The motoring media seems to be split into two camps: over there, eating tofu, hugging trees and singing Kumbaya, is Camp Green. We love those guys. They embrace a clean future and envision a healthy planet for our great grandchildren to whizz around in driverless, zero-emissions cars.
Then there's Camp Petrolhead, scaring squirrels away with their V8s and pouring more 98 Octane on the bonfire. The old school is constantly moaning about the demise of the car, and reminiscing about the good old days.
Personally, the good old days are the Eighties, a time when I was still learning to speak by reciting passing car names and making vroom-vroom sounds. The good old days are the F40, Group B, Ayrton Senna and the Peugeot 205 GTI. Three of those we can never get back, but it's nice to know that in 2011 Peugeot has given us a slice of the glory days in the shape of the RCZ sports coupé. This thing possesses a chassis so well balanced and capable, that it's nearly as good as what Renaultsport does. And that's saying a lot.
In fact, during wheels' initial RCZ test, we simply refused to believe the car was front-wheel drive. Channelling either 160 or 200 horsepower to the front through an automatic or six-speed manual transmission, the RCZ was impeccably well behaved, with instant turn-in and supreme poise.
Turbocharging enables all those ponies to rise up from just 1.6 litres of displacement, and if it's an engine good enough for the Germans (Mini, which is BMW's, of course) then it's good enough for just about anybody. Sure, there is more lag than a late Nineties LAN gaming session, but once the boost kicks in the RCZ powers on with oodles of torque. Just keep it on song and you'll be fine — all the more excuses to get the slick manual version.
It also seems that someone in France finally decided not to give up half way through something, which is why the RCZ sports a fine interior indeed. Acres of leather and soft-touch plastics cover a practical cabin that includes everything you need. Except a shiny screen with satellite navigation.
No matter though, because you don't need to spend hours poring over maps looking for twisty roads in the RCZ: every corner is an adventure, and a lesson in proper FWD sportscar engineering.
