How good was - or is the 406

[GTXJez]

Having owned many venerable cars including Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar, Ford, Hyundai and Vauxhall to name but a few...
I believe that the 406 is legendary - not perfect but exceptional.
Key things for me would be:
1. Superb Chassis - wonderful neutral balance with great turn in
2. Smooth Ride without compromising handling
3. Quiet - mainly with low road noise
4. Great Seats and driving position
3. Generally rust free body - with good paint work
4. Reliability - after 11 years with a 2.1 TD Estate - very good
5. Good mix between performance and economy
6. Good range of models
7. ?
I am doing now 1,000 miles a week in a 10 year old car with 95k on the clock and it is better than a New Hyundai (wifey has a i30 Estate CRDI and I had a Sonata 2.4 Auto)

Why did PSA decide to change their philosophy from the 406 to 407 (and other models) when they had come so close to seriously competing with the main German manufacturers? at all levels.... perhaps perception of the brand and the cost of getting it too the market?
Citroen did have a marketing campaign for the new C5 comparing the visual appearance to a top brand german marque?

Shame they didn't take the core principles of the 406 and extend it.

Thoughts appreciated guys!

[FarmerPug]

the handling is great, i love the way it can just waft about in absolute comfort, but yet any small change you make with the steering happens instanlty, and you can feel the car work its way round corners and bends its very communicative.
Build quality is solid, i think the doors have a nice solid thud and the handles feel strong.
Its not the quickest car in the world, but it doesnt need to be.
Equipment levels are fantastic, i might have the exec one, but even on other models you do get a lot, especially for back 10 years ago auto lights and wipers wasnt on too many mainstream saloons.
Its the best looking saloon car of the past decade, and still on of the best around now.

It has a few niggles the electrics can be tempermental but overall its a very good car, definatley done in peugeots finer hours.

[highlander]

Peugeot's problem seems to be one of brand image - people don't associate Peugeot with high-quality, well-designed, well-built cars. The whole illusion of "German engineering" is pushing people toward the big German brands.

This is why the 607 tanked so badly - nobody who is doing well for themselves and is thinking of buying a luxury car is going to go to a Peugeot dealership - they'll go to BMW and get a 7-series, or to Audi for an A8, or to Mercedes for an S-class, or will avoid the German brands and go to Jaguar for an XF or XJ. Peugeot won't even enter their minds.

The 407 may have been better-built than the 406 was (except for that run of dodgy clutches they seemed to have), but the 406 is a nicer-looking car, and doesn't suffer from the horrible wide-mouth grill Peugeot have decided everyone wants on their cars.

Combining their 40x and 60x series into the 508 is a good move for them.

[FarmerPug]

the 406 marketing wise was ok, its in the small saloon segment, people in that segment are not as fussy for german only as in the 5 series bracket.

[STALLED]

The 607 sucks - who wants to pay 30,000 quid for a FWD luxobarge with no brand image - no wonder why they stopped the Scopio/Omega etc!

As for the 406, it was good for its time - with class leading occupant safety and decent kit! Friendly with sales fleets, as there was decent residuals and didn't have the duff image wich the Mondeo/Vectra/Primera had!

[highlander]

All I have heard about the 607 is that it is a very luxurious, comfortable, spacious car. I think it's priced low enough that it should have attracted people who spent more money on the equivalent Merc S-class / BMW 7-series.

The only reason it didn't is because of brand image.

It's a perfectly good car, and had some nice engines in it (3 litre V6 HDi? Yes please!) so I don't really get why you think it sucks.

[sirwiggum]

The 406 was probably the last great Peugeot, in the same way that it's sister car the Xantia was the last great mid-range Citroen (excluding the C6, and the new shape C5).

It's a bit like watching the Channel 4 idents. Everything starts to come together, PSA have a great package in the 90s-2000s in the 406 and Xantia, then, oops, they miss the target with the C5 and to a certain extent the niggles with the 407 (fleets put off by the unreliable 1.6HDi).

It had uncanny handling for such a large, comfortable car. Unlike the German competitors it wasn't overly harshly sprung.

The 607 was hindering somewhat by, in my opinion, slightly awkward styling, and the fact that it is French, and the (advertising backed...) media has drip fed people that big cars = German is best. The Ultimate Marketing Machine.
I would prefer the C6 tbh.

[waue1978]

Large non-German luxury cars haven't done well for years & French ones never really did in the first place. Main reason is that they just don't last like BMWs, Mercs & Audis. Granted, the mid 90s Mercs won't be around too long due to the build problems, but just look at the amount of old Mercs & Beemers still on the roads today. You just don't see any Renault Safranes or 25s any more & the 605 is a proper rarity, but there are still plenty of early 90s Beemers & Mercs still going strong.

[CalamityJames]

As for the 406, it was good for its time - with class leading occupant safety and decent kit! Friendly with sales fleets, as there was decent residuals and didn't have the duff image wich the Mondeo/Vectra/Primera had!

Looks-wise the 406 was miles ahead of the rest of the mid-range fleet cars, but having owned 3 Primera GTs, I'll have to say the GT was an amazing car and possibly one of the best handling cars I've ever owned!

http://www.pistonheads.com/pics/members/85705-car.jpg - I do miss it sometimes!

[sirwiggum]

As for the 406, it was good for its time - with class leading occupant safety and decent kit! Friendly with sales fleets, as there was decent residuals and didn't have the duff image wich the Mondeo/Vectra/Primera had!

Looks-wise the 406 was miles ahead of the rest of the mid-range fleet cars, but having owned 3 Primera GTs, I'll have to say the GT was an amazing car and possibly one of the best handling cars I've ever owned!

http://www.pistonheads.com/pics/members/85705-car.jpg - I do miss it sometimes!

Strangely enough, in traffic today I saw a mk2 saloon (as in the original shape, similar to your old one but facelifted, but before the last ever pointy Laguna-based model) in Silver and thought it was actually quite elegant.

What a shame Nissan are too busy selling 4x4s these days.

[waue1978]

I used to like the Primera GT - until a mate bought one. Strangely low spec (windy windows in rear when cheaper models had them all round) & his one had something wrong with the front suspension when he bought it which was going to cost an absolute fortune to fix due to it being some kind of sophisticated set up.

That really put me off the Primera after that.

[CalamityJames]

Strangely enough, in traffic today I saw a mk2 saloon (as in the original shape, similar to your old one but facelifted, but before the last ever pointy Laguna-based model) in Silver and thought it was actually quite elegant.

That'll be the P11-144, they were quite nice looking, although they didn't make a GT model.

What a shame Nissan are too busy selling 4x4s these days.

Don't get me started on that... lol

I used to like the Primera GT - until a mate bought one. Strangely low spec (windy windows in rear when cheaper models had them all round) & his one had something wrong with the front suspension when he bought it which was going to cost an absolute fortune to fix due to it being some kind of sophisticated set up.

That really put me off the Primera after that.

Yeah, the multi-link suspension was an utter nightmare if it went wrong, but absolutely brilliant when it was working well. As for the winders in the rear, Nissan didn't seem to know how much trim level to give the GTs, you get some with leccy rears, some without. Then you get some WITH sunroofs and some without, some had a passenger airbag, some had only the drivers, whereas some had a full curtain airbag system! T'was very odd! The two mark 2s I had were both 1998 models but had completely different specs!

[Bailes1992]

I didn't realise how good my 406 was until I got my Focus.
The Focus was praised for being reliable and a good handling car.
My 406 was more reliable and handled just as well even though it had shot shock absorbers!

[Doggy]

I don't think you'll find any takers on here for the main alternatives:
Mundano, Vectra, Primera, Laguna, Avensis, Accord, Passat. Well, maybe a few for the last two?

I wanted a TD estate with enough doggy space & a bit more than average 'go', so choose mine from the following shortlist:

Mondeo TDCI 130 estate, 530D estate, HDI 136 estate. All had pros & cons, but the only real worry with the 406 was the FAP, so I'm happy with my choice.

[FarmerPug]

about the 607 it wasnt up in 7 series/s class territory it was the size and in the market with the e class and 5 series same with the c6.
my uncle had an old diesel 25 it lasted up to 2005 i remember, when it was wrote off, a bad accident but a very safe car my uncle was completley unhurt.