Peugeot 406/407

[Malc]

Much to my disappointment here in France a low mileage 2.2 hdi 406 estate is as common as hen's teeth which may force me to upgrade to a 407.
My local garagiste tells me he wouldn't touch a 407 with a barge-pole.
Would welcome any views on this.

[steve_earwig]

Find another garagiste?

[PeterN]

I think the 406 is the best modern car that Peugeot have made. The 8 valve Hdi engine is virtually bombproof, they are fairly simple to work on, do a fantastic fuel consumption, no DPF to give problems and parts are readily available and cheap. They are my choice of car after running Citroen hydropnumatics for about 30 years. I don't think you will find another car that is cheaper to run or lasts as long or drives as nicely.

If you have the money and want to run a newer car I still think that Peugeot make the best diesel engines so a 407 might be your second best choice although I have heard although not personally experienced that they are troublesome.

Peter

[Doggy]

If prices and availability are similar in france to the situation here, 407's are going to be much easier to find, giving more choice and better value.
For me the 407 is the logical choice, you get so much more for your money.
I just haven't managed to persuade myself I want one.

[Malc]

Thanks replies...Steve appreciate your comment but believe you me he is the best and I think he may have been referring to the 407's electronics and/or electrics which from my experience with my 406 is not unjustified. Doggy prices are a lot different here and are controlled by the equivalent of Auto-Trader known as argus or big dealers who give an internet price which is taken as gospel. I've said before on this forum the 406 is one of the best looking cars ever and as I still have a year's "controle technique" on the old gel maybe I should continue hunting or forget about the 2.2 Hdi estate and buy a coupe!

[GingerMagic]

I agree, most ( if not all ) of the members here that have upgraded to a 407 have been very happy with it.

Its the most logical move forward, unless you can stretch your budget to a 508.....

The 407 forum is rubbish, but on PeugeotForums there are many 407 owners that are happy with their cars, the only issues I seem to read about are the ones with the 1.6 DV6 diesel engine, and a problem with tailgate wiring affecting the boot lock.

As a bonus, the 2.2Hdi 407 is a bi-turbo with 170bhp in standard trim

Coupe? How about the 2.7Hdi 407 Coupe, remapped to 255bhp - not as pretty as a 406 Coupe ( not many cars are ) but a decent looking car.

[steve_earwig]

Personally I think the 407 coupe looks like a fat bloated shark. I guess they thought they were ok designing it themselves...

DPFs, front balljoint issues and the dual zone climate has "problems". I'll echo GM's point about the 1.6 HDi, they seem ok if they're driven all day but short journeys will kill them.

I suspect everything else is the usual "French cars R sh*t" hysteria.

[highlander]

Coupe? How about the 2.7Hdi 407 Coupe, remapped to 255bhp - not as pretty as a 406 Coupe ( not many cars are ) but a decent looking car.

There were also 3.0 HDi engines in the 407 range, which offered better fuel economy than the 2.7, and more power (238 HP from stock, and 450 NM torque to boot). Available between 2009 and 2011.

It would be a nice project to obtain a 406 Coupe (2.2 HDi or 3.0 V6) with a blown engine, and see if you could get the 3.0 HDi V6 from a 407 shoe-horned in there. And remapped.

[Welly]

I don't think the 407 is any worse a prospect than a 406.

The only things I know of are a dodgy heater 'flap' which can be fixed yourself using the internet and ball joints - but these aren't going to fail every 3 weeks are they other than that I'd say the cars were pretty good and certainly not to be avoided. The benefit of the 407 is its superior handling/ride.

[rwb]

I took the plunge and Im pretty happy

The biggest problem with the 407 is that it's not a 406-made-better, it's a different car. Nevertheless it is quite familiar.

It's a lot nicer inside than out! Nevertheless from the side and back it looks like a big French car should: pointy nose and fat arse. The driving position with the shalliw screen and huge dash is laid back, undeniably peculiar, and I like it a lot.

The toys are good, and the computerised electrics have clearly matured from whatvwas fitted to the later 406s -- which remember was a retro-fit to a car designed in the mid 90s.

Don't touch the 1.6 HDi with a bargepole. The 2.0 is the sensible choice, and X-Line and Zenith models come without a FAP. The 2.2 bi-turbo is pretty special but you pay for it in fuel economy; I'm averaging 47mpg -- although Im doing more short trips (10 miles) than originally planned. The 2.2 is also the most powerful diesel engine that you can get with a manual transmission in any Peugeot (I think torque is actually the limiting factor).

The dual mass flywheel is an expensive job. But to avoid it you need a HDi 90 406, so I guess that's a moot point.

The DPF itself isn't the monster that appeared on the 406. I get a regen roughly every 400 miles, there's enough additive left for about 150 visits to the petrol station or about 90k miles, and the filter should also be good for another 90k (with 98k miles on the clock).

Otherwise, there's silly things like the bottom ball joints that were designed poorly and need to be changed often, but I don't see that as being any worse than the 406's appetite for drop links.

[trufflehunt]

407 Not for me...

From Parkers..

"..... 3 out of 5

Handling

The 407 is fairly easy to drive around town and thanks to the light steering, three-point turns aren't difficult. The ride is excellent and soaks up all but the harshest lumps in the road but the downside is that the handling is far from sharp - it rolls through corners and has remote steering. .... "

[Malc]

Thanks everyone for your generous replies..
As has been pointed out no point in looking at a 2005 407 Hdi estate and expecting it to be a jumped up new bodied obsolete 406.
Think I'll hang on a minty and see if some old dear or lady doctor still has that elusive 406 2.2 hdi estate.
Believe it or not I saw one in a super market car park here and queried if I could buy.
No way Jose and the lady owner didn't even ask what I was prepared to pay.

[jasper5]

The 407 handling is superb

I had one (2.0 HDi SE model) for 5 years and did 94,000 miles in it.

Yes, the heater flap failed (never fixed it) I changed 4 bottom ball joints...absolute doddle of a job if you remove the lower drop link fitting!
I changed 2 lower drop links and 2 sets of front discs and pads...I replaced rear pads once.
I also replaced the MFD which failed.
I had an ABS/Traction control fault which was a rear sensor fault....easy to replace if you cut the sensor wires before they go under the fuel tank then join them.
I replaced the tyres twice.
I replaced several headlight bulbs and had a warning light keep coming on telling me the brake lights were faulty when they weren't...solved by cleaning the earth connector.
Some people have trouble with the tyre pressure monitoring system, but this can be fixed by taking out the ECU from the parcel shelf and the system deactivated in pp2000...I've done it for customers.

The 407 is a good car but don't buy a 1.6!!!!!

I have a 508 2.0 HDi 163 which is absolutely superb
It flies and does 60mpg
The whole suspension has been taken back to the old Macpherson strut....dare I say it but it seems like it is similar to the newer Mondeo. I love it

[KozmoNaut]

407 Not for me...

From Parkers..

"..... 3 out of 5

Handling

The 407 is fairly easy to drive around town and thanks to the light steering, three-point turns aren't difficult. The ride is excellent and soaks up all but the harshest lumps in the road but the downside is that the handling is far from sharp - it rolls through corners and has remote steering. .... "

Sounds like the reviewer was unfamiliar with dual wishbone front suspension, where the steering feedback is completely separate from the suspension travel. That means you won't feel bumps and ruts in the road in the steering wheel like you do in a 406 with its Macpherson front suspension. It feels a little odd and disconnected at first, but there's still plenty of steering feedback, just less "noise".

[trufflehunt]

407 Not for me...

From Parkers..

"..... 3 out of 5

Handling

The 407 is fairly easy to drive around town and thanks to the light steering, three-point turns aren't difficult. The ride is excellent and soaks up all but the harshest lumps in the road but the downside is that the handling is far from sharp - it rolls through corners and has remote steering. .... "

Sounds like the reviewer was unfamiliar with dual wishbone front suspension, where the steering feedback is completely separate from the suspension travel. That means you won't feel bumps and ruts in the road in the steering wheel like you do in a 406 with its Macpherson front suspension. It feels a little odd and disconnected at first, but there's still plenty of steering feedback, just less "noise".

What the reviewer will have been familiar with would be the experience of driving a broad selection of cars, and in part, comparing the 407 with them.

Here's what other reviewers said. ....

Autoexpress.

"...numb steering, and below par agility."

What Car.

"And the 407 isn't that much better on twisting country lanes, where despite good grip, it's far from agile.".

Car Buyer

"The Peugeot 407 has striking looks, but isn't great to drive.".

Are they all wrong ?