MJBs V6 Review

[mjb]

>>> Piccies here <<< (Taken by AndyV6)


This is a ludicrously powerful car. For those not in the know (perhaps you've just joined the forum or have come here from Google) I've driven a 150bhp 406 D8 2.0 executive turbo estate for the last 2 and a bit years, clocking up around 70,000 miles in that time. This evening I paid £640 for a 1998 D8 406 3.0 V6 executive saloon and have driven around 100 miles in it. These are my first impressions.

POWER

I'll say right now that the power delivery of the V6 is nowhere near as smooth as the tubby. The tubby is James Bond and the V6 is a snarling hellhound. HOWEVER there's so much goddamn power on tap it's scary. Seems crazy that a jump from 150 to 194bhp makes such a difference but believe me it does. I've really had trouble controlling the beast. Trying to pull off sharpish resulting in a wheelspin, so I slap it in 2nd. Wheelspin. Slap it in 3rd. Wheelspin. It's MENTAL!

The thing is the tubby has very little in the way of turbo lag (often disguised by its great low-end torque), but it's there, and you can use it to moderate the power when on the attack. There's none of that in the V6. Teeeeeny little bit too much right foot pressure under 50mph and your front end's drifting sidewards if the road's not flat! The throttle response is so sharp I swear it was accelerating before I'd even moved my foot! It's going to take a LOT of getting used to! You absolutely must be progressive with the accelerator.

Another thing to watch out for is the natural torque of the engine. Changing down through the gears while decelerating will result in skidding if you don't do it extremely smoothly, or match revs correctly. Toe-and-heel is quite difficult too because the throttle response is so snappy - merely tapping the accelerator results in a blip so short you'll never change gear in time.

The sound is lovely. Or was for the first 5 minutes. Unfortunately I bought one with a hole in the eggsauce which was sweetness when i took a detour down the A50 to visit the tunnel, but has given me a nice headache.

I can see why people say it'll take on scoobies though. It's a right beast. But it'd never compete really - the scooby can actually get its power on the ground thanks to 4wd and a supercomputer powering the traction control whereas the 406 v6 would just sit there struggling for grip.

I've actually found that it'll drive quite easily if you just set off in 2nd then shift to 5th at 20mph. If you decide to use the other gears, you'd better be awake or it'll have your head for breakfast.


HANDLING

Talking of grip and handling, it's a different car altogether. The estate tubby is around 130kg heavier than the saloon - all of that is in the back end, whereas the V6 saloon weighs in around 140Kg than the tubby saloon. This means you're hauling around 140Kg more over the front axle - the weight distribution is completely different and so is the handling. To be honest it really does feel very front-heavy going round bends and combined with the hefty power on tap it's very very easy to understeer. I reckon my dad's turboless tubby could take bends faster.

Think I should put some expensive rubber up front when I can afford it.


COMFORT AND INTERIOR

It wasn't a relaxing drive. White knuckles and constant attention to the speedo seemed to be the flavour of the day. Apart from that I quite like the newer 'deckchair' style leather seats it has, although the backrest does feel a slightly different shape. Mind you, it'll take me another 2 years to get the seat set just right again...

This one's also got black leather as opposed to the cream of my old tubby. I thought I'd be a bit disgruntled with it, but I actually love it. It does have practicality issues though, as it's no longer quite as easy to see something on the passenger seat as it used to be. I love the door lights too, which were absent on the tubby as they add an extra level of courtesy lighting.

One notable omission which will definitely cause me trouble is total closure - the process whereby activating the deadlocking from the keyfob results in any open windows automatically closing. Maybe there's something you have to do to enable it?

The addition of headlamp washers are a nice gimmick but I MISS MY REAR WIPER! I'm thinking of saving for a rear window from a model that has a rear wiper, and hacking in the electricals to support it. I kept trying to twist the wiper stalk and got quite frustrated when I realised there was nothing there to twist. How do other saloon owners manage? Does that water repellent stuff work as well as they claim?

I also miss being able to see where the arse end of my car is. Think I'll tape a wire or something to the back, or stick on a mobile phone aerial just so I know how far back the car goes. I've got to back it into a wall tomorrow and I think I'll either be 3 foot short, or put it through the wall.

The boot's tiny too. I'm sure I'll grow to get used to all this, but part of me wishes I'd waited for an estate to come along.

Externally, the most surprising change was that it comes with Bluey Bling! I like it!


SUMMARY

I love this car - I'm still grinning like a schoolkid now - but I've got a lot to learn about how that engine behaves. As a driver you must respect the engine's power or it'll end in tears. It's genuinely frightening, yet so exciting. A real femme fatale!

Estates are definitely better than saloons though.

[mjb]

sh*t I need to change my sig

[steve_earwig]

Think I should put some expensive rubber up front when I can afford it.

I guess that'll have to be soon, judging by the way you're shredding the ones it's got now

[AndyV6]

Glad all went well, sounds like you caned it on the way back

Have fun and take care.

[Welly]

Who's been a *busy* boy then I bet your knackered.

That's a cracking car for the money fella

I am confused though. Reading your posts there was talk of £900.00 then £600.00 what happened?

[mjb]

Who's been a *busy* boy then I bet your knackered.

Aye. Got a lot more to do too - need to rip the old blower fan and the new engine mount out of my old tubby, patch up the V6s exhaust, stick my mp3 stereo in it, then arrange for the tubby to be scrapped.

In the longer term (ie after payday) I need to:
* replace the exhaust back box
* repair/replace (do they unscrew?) the non-functioning cruise control stalk
* replace the wiper stalk with a trip computer one. Actually I'll check the comp at lunch time to see if it's connected up
* new front tyres
* wash it and get some water repelant (cos I've got no sodding rear wiper! ARGH!)
* sort the manky-looking bits of Bluey Bling
* polish the engine bay to a shine
* adjust the seat to be right

That last one's not going to be easy! It's all good fun though

I am confused though. Reading your posts there was talk of £900.00 then £600.00 what happened?

Ebay randomness happened. I was expecting to pay a lot more, but there was a lack of snipers for some reason - probably all out in the pub like I wanted to be. Thankfully I had a few cans of Stella in the fridge

[Welly]

As long as each party is happy with the deal then cool

The rear screen just needs to be sparkling clean and the water just beads off. I've never ever thought a wiper would be handy there. I have put Rain-X on all the windows (except front screen) and that stuff works well.

Look forward to seeing your repairs ticked off the list soon!

[Eric]

Hmmmm.... the review nearly made me tempted to get a V6 to replace the very pedestrian HDi.

But I have to remember the reason I bought the HDi in the first place, I really do miss having power but not the fuel bills.

Damnit!
You're making me want power again
Thought I'd got it out of my system, but I guess not.

*Goes to autotrader to see how much he can pick up a 300BHP+ Mr2 for*

[teamster1975]

Sounds as though Christmas came mighty early for you mjb (Except you had to pay for it!)
Hope you enjoy your new beast
I've actually bought a 2nd hand rear windscreen with the hole for the rear wiper & the motor assembly; I didn't realise they made the saloon with that option!
What put me off is the £200 fitting charge

[mjb]

Holy crap I've just seen the state of the exhaust in the daylight. Lost count of the amount of holes, but the biggest is about the dimensions of a cadbury's Flake running right down one of the seams. I think there's more hole than eggsauce!

I've bought 3 boxes of exhaust bandages and in retrospect i think i'm going to have to go back to buy a tub of putty as well for that seam hole . It's probably going to rain tonight too so I'll be working in the dark Bah

[TooT]

Glad you like the V6 m. The V6 is one hell of a beast, i love mine to bits but it still has to go

[steve_earwig]

Maybe he wants two!

I've bought 3 boxes of exhaust bandages and in retrospect i think i'm going to have to go back to buy a tub of putty as well for that seam hole . It's probably going to rain tonight too so I'll be working in the dark Bah

Holy false econimies Batman - how much is a new back box???

[TooT]

Holy false econimies Batman - how much is a new back box???

£218 for center section and backbox

[steve_earwig]

Feck! As you were.

[DaiRees]

That's mental! Is that dealer? That's nearly as much as I was quoted for mine ("dealer only part" at the time), that's how I ended up with a stainless one.