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IF you have ever wondered what many of motoring abbreviations actually mean, for example ABS, EBD etc I am sure you're not alone. Well here's another one, CC. It's another one of those acronyms that we all use but seldom know what the full meaning is. This one signifies a Coupe Cabriolet. I was interested to learn recently that the term was first used some seventy three years ago by the manufacturers of the first folding hard top, the 401 Eclipse from the Peugeot stable.

Many marques have used the term since, but the benchmark was surely the Peugeot 206 CC which saw the light of day in the latter half of the nineties, followed by the very successful 307 CC. But now Peugeot have topped it with the newest derivation, the 207 CC.

Following its initial unveiling at the 2006 Paris Motor Show, the 207 CC's stunning looks and practicality as an everyday means of transport, has once again placed it at the forefront of this particular genre.

The subject of our road impression this week is the Peugeot 207 CC Sport.

As with all the new generation Peugeots the styling is, I believe, one of the Gallic manufacturer's major strong points. The huge lower air intake with built in spot lights flows to the very distinctive rampant lion insignia and out to those enormous headlight clusters. A heavily raked A pillar guides the eye to the very neat roofline down to the high rear deck, which gives a pleasing coupe appearance.

It's the rear end treatment of the new 207 CC that I think is the most improved design area of the car, let's face it any car that has to store its complete roof structure and provide luggage space has got to be a nightmare for any designer. The sheer bulk of the top with all the operating mechanism required for smooth operation means that body lines have got to compromise. But Peugeot have somehow managed to squeeze it all into the stylish rear, and still leave room for a couple of small suitcases.

With the roof folded there's 187 litres of boot space and with roof up 449 litres.

Gone are the internal lock and releases catches as used on its predecessor, now it's just pushing a button and in twenty five seconds the roof and windows are raised or lowered. With the roof up noise levels are comparable with any fixed roof vehicle and just as weather tight.

Interior of the 207 CC is well finished, the test vehicle was finished in black with aluminium trim. An information panel is located in a binnacle recessed into the centre of the dashboard. Instrumentation is white faced with alloy bezels mounted directly in front of the driver.

Dual zone climate control and a front loading CD/Radio are mounted in the centre consul.

Safety is well catered for with crumple zones, side protection, and in the unlikely event of rolling the car, active roll hoops that operate with the roof raised or lowered, this is a first on a car in this class. Front seatbelts are equipped with both pretensioners and force limiters, adaptive driver and front passenger airbags and two thorax airbags integrated into the front seat frames.

The 207 CC Sport is powered by a 1.6 litre 16 valve, with valvetronic variable inlet valves which delivers 88 kW and 160 Nm of torque. Fuel economy is claimed at 6.5l/100 kms and we got pretty close to that even the car was still very new and not yet run in.

A pleasant surprise was the very positive 5 speed manual transmission, its strange how some models in the Peugeot range have sloppy gear levers and others are almost perfect.

Driving the 207 CC was sheer fun, the car was well balanced with a firm but comfortable suspension and a very well weighted power steering. Body rigidity was very good, even over very bumpy roads, there was virtually no scuttle shake.

Seating was good and very supportive The engine, although no ball of fire, pushes the car along at a very fair rate of knots and the chassis dynamics allow you to really push deep into corners with absolute confidence.

Let's face it the 207 CC is "hair dressers car", whatever that might mean. Well let's put the record straight, it was never designed as a true sports car, but rather as a means of enjoying lively performance, with the added advantage of being able to enjoy open top motoring yet close up for the inclement weather, and the 207 CC performs these tasks admirably.

To sum up the Peugeot 207 CC is a great package for those of you that enjoy something very different in your everyday motoring and is sure to add a new dimension to your driving pleasure. The Peugeot 207 CC Sport retails for R 220 000 including the 3 year/100 000 km warranty plus 12 year anti-perforation and 3 year paint warranty.

Many thanks to Peugeot Helderberg, for the use of the vehicle.

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