Retail and company car drivers have spoken.  It is time to go green.  However, an environmentally friendly vehicle up until now has meant a compromise, whether in size, style, price, practicality or even poor fuel economy – few vehicles currently in the spotlight tick all the right boxes.

Peugeot has potentially the perfect answer for the environmentally aware, style-conscious driver, who also needs space for the kids.  A stylish, family car, with five seats and five doors, that does 62mpg (combined), has a top-class Euro NCAP safety rating of 5 stars and CO₂ emissions of 120g/km, placing the car in band B of the government’s VED bracket (£35 per year).

The Peugeot 207 1.6 HDi 90 S, offers all of the above without compromise, for less than £12,500.

Currently when drivers choose their ‘environmentally friendly car’, they seem prepared to compromise.  Only two seats?  Expensive list price?  Disappointing fuel economy?  Unappealing design?  All too often the promise of going green belies the reality, certainly when applied to un-economical vehicles.

With the proposed London Congestion Charge looking to exempt cars with CO₂ emissions of less than 120g/km, and tax breaks for low emission company cars planned for 2008, real green vehicles are now the viable choice for drivers.

“The automotive industry is entering a green revolution,” says Pierre Louis Colin, Managing Director of Peugeot UK.  “Drivers want, and now have the financial requirement, to do their bit for the environment, but they shouldn’t have to compromise.

“A car is generally the second largest purchase a person will make, after a house, and they certainly want to be proud of it.  Peugeot are well placed for this and in cars like the 207 1.6 HDi 90, its a stylish car, with a high specification, including electric windows, air conditioning and many other desirable features as standard.  Our advanced diesel technology also offers customers class-leading low emissions – without compromising cost or performance.”

It’s not only the retail customer that will notice the financial benefit of going green in a 207.  Currently (07/08 tax year) a 22% tax payer pays £480 benefit in kind; this reduces substantially to £318 in 2008/09, or just £26 per month.

There are currently 16 models offered in the Peugeot 107, 206 and 207 ranges that produce emissions of less than 120g/km CO₂.  The new 308 that goes on sale in September will introduce more.