. The roof and the low window line combine to provide the 307 with superb all-round visibility. The highly-specced interior and comfy leather seats add to the positive experience, and make the SW a surprisingly superb car in which to tour.
Great vistas from this cruiser! – Author photo.
As well as being passengered in the SW, I’ve also driven it a few times, and it’s surprisingly nice to drive. My partner does find it a little underpowered at times, but my everyday car is my Glorious 70kW Nissan Laurel diesel, so to me the 307 feels quite lively! As well, the controls all fall easily to hand, and I now believe every car should have adjustable fold-down armrests attached to the inner sides of the seats.
Of course the 307 Vistamax wouldn’t be French without a quirkily quirky quirk or two, and the real doozy is the switch for the electric blind for the SuperVista roof. I spent 5 minutes searching the front of the car for it before giving up and asking. Naturally, the switch is located at the top-rear of the centre console, under the afore-mentioned armrests, and virtually inaccessible from the driver’s seat… Merde? Non! Ce est vive la difference!
The SW’s extra wheelbase and overall length over the hatch is quite visible; the Toyota Caldina somewhat less visible. – Author photo.
My partner has owned his 307 for several years now; it replaced a Volkswagen Golf that was lovely but slightly expensive to service and horrendously expensive when things broke. His reason for buying the 307 was practicality – it’s apparently superb for loading to the gunhales with plants from the plant centre. The fact it had three rows of seats and a MegaMasterVistaRoof wasn’t instrumental in the purchase. In fact, the third row of seats hasn’t been installed for some years and currently sit in the garage. Unlike the other French car in our family (my late grandparents’ 2001 Renault Scenic), the SW has proven extremely reliable. The sole issue over the last few years of ownership has been a dodgy wheel bearing that was replaced at Christmas.
I’m not sure what the future holds for the 307 SW, as my partner and I have three station wagons between us – the 307, his Toyota Caldina company car and my Ford Sierra. We quite like the idea of selling it for a classic convertible, maybe a Triumph Stag. But until then, we’ll enjoy touring the beautiful New Zealand countryside in the 307 SW Vista Cruiser, marvelling at the visible vistas as we cruise by!
Truth in advertising – this is indeed a 307 Station Wagon. – Author photo.
Nice catch and write-up Scott. Of course there’s no one on the planet who can teach Peugeot anything about building station wagons, regardless the segment (size).
Regarding looks I’m not a fan of the Peugeots between the 06 and current 08 gen. The 07s had that low pointy snout and later on they got those mighty ugly big gaping black mouths and ditto ugly big headlight units.
Thankfully Peugeot got their act together with the current line-up. This is today’s Peugeot 308 sw. Gorgeous C-segment wagon.
Absolutely – plus, the 407 wagon really felt cramped inside (BMW-like). The 308 and 508 are much better on all accounts.
Thanks for shedding some (sun)light on this car, one that I’m obviously not familiar with, in terms of direct contact. Well, there were some in Paris when we were there, but I didn’t really pick up on the vista roof.
I think the concept of the glass roof is cool, but not unlike my Uncle’s green 1971 Olds Vista Cruiser, the positives do not outweigh the negatives. His leaked after about 5 years, the sun beating down in your face could be very annoying, and in the summer the interior of that car was so hot it was unbearable. Would I still want one today? Absolutely! But then again, it would be a fun weekend only vehicle, so it’s not the same as when the car was your everyday mode of transportation.
The 407 has a full length see thru roof, not too many around but there is one at my local dealer.
1.6 m2 of glass area in its roof.
Yeah, on the 307 and the first 308 a panoramic roof was optional and I don’t think the new 308 even has it anymore. The 407 SW on the other hand could not be had without one, even though it was not aimed at families at all (that’s what the 307 was for). Wonder why that needed a panoramic roof extended to a purposely unusable back seat. Oh, Peugeot…
Yes, you can still get the panoramic roof on the new 308 SW:
PSA offers (optional) panoramic roofs on several models, like on this Citroën C4 Grand Picasso and also on the smaller C3 Picasso.
I was wondering how you were going to tie this car to a Vista Cruiser, but you have done so and done it well. This is just the kind of thing that might call my name if it were available in the US. I have never been one to follow the crowd in my choice of cars, and a French car in America would not follow the crowd very well. 🙂
I wonder if we’ll ever see the likes of Peugeot (or Renault or Citroen) stateside again. The chances are probably quite slim…
You also get the 508 with the panoramic roof.
Scott, are you feeling okay? You want to flog your Sierra for a Stag? You are jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. I cannot for the life of me think of a worse car. It was like two slant-four motors bolted together, which it in effect was. It never worked right, either, and had horrid overheating problems, gushers on the driveways and plenty of “well, it just went BOOM!” incidents. We struggled to keep a couple running at our family garage, but it was a losing battle for the customer. We loved it, since it cost so much to do any service to one, just simple things required removing a whole lot of other things in a Stag, or any big money BL car of the period for that matter. Jags are almost as bad, but nothing is as abominable do wrench on as a Stag is.
Get a nice 911 Cabrio. It will cost a lot less to buy and run! But if you must, here is a nice one:
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C607364
No, no, flog the Peugeot for a Stag! With Dad being an ex-BL mechanic, I know to only get a Stag that’s been retrofitted with a Rover V8. And we’d still have the Caldina and Sierra and Laurel for the many, many times the Stag wasn’t functioning as intended! 😉
Is the blind for the glass roof completely opaque? I’ve seen some cars (e.g., first-gen MINI Cooper) where the blind is really just a translucent screen, which I find absolutely intolerable — driving around at midday, there’s no escaping the feeling of the sun boring into your scalp, even with the screen closed. That alone would make me not buy a car. Even for regular-sized glass sunroofs, you need a completely opaque, insulated panel.
I see the appeal of the panoramic roof in theory, but in practice, I don’t like it any more than I like sunroofs (which is not at all). I suppose if it doesn’t open, that at least minimizes one of my major complaints about sunroofs (i.e., leakage), but I’d rather have a steel roof.
No, the blind is solid and covered with the same padded material as the headlining. Completely lightproof. The blind is made up of about four sections, I gather they stack on each other as they retract.
Nice article Scott. Renault did some similar wagons also, like the 21.
Also, Triumph Stag? Reeeaaallyy?
Now, about your “partner.” I wanna see photos of the happy couple.
Rover gave you a glass roof without the wagon if you asked nicely a 60s option.
The Renault 21 Nevada, very popular in its days. Renault still has a wagon in that segment, the Laguna Estate. Far less roomy than the 21 though.
It’s a pity that PSA doesn’t bring anything to NA. They would force most other manufacturers to up their game.