Suggestions to Peugeot

[FarmerPug]

Imagine the 406 was being designed, now we have all owned a 406 what suggestions would you make to peugeot to have different now. Obviously good electrics is something we all want, so is not having a com2000, but any other small differences like an extra bit of kit. Heres my suggestions as an example:
- make the doorcards where your elbow rests softer, as a cushon on each door, possibly even putting a neat storage bin in there like renault does in the laguna.
- on the right trim levels make the dash panels that we paint silver out of proper brushed aluminum, or some other effect.
- Put puddle lights into the wing mirrors.
- A 3rd button on the key for turning on the lights to see to the house door, perhaps another for popping open the boot.
- An air vent in the rear with controls.
- Put a pair of proper cup holders and a storage box into the rear armrest, it will still be as comfy just more useful.
- A decent cup holder up front that can be used while driving.
- A air duct going to the glove box so it acts as a heater or cooler.
- A 12v socket in the boot.
thats all i can think of for the moment, but do you have any things like this you'd want on the car.

[steve_earwig]

How about
-don't replace it with a grinning blobfish?

[FarmerPug]

thats not the sort of suggestion im on about, but even so its a good one they should have tried to retain the 406s front end better.

[waue1978]

Put puddle lights into the wing mirrors.
- A 3rd button on the key for turning on the lights to see to the house door, perhaps another for popping open the boot.
- An air vent in the rear with controls.
- Put a pair of proper cup holders and a storage box into the rear armrest, it will still be as comfy just more useful.
- A decent cup holder up front that can be used while driving.
- A air duct going to the glove box so it acts as a heater or cooler.
- A 12v socket in the boot.

They can't even get the few electrics we have got working properly. Give them all these other extras to wire in & the Frenchists heads might start exploding!

[sirwiggum]

I work as a software tester, so in a QA role I am used to nitpicking.

I would raise the following issues:

- The inevitable COM2000 would be a severity 2. (as in it is mostly broken but does not cause the car to fail and it *kinda* works). After robustness testing this should have failed and been redesigned
- Place the handbrake closer to the driver in RHD cars. I could kind of understand this on the Xantia due to the suspension controls being where the 406 coin holder is, but on a car with no other levers it is pointless to have to reach over to the passenger area to let off the handbrake.
- Make the lower engine mount out of something a bit stronger than chewing gum. Again, robustness testing should have brought up this failure.
- Lights at the end of open doors would be handy
- On facelift models, delete the black trim and chrome side door mouldings, makes the doors "cleaner" looking, like an Alfa 156. Aesthetic.
- Place the air intake on a slightly higher place / away from water.
- Differentiate the gearbox sump plug and engine sump plug a bit better ....
- Self bleed coolant for ease of servicing
- Arm rests on rapier trim

[sirwiggum]

thats not the sort of suggestion im on about, but even so its a good one they should have tried to retain the 406s front end better.

I thought that myself. It had a family look I thought hinting at the Peugeot 505, was hoping that was something they could expand upon.
Was dissapointed at the front end look of the 607 at the time after my da ran a D9.
All of their models after that have the pointy-headlight look.
Hopefully with the 508 they're getting back to handsome-looking cars. (although the 407 is starting to grow on me a bit...)

[steve_earwig]

What, like athlete's foot?

[FarmerPug]

i must admit before i had my car i seen the review back in 2004 for the 407 i didnt even have a licence but i liked it when it come out, and i liked the 307 when it come out, i thought there was nothing like the rover 75, i just acquired a distaste for them.
The 308 what the F""K did peugeot do there why does a car need a melting nose drooping over the radiator grille, you drive about in a car inspired by pinochio its constantly lying saying its a better car than the golf, focus and C4
dear peugeot look at the 205 you once made, and make a proper hot hatch to beat the golf again.

But on my suggestions, how is adding a bit of sponge into the door card going to be complicated theres no wires needed there who wouldnt like a softer door card where your elbow goes.
another suggestion; a handbrake that works consistently for a long period of time, and move the location of the light for the full beam down a bit so i can actually see it and not the steering wheel in its way (im not moving anything im comfortable with the seat like this), also put leds into the door handles so they also illuminate the area of the door handle softly to show you where to open it

[waue1978]

The door handle illumination thing is great. Had it on my 99 Mondeo, but for some reason Ford did away with it after that. Lots of people commented on what a good idea they were though as it stops that random fumbling for the handle at night time. Does anybody else fit door handle lights?

[steve_earwig]

it stops that random fumbling for the handle at night time

Especially when you're drunk.

[FarmerPug]

i seen it on a bmw 3 series, i see all these things and i just think to myself why dont they get combined, so they are all wrote down as good ideas. Likewise i know of bad ideas such as nissan jukes exterior cup holders, and vws persistance to using blanked off buttons in their cars thats one thing that lets me know im in a vw you see buttons but they have no labels and they dont do anything.

[highlander]

My Coupe has a button on the centre console (just below the heated seat switches and the alarm cancel button) that is blank.

Thing is, mine is an SE; is that not pretty much the top-end trim on a Coupe? I don't know what the blank button could have been used for, or what trim level it would be functional on.

[FarmerPug]

1 blank button spread into fairly inconspicuos areas is ok, but look at this awful setup on my grampas car:

there is more blanks there than actual buttons what a crap bit of interior design and option ticking for that car.

anyhow for comparison purposes here is my 406 beside a 407 and a clio in there to ruin an otherwise reasonable picture:

[sirwiggum]

Yes the full beam icon on the dash gets hidden. I once drove home from work all the way with full beam because there was a diversion on the road out of work due to filming in a large painthall and the diversion road is unlit and strewn with debris.

The South Belfast motorists were too polite to flash and let me know the error of my ways it would seem

VWs (and other German cars that the general public are strangely obsessed with) are usually sold as poverty spec with everything as an option, which explains the blanked off buttons. Assuming the drivers will look at them and think "if only I had spent another £1500 on a heated windscreen button...". Although even a Fabia VRS has blanked off buttons and it is fairly well loaded!

308 is horrible. It looks exactly like a facelift 307, not found of them either.

They need to get back to edgy design, not pointy lights. Bring back paninfarina!

[highlander]

The rear-end of the 407 is nicer than the 406. If they could have redesigned the front of the 407 so it was an improvement over the 406 D9, then that would have been more acceptable - though I'm not really sure what would be a nicer-looking design; the D9 is very smart-looking.

Pointy lights are OK, it's the silly wide-mouth grill that most people have a problem with. The honey-comb effect on the 406 D9 is nice looking.