Peugeot RCZ Review and Road Test

Back with a bolder look, the RCZ is a CarShowroom.com.au favourite – every time we see one we dip our beret to the beautiful French coupe. And forget a leisurely ‘Boulevard Cruiser’ – when required the Peugeot RCZ punches-out some slick, sporty dynamics which will have you longing for your favourite set of bends.

 

Peugeot RCZ Overview

Peugeot had jaws dropping when the RCZ sports coupe first appeared. Wonderfully styled and boasting a unique glass ‘double-bubble’ roof the RCZ spearheaded a new model onslaught from the French giant which continues today with good-looking, dynamic cars like the 508 mid-size sedan and the peppy 208.

 

Now Peugeot has given the RCZ an update with a more aggressive front-end look and some interior refinements. For us, the stylish French coupe remains one of the very best new car designs of the current era.

 

CarShowroom.com.au tested the petrol version of the RCZ (1.6-litre turbo) which is priced at $58,990.

 

Peugeot RCZ Engine

Being a manual, our Peugeot RCZ was propelled by the version of the turbocharged 1.6-litre, four cylinder petrol engine which delivers 147kW at 5500rpm and peak torque of 275Nm at 1700rpm. Zero to 100km/h takes 7.5 seconds (that’s faster than the manual Mazda MX-5 at 7.9 seconds) and fuel consumption (combined cycle) is rated at 6.9l/100kms (8.1l/100kms for the MX-5).

 

Drive is to the front wheels via a six-speed manual transmission.

 

Had our car been an auto, the powerplant would have been a 115kW/240Nm version of the turbo 1.6.

 

Unusually in this category, Peugeot offers the RCZ with a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel good for 120kW/340Nm. The diesel RCZ is exclusively a six-speed automatic.

 

Peugeot RCZ The Interior

We’ve always loved the interior of the Peugeot RCZ – much like Mazda MX-5 and all serious sports cars; you sit in the RCZ, not on it. The nicely-styled, flat-bottom steering wheel adjusts for height and reach and looks like it came straight from Peugeot’s Le Mans racers.

 

Instrumentation ramps-up the glamour and exudes French style but, again like proper sports cars, the vital information (road speed and revs) is clearly presented and housed in a nice, curved binnacle.

 

As part of this update, Peugeot enhanced the RCZ’s style further with lacquered black trim surrounding the gear lever, new, luxo door pads and trim inserts and some aluminium highlights for the dashboard.

 

Front seats are beautifully styled, leather-trimmed and nicely supportive. Like others in this segment, the rear seats are strictly for occasional use by youngsters or to carry small hand luggage.

 

Audio is a six-speaker system with the usual connectivity and integrated satellite navigation is standard.

 

As you would expect in this sporty coupe with a low-sling roof, luggage space isn’t massive – but it’s not a complete loss like some convertibles. That’s 384-litres with the rear seat in-place or 760-litres when folded

 

Peugeot RCZ Exterior & Styling

Without doubt the Peugeot RCZ is one of the best styling jobs of the current era. Go ahead - bring your best Audi TT or BMW Z4…the RCZ more than holds its own in the looks department.

 

That hallmark ‘double-bubble’ roof not only looks sophisticated, it’s a technological marvel as well.

 

And those powerful rear three-quarters provide athleticism and sneakily suggest the RCZ is mid-engined.

 

For this update, Peugeot’s stylists trod carefully and introduced subtle changes which sharpen the RCZ’s overall package. The front face is actually all new, bringing extra athleticism and a more harmonious blending with the curved rear haunches.

 

There’s extra creases in the bonnet and a new front grille in black and lower air intake which accentuated via claw-shaped LEDs. And the xenon headlights get titanium surrounds for a new, darker look.

 

That carries-over to new black wheel arches and new ‘Technical Grey’ 19-inch alloy wheels.

 

At the back is a clever active rear spoiler with a manual over-ride should you choose to look like a ‘Boy Racer’ (actually it’s probably to clean the spoiler!).

 

Peugeot RCZ On The Road

‘Balance’ is the term which kept leaping into our heads during our week driving the Peugeot RCZ. Sure this is a front-driver so, at the limit, understeer is the default setting, but the combination of good calibration for the MacPherson strut font/torsion beam rear suspension and the relatively short 2596mm wheelbase means the RCZ is lively (in a sporty way) and responsive to throttle changes and steering input.

 

It’s been a while since we’ve driven an RCZ and we found the spring/damper set-up a tad firmer than we recalled – meaning it’s sportier and less ‘boulevard cruiser’ than some in this segment.

 

In fact, using motor sport parlance, in fast corners the RCZ ‘takes a set’ (grips the road and isn’t easily de-stabilized) – and that confirms a good suspension set-up and, yes – that term again – ‘balance’. We wouldn’t mind a sportier cut-in for the ESP and certainly the chassis is good enough to handle more power (not that there’s anything wrong with the turbo 1.6 – in fact it’s a beauty).

 

Around town, the high rear three-quarter means you initially  

Peugeot RCZ Issues

Good as the current Peugeot RCZ package is – and it’s very good – you’d reckon, somewhere in the PSA arsenal there would be a more powerful petrol engine which could be slotted in. 

 

Peugeot RCZ Verdict

Regular CarShowroom.com.au readers will recall it was ‘love at first sight’ for us when we initially tested the Peugeot RCZ. This week in the updated model rekindled our passion.

 

Remember this is the company responsible for the recent ‘all-time’ record at the Pikes Peak hillclimb and mega-budget Le Mans racing teams…so sports cars are in the Peugeot DNA.

 

In the RCZ, Peugeot has successfully blended its French style, jaw-dropping good looks and sharp driving dynamics into a package which in every department challenges the Germans.

 

And, however you cut it, value-for-money is a genuine attribute for this beautiful coupe.

 

Peugeot RCZ The Competition

Naturally it’s the Audi TT. The new TT lineup starts at $64,450 but that’s still $6460 more expensive than the Peugeot RCZ – and the TT 1.8TFSI with 118kW/250Nm is out-gunned by the RCZ’s 147kW/275Nm (in manual form although the RCZ auto is 115kW/240Nm).

 

Although not quite as sporty as the RCZ, check-out Volkswagen’s Scirocco R ($47,990). More ‘exotic sporty hatch’ than pure sports coupe like the RCZ, the Scirocco comes armed with Volkswagen’s 188kW330Nm 2.0-litre turbo engine and is all German precision.

 

You must always consider the Mazda MX-5 ($47,280 and $49,885). Still astonishingly good at, well everything really, the MX-5 remains one of the world’s great sports cars.