It's quite amazing what a designer can do with a basic car, and the latest iteration of the Peugeot 206 is a classic case in point. With the 206 SW due for launch here next week, the original hatch that was followed by the sweetest hard-top cabriolet in the business - the cc - now has a ‘wagon’ big brother.

And I reckon the only thing that will stop it being a best seller here is the inexplicable antipathy towards estate cars in this country. It will probably sweep the boards in markets like Italy, where up to half of many models are wagons.

Meantime, for my money it is the most stylish car in its segment, and particularly in its niche. Frankly, I’ve never been a fan of the 206 hatch’s kind of shortchopped rear, a purely personal quirk, but I suspect I’d very happily live with this version.

And in the fact that the SW has the same wheelbase as its hatch sibling lies the first clue to the wagon’s stylistic success. That extra 19cm of overhang behind the wheels adds the balance the metalwork needed. And the extra lengths of glass do too, not to mention the very strong rear lights treatment that visually supports the whole rear back frame.

It’s bold and it’s beautiful. For some reason, Peugeot’s design people are seriously improving their key lines - first 307 and now 206 - with innovative wagons that are so much more than an addendum to the core vehicles.

I’m already looking forward to what they’ll manage with the 407 when it comes. Except I’ll probably have to wait - they seem to hang in for a long time before bringing out wagon versions.

But back to the 206SW. What you’re looking at in the pictures includes a complete new roof and revised rear doors and side panels. What is slightly less evident until you sit in is that the SW puts the 206 spacewise almost a class up. And the seating/loading flexibility is getting close to MPV standards.

The very flat load area runs 1378mm (more than 4.5 feet) with the rear seats folded, and if you need some extra length, flip the front passenger seatback and you’ve got 2336mm (7.75 feet) to carry the surfboard on the inside. Getting stuff into that area is made easy with a lower load floor than in the hatch.

The polypropylene bodycoloured rear bumper has black inserts on the corner contact points, matching chunky side strips on the doors, and there’s also a black rubbing strip across under the tailgate edge. Along with the black roofrails, they add elements of strength to the overall styling.

Developing upgraded rear suspension for the SW has benefited the whole 206 range, because they’ve incorporated the improvements into all versions of the car.

The inside is as we’re used to in the 206 series, and though we won’t know all the specification levels to be brought in here until next week, there are three in the vehicles’s main markets, incorporating greys, leathers and aluminium.

The engines choices ought to be interesting, though I doubt we’ll get the 2-litre here. On paper (as well as from experience in other Peugeot and Ford applications) I’m saying the 1.4-litre turbodiesel developed by PSA with Ford should be the power unit of choice. This is a lifestyle as well as a practical vehicle, and though lower on bhp, the small diesel has a pulling performance not far off its petrol equivalent of the same capacity and should give fairly great fuel economy in this vehicle.

Otherwise, the choice is going to be from 1.1-, 1.4- and 1.6-litre petrols and another diesel, a kind of ‘ordinary’ 2-litre. Which doesn’t make it bad. Hey, that HDi is amongst the best. I just think the 1.4 DV4 should suit the car.

So, until I sit in it in the metal, I’m already impressed (we did see it at the Frankfurt and Geneva shows, but it was a little out of reach). I admit that I expect to be more so. And in a niche area where Ford’s Fiesta-based Fusion Urban Activity Vehicle and the Opel Meriva are soon upcoming, it is a sub-segment where the competition is hotting up mightily.

I LOVE competition. Makes such an improvement all over in cars.

We’ll have the full Irish news on the 206SW on Monday. But I’m booking my review drive now.

Sure, it’s no Ferrari Enzo, or boyracer’s Subaru WRX who figures his highrise spoiler reflects his self-perceived manhood size.

It’s a REAL car. For the real world. Where there’s a lot more real life to be lived.

I don’t expect to be disappointed.

Peugeot 206SW