Rally driving ace Penny Mallory discovers that things are not what they seem

Growing up in Kent the summers were hot, Blue Peter was cool and a Burton’s Wagon Wheel was as big as a dinner plate. At least that’s how I remember it as a 10 year old in the 1970’s. Of course the history books reflect a different set of events; the winter of discontent, rampant inflation and the fuel crisis.

Isn’t it funny how we often look back with rose tinted glasses, choosing to remember the best bits and deleting the bad? It’s the same, I’ve learnt, with cars. For years I lusted over a Jaguar E-Type, my fantasy fuelled by the misty eyed recollections of previous owners who regaled tales of their ownership with more fondness than they expressed for their first born child.

It was hardly surprising therefore that when the opportunity arose to drive an immaculate Series II 4.2 roadster for a television series I was presenting, I jumped at the chance.

Within 400 yards of taking the helm I came face to face with the reality of old cars. Compared to new ones they don’t handle, brake or steer that well. They also tend to lack the creature comforts and safety features that we now expect, in summary old cars are great to look at but hard work to drive.

This of course is a shame, and it’s clearly not just me who thinks so, because across the channel a small French company called PGO is building a car near the Pôle Mécanique d'Alès in the South of France that solves those problems by combining retro looks with bang up to date mechanicals.

The car is the PGO Cévennes and I am now the proud ‘owner’ of one, well for a week at least after the UK importer Lifestyle Automotive dropped one off at my house to give the once over.

First glance and its obvious the Cévennes is homage to the Porsche 356 of the 1950’s. The rakish screen, the rear mounted engine, many of the details that attracted buyers to the Porsche 356 are found in the Cévennes, but closer inspection reveals more, the interior is trimmed in soft high quality leather, the tail lights display modern LED bulbs, the wheels are alloy and the interior is air conditioned.

Could the Cévennes be the answer to my motoring prayers, the perfect blend of beauty, reliability and great driving dynamics?

As with any car the only way to find out is to drive it, so grabbing the keys and snatching a scarf off the coat stand I set off, intent on taking it for a good old fashioned blatt in the country.

With the roof in place and as with any small roadster, the Lotus Elise is much tighter; cabin access is limited, fine for me but something of a challenge for the larger gentleman. But drop the roof and suddenly the temptation to hurdle the door and slide straight into the driver’s seat is almost irresistible!

Once inside (and yes I did open the door) I’m immediately impressed by the little touches; pressing the door handle button makes the side windows drop a touch. It’s a feature usually reserved for Mercedes Benz and BMW’s who claim it reduces damage to the soft top by the frameless windows and creates a better seal when the roof is in place. Either way it’s a quality touch that says much about this car maker’s attention to detail.

Sat behind the wheel and the good feelings continues; electric windows, CD player and a 5-speed gearbox are all present. The supportive, leather clad seats are certainly top notch quality and with a good range of adjustment getting comfy was easy enough.

PGO have certainly spent some money making this car feel special inside. From the PGO logo’s on the dials to the bespoke heater switches and richly painted dashboard the Cévennes feels like a £50,000 car. So how, when PGO offer this car for £30,000 can they do that?

PGO’s trick is to take the well proven and relatively inexpensive mechanicals of a Peugeot and spend a whole chunk of money on that truly stunning body and deeply satisfying interior. The best news of all for sports car enthusiasts is that the consequence is the reliability and economy of a production car with the benefit of very respectable performance.

By using the same 1997cc engine you’d find in a Peugeot 307 but with considerably less weight to haul around it will hit 60mph from standstill in a very un-retro 6.8 seconds and continue to pull strongly right up to 134 mph.

Keen to experience those performance figures for myself I drop the fabric roof, a simple three clip job; the effect is to make the car’s silhouette even more appealing. This is the sweetest open-top roadster I have seen for years.

Pulling the seatbelt over my left shoulder and fastening it by my right hip felt a bit weird but added to the novelty. Prodding the starter button fired the engine into life, I turned out of my drive heading towards the ever darkening skies.

Initial acceleration is smooth, the clutch light. Visibility from the low slung cabin is pretty good; the Cévennes diminutive dimensions are easy to judge. There isn’t an intimidating bone in this car’s body.

Pushing on a bit through some familiar Cotswold roads it’s also obvious that this car’s good looks are matched by a well sorted chassis. The mid engine configuration, sat well insulated just inches behind the driver, endows the car with great weight distribution. Modern tyre technology also ensures that the Cévennes demonstrates none of that tail happy tail wagging of early rear engine Porsches.

After about 20 miles I notice that I’ve left the stereo switched off and that the rain that is now falling has not provoked me into stopping to put up the roof. There’s only one possible reason, that I’m actually enjoying the car too much to notice!

But ‘notice’ is what this car does best, I can’t recall the last car I drove that created such a public stir. Crawling in town traffic and pedestrians are duty bound to do those comedy double takes. You also quickly notice that car drivers in front spend a disproportionate amount of time gazing into their rear view mirror; it’s enough to make a girl paranoid… or more realistically flattered!

Three hours, over 100 miles and many glances later I pull up on my driveway. In that time I notice that I have a) Driven too quickly to be troubled by the intermittent rain b) Mentally chosen my ideal paint and trim combination c) Decided that it would be fun to take the car to Nice with a friend, for the purposes of ‘further product evaluation’.

As my week with the car passed all too quickly I began behaving out of character. On Tuesday I washed the Cévennes, not in one of those automatic affairs you understand but actually washed it with a brush and chamois and stuff. On Friday I asked a friend if I looked good in it, it was like saying does my bum look big in this and daring the other person to answer with anything but unbridled reassurance. And on Sunday I seriously thought about hiding the car so that when the delivery driver came to collect it on Monday I could pretend I was out and keep for a bit longer.

Which got me to thinking, what kind of person would actually buy a PGO Cévennes? At £30,000 it might be a fraction of the cost of an original Porsche 356 but it is still considerably more than loose change.

So here’s my prediction. If, like me you love the idea of an old car because of the way they look, but hate the way they drive then the Cévennes is perfect. If like my friend Jane you spend your week days ferrying kids in a people carrier whilst your husband attends business meetings in his BMW 5-Series then the Cévennes is also for you, treating it like a love nest it could be your vehicle in which to escape and spend time away from the children. But I think the biggest market for buyers comes from all those people that already own a soft top because they like every journey they make to feel like a mini motoring adventure. Dropping the roof on your car makes you feel special; it brings the countryside alive and reminds you of the freedom that motoring can give you. Now imagine all those good feelings and double them, double them again and once more for luck. At that point you’ll start to understand the unique feelings that driving a PGO Cévennes can create.

But don’t just take my word for it, try one yourself. With only about 20 cars destined for the UK in 2008 you will have to be quick though, call Tom at Lifestyle Automotive on 07808 865916 or 01344 638 731 and for around £30,000 he’ll let you have one, if he has any left!