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He pulled open the small red door handle and sat inside. He found that the interior was roomy in the front, with ample leg and headroom. He was not sitting up high like he would in a City or Echo. The 206 came from a time when carmakers had not yet begun building upwards to increase apparent space. Although he found the crank rear windows a curiosity, he did like the meaty steering wheel with audio controls, the straightforward Jaeger gauges and the central digital display. The rear space was just enough for two, as long as the average-height man didn't slide the seats too far backward. All three rear seating positions had their own seatbelt, but no headrests for any of them. Luggage space was good for a week's worth of groceries for a small family, but the space was no match for the City's huge trunk or even the Vios' more modest capacity. He could at least fold the seats in a 70/30 split to increase the space. The man cranked the engine and heard a promising grumble. He knew that the 1.4 8-valve engine could produce 90 bhp at 5500 rpm. The engine settled to a silent idle, but revving it produced a satisfying growl absent from most small inline-4s. The 1.4 may produce its peak 120 Nm at a low 2800 rpm, but in practice it produced enough grunt above 2500 rpm. The man had to rev it to 3000 to 3500 to keep up with other traffic. The engine was willing to spin quickly to its redline, pulling the car quickly up to speed. He found the clutch to be tricky, engaging the transmission near the top of its stroke. He thus had to learn to release the pedal more quickly. Once on the move, though, he found the car a delight. The man found that the promise of the car's styling was indeed fulfilled. The car exhibited direct and quick steering, and it felt unperturbed even at 140 km/h, where its Nipponese rivals began to feel nervous. |
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