What does everyone think about the new 407?

I'm not over keen on the estate , but the saloon is IMO the best looking car in its class by a long way. It has some styling in common with the 406 coupe and has a nice ferrari-esque grille at the front.

Its a few thousand more than the new octavia which would put it out of my price range , but the spec is very good with a lot of kit even on the cheaper models. The 136 hp diesel engine looks to be on a par with the octy's 140 , and the reviews seem to be positive.

I think this is going to sell very well.

The new Octy beat it in the latest What Car group test...

I gave up buying car mags recently so I haven't seen any group tests , just a few individual reviews on the net. I have a complete set of Top Gear from issue 1 up to about christmas last year and ran out of space to keep them so forced myself to stop buying.

What Car Group test:

1st - Octy 2.0 TDi Elegance

2nd - Avensis

3rd - Mondeo

4th - Vectra

5th - 407

6th - Passat

Verdict: New Octavia is classy, good to drive and spacious.

Looks quite Maserati from the front and the launch show at the Motorshow was certainly very persuasive, although that might not have been anything to do with the cars

Chris

must admit i saw these for the first time in spain a few weeks back and thought they were gorgeous, a very nice looking car with a very good spec list, especially the top of the range. don't know prices though

"and has a nice ferrari-esque grille at the front."

reminds me of the old "wide mouthed frog" ford scorpio of a few years and wasn't that popular!

I had a 406 for a while - worst problems were the awful handling in the wet

and the dealers.- unplugged the radio remote control and tried to sell me a new one as "they arn't repairable,sir"

didn't think I would check...plugged it back in and all was well - a few harsh words with the servicemanager followed!!

andthe air-con rarely worked despite many attempts to fix

and the boot hada severe security problem

and it was very slow

it was a nice colourthough!!

havnt seen an estate yet so no comment

marc

Personally, i think it's ugly and babdly proportioned.

The gaping hole at the front is not just too wide, it's too deep as well, the result being that the headlights look like they where just squeezed in as a last minute afterthought...... blurgh........

From the side and rear, I can't shake the distinct impression of a smaller 607, a car that hardly sold on its looks.....correction, Hardly Sold at all.

No, with all due respect to the french car industry, by all means make your diesel engines as well as what some would consider chic city cars, but, as the car test referenced earlier in the thread, when it comes to mid-range saloons, dare i say with a "premium" feel, the game belongs to VAG budget sector and the japanese.

Shame to see VW itself losing the plot but consider this :

The Passat is in it's current shape, is circa 3 years old (and how much runing gear is carried over from the previous model?) so at best, it's halfway through it's life cycle.

It's around 2.5 years for the current mondeo, about 18months, 2 years max for the Avensis as it is now......the Octavia and the 407 are brand new cars on new platforms, so on balance, for peugeot to be so far down the table says more about them than ever.

I distinctly remember one roadtest of the 407 saying it felt unsettled and un-involving to drive. For a peugeot aimed at the "Mondeo man", Fleet and Family market, I'd have thought was as good as signing your own death warrant..........

Dare I say it, the proportions are all wrong. The current tv add does nothing to sell it either, comparing it to toy cars. I guess depriciation will be like the 405 and 406 before it, very steep. The 407 has its own website, checkout

http://www.407.peugeot.co.uk/

Dare I say it' date=' the proportions are all wrong. The current tv add does nothing to sell it either, comparing it to toy cars. I guess depriciation will be like the 405 and 406 before it, very steep. The 407 has its own website, checkout

http://www.407.peugeot.co.uk/

I think the advert is trying to say "The new 407, it's no fun.".

IT WILL BREAK DOWN!!! AND SPEND MORE TIME IN THE GARAGE THAN OUT OF IT!!

No I'm not biased or bitter towards peugeot honest!

but really given the choice I'd go for the Octy everytime

It's not my cup of tea, but it is growing on me quickly. The 136bhp diesel unit you mention is the same TDCI unit used in the Mondeo, so is a proven unit (although I have heard it is not as good as the 130 pd VW engine)

Not a bad looking car, but they've made the same mistake of Vauxhall of sticking an oversized badge on the front which ruins any sleekness it might otherwise have had.

The 405 and 406 both had long production runs, and set the mark for other car manufacturers to compete with in this sector. Not sure if the 407 will manage this...

Rob.

IT WILL BREAK DOWN!!! AND SPEND MORE TIME IN THE GARAGE THAN OUT OF IT!!

No I'm not biased or bitter towards peugeot honest!

but really given the choice I'd go for the Octy everytime

As above,and I think it looks bloody gawmless too :thumbdwn:

Personally I think it's horrible.

One of the best cars I ever had was a 405, great for putting all my band stuff in - even better than the Octy.

I love the Ferrari grille at the front - at last something different! But I think the rear end is a big disappointment in comparison. No idea about specs, etc.

Was this the grille you were reminded of, Alex? I certainly was!

Anyone got an original copy of the tv ads for the 405,and more especially the 406?

Ahh yes, the field on fire with "take my breath away" playing in the background.

Ahh yes, the field on fire with "take my breath away" playing in the background.

OMG how long ago must that have been?

Was still in short pants in school then!!!!

It's a pretty car, but it's still a Peugot. I had a 405 estate as a company car, which I took to 113,000 miles in less than 3 years.

Needless to say I was on first name terms with all the staff at the dealership, and the girl behind the car hire desk invited me to her wedding!

Never again.......

Phil :thumbdwn:

Peugeot ownership experience here:

205 1.1 - lightweight buzzbox with suspension way too high to be considerd safe, though it never lost traction (on account of not being able to move that fast in the first place...)

309 GLX 1.3 - ahh, sports seats, low, metallic black. 5 speed box...now we're talking.... But we're not....

1 slight knock to front wheel took the whole front suspension arm out. Peugeot replaced it.......but they didn't, as the problem still remained. another non-peugeot garage took one look at it and told me "it's all bent.." and then measured the distance between front and rear wheels on each side.

One side was three inches shorter, suspension was totally shot.

How did an official dealer miss that one.......they hadn't actually even botherd to look at the car, let alone change a part. the service manager told me matter of factly that "the cars so old, it's not really worth repairing. go and have a chat with the sales chap, he can do you a good deal on a 306".

Interesting policy.......point repair work customers in direction of sales.....

I always liked the looks of the 406 coupe, although I would never wish to own a French car. However, the 407 is just hideous. It overhangs far too much at the front, and the design of the nose is just awful.

Personally I think it's horrible.

One of the best cars I ever had was a 405' date=' great for putting all my band stuff in - even better than the Octy.[/quote']

my dad had a 405 GLX or alike (fully kitted in other words) it was a real nice car and everything worked even though it was about 10years old only trouble was the body work every panel was rusted!! In the end he sold it in bits lol

edited to say: Sorry it was a 505 not 405

Laminated side windows...now theres a good idea.

I love the Ferrari grille at the front - at last something different! But I think the rear end is a big disappointment in comparison. No idea about specs' date=' etc.

Was this the grille you were reminded of, Alex? I certainly was!

[/quote']

I was thinking of the 456 at first , but then that did echo a lot of the older classic ferraris.

I've seen a few 407s on the road and the back end , while not as good as the front , is growing on me.