The Peugeot 307 is a small family car produced by the French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroën, under their Peugeot marque, from 2001 to 2008 in Europe, and was the successor to the Peugeot 306, which was discontinued in 2002 after being in production for nine years. Using the PSA PF2 platform, it was awarded the European Car of the Year title for 2002, and continued to be offered in China and certain South American markets through 2014, despite the September 2007 French launch of the 308 (its intended successor), which is built on the same platform. History The 307 was announced as the 307 Prométhée prototype at the 2000 Mondial de l'Automobile. The production hatchback versions were introduced to the European markets on 26 April 2001, as a successor to the Peugeot 306. The 307 was also sold in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and (in 1.6 and 2.0 petrol versions) Mexico. In Brazil, the 307 is sold with 1.6 and 2.0 flex (gas/ethanol) engines. Design and engineering The 307 makes use of a reworked 306 platform, that can also be found on the Citroën Xsara as well as the 1991 Citroën ZX. However, the car is larger than the 306 in every direction. The 307 continued the company's styling first seen on the Peugeot 206 and Peugeot 607. With upswept front lights and a steeply rising bonnet leading to a highly sloped windscreen (and the upright rear doors first seen on the 206), the 307 departed from the Pininfarina designed themes employed on the previous two generations of Peugeots, as introduced with the Peugeot 205, and ending with the (evolutionary) Peugeot 406. Its height is , which is in the middle of the spectrum between small family cars (between 1400 and 1450 mm) and compact MPVs (between 1600 and 1650 mm). Some consider the 307 as a low compact MPV rather than a tall small family car, because of its height and profile. One advertisement for the 307, which was released upon its launch in 2001, featured the song, "(Something Inside) So Strong" by British singer-songwriter Labi Siffre. Top Gear In a report from Top Gear Magazine in June 2001, the new Peugeot 307 1.6 16v TU5 JP4 went head to head with its competitors, the Ford Focus 1.6L I4 Zetec SE and Honda Civic 1.6 VTEC. The Peugeot received high praise in all areas of the road test, beating