I want a 407

[Welly]

That's a shame, sounds weird about the engine power (or lack of) but then again if you're used to a Turbo Diesel then a N/A petrol might feel a bit flat but I'd have thought it would be better

I think it sounds like the previous keeper has got tired of the car; it needs 2 x front tyres (£250.00?) there's something wrong with the sussy (dealer would quote £600.00 or something?) so the chopped it in

You have to go with your gut feeling so you did well.

[Captain Jack]

I don't think there is actually anything wrong with the engine - it's just how N/A petrol engines are. I've driven a 2.5L slushmatic petrol VW Jetta in the States and was even worse.

[Welly]

I instantly liked my T5 because it drove exactly like a Turbo Diesel, you don't need to thrash it and there's lots of torque. I must say whenever I have the (dis) pleasure of driving her indoors' Astra 1.8 it feels rubbish (no torque).

[lozz]

I think once your used to diesel petrols seem dull

I drive either it don't bother me,
Petrol is better on take off IMHO
But on the stretch diesel picks its feet up better,

My little 306. As laughed at afew bmws at the traffic lights.

[rwb]

zacly
Petrol will always be faster off the mark, but will always feel gutless because of the relatively steep torque curve. The kick in the back when the torque arrives on the HDi -- thanks to the fixed geometry turbo -- always fells good.

Disappointing verdict on the road noise, but could that be due to bad tyres?

[Captain Jack]

Yeah, noise could be due to bad tyres. But I am more attributing them to their large diameter of 17" rather than the tyres. I had new tyres on my Honda with 17" and the noise levels weren't much lower...

[Bailes1992]

My Mondeo is on 17"s AND has a 235 section and is quiet as a mouse at speed!
Even at 130mph you can whisper to your passengers. In theory of course! I would never try it on a public road.

Sounds like cheap budget tyres to me!

If the front tyres are bald then the car hasent been looked after and I would walk away.

[Captain Jack]

I have, Sam. But, like Welly says, the car was probably developing various issues so the owner decided to get shot of it....

Will see if a newer diesel comes along and maybe will take a look at some new shape Mondigos. Speaking of.... do any new Mondeos have a full leather seat option? All of the ones I am finding only have those half-leather ones.

[trem1]

sorry that it wasnt as good as the advert,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,but how many are
before xmas i had a petrol astra on hire and i vowed then never to have another petrol engined car, as you say its gutless after the torque of a turbo-diesel (didnt want to put you off before you'd even seen it).
right now to its issues
1.bald tyres....walk away, if they are willing to save money and run on bald tyres what else would the try and save money on ??

2. tyre noise at 80, both mine have been on 17's and quiet at that speed.....not whisper quiet as Sam says, but i drive a van for a living so most things are quieter than those.

3.groaning/clunking from rear......could be anti roll bar or even something rattling in the spare wheel as theres no way to tie them down, and i had dust get in the rubber on an anti roll bar and it groaned like an auld man. easily sorted

4.judder/vibration from steering is usually the power steering fluid needs topping up to 1cm above the max mark

5. which screen wasnt working ??the centre one ??or the one on the speedo

its given you a benchmark so if nothing else

[Captain Jack]

Sounds like most things were "simple" ones but still - I don't want to buy a car, only to do work on it.

Why would I need to top up the power steering fluid? Is there a leak? Never had to do that on the 406.

Yeah, it's the centre console one. It looked like it had way too much contrast on and everything looked smeared.

[trem1]

Sounds like most things were "simple" ones but still - I don't want to buy a car, only to do work on it.

Why would I need to top up the power steering fluid? Is there a leak? Never had to do that on the 406.

Yeah, it's the centre console one. It looked like it had way too much contrast on and everything looked smeared.

none of them seem to leak but my last one needed topping up after about 5 years of ownership and indeed this one needed it when i got it for 'lumpyness' on full lock. no idea why........its Peugeot so another f*ckin mystery

yea thats the screen fade-out, no repair just replace. Was it started up from cold when you got there or had it been running??

If your fussy, like most of us are theres going to be something you want to 'improve' on something second-hand

[Captain Jack]

Yeah, plenty of improvement to be had on most things! The car was warm as the guy had to drive it from.. somewhere. So I guess the screen had time to go bad

[KozmoNaut]

zacly
Petrol will always be faster off the mark, but will always feel gutless because of the relatively steep torque curve. The kick in the back when the torque arrives on the HDi -- thanks to the fixed geometry turbo -- always fells good.

There isn't the same kick in the back with a naturally aspirated engine as with a turbo-charged engine coming on the boil, but in return you get a much more even torque curve and a much longer pull through each gear.

First gear in most diesel is not much good for anything other than just setting off. In my 2.2 petrol, I can hit 60kph in first. I know the higher gearing on diesels is supposed to mitigate this, but it's not perfect. From a standstill, you can stay in the same gear for longer in a petrol. You have more revs to work with, meaning you have to shift less and waste less time off the power.

Diesels have nice torque for everyday driving, but they're only faster if you're afraid to rev your engine. Drop a PSA 2.2 petrol in 3rd at around 80-90kph and mash the loud pedal. It will go like the clappers, all the way to 6000rpm.

It's also much easier to drive well in the snow and slippery stuff because you don't get a big lump of torque all at once, but a more even dstribution through the revs. It sounds much better, too ;-)

[plod]

Look at my mondy with 145bhp, and my 406 with around same power
No comparison, the 406 leaves the gutless mondy for dead

[rwb]

I think we all agree

I think this is what we all have in mind: