PEUGEOT 407 test drive since 2004 sedan

Peugeot 407

French cars, like French women, are completely different. There are modest, but charming - such as Renault Symbol, there are defiantly contradictory ones - as Peugeot 407. But both are real, with the inherent only charm and national color. A car with such an outstanding appearance as that of the 407th provokes hot disputes, but in the end the parties come to a consensus: Peugeot 407 - a true Frenchman.
 
Innovative appearance
It is difficult to describe the appearance of Peugeot 407, but the author of these lines is one of those who consider the new car beautiful. Of course, in his appearance there is a challenge and even some share of protest. What does the new Peugeot protest against? Just look in the face of the car, at this huge grille of the radiator, large almond -shaped eyes, and it will become clear that Peugeot 407 protests against everyday life and designer laziness. For some, it looks like a frank panegyric, but even skeptics will appreciate the scale of the designers the firms will agree that the French auto-industry has not yet produced such a car. There is nothing left of his predecessor, there are subtle features of the flagship - model 607, but we should not talk about the similarity of these two models. The car at the car turned out to be a large, with a heavy hood, which covers one of five power units available at the time of the premiere. But the car does not have a bumper in the traditional sense, the entire vertical plane of the front is occupied by the grille of the radiator, smoothly turning into the spoiler. An interesting situation turned out to be a rather interesting situation. It's no secret that in Europe everyone is parking a bumper in the bumper, and so that the grille does not hit the victim of European tightness, it is fixed on easily unfastened pistons. The owner of the 407th, to whom in the evening a neighbor in the parking neighbor pressed the rear bumper, will just need to snatch the grate back, and not go to the nearest car service.
 
How peculiar the aggressive front part is, the profile of the machine with a small window in front and doorways of the same outlines is just as calm as the younger model 307. The feed of the car is noticeably shorter than the front part and looks quite heavy, its monumentality is diluted with the rear lights with round light elements and it looks quite heavy and its monumentality. The corporate lion at the trunk end. The opening mechanism of the latter is already used on the Peugeot 607 and 307 SS: it is enough to press the number 0 in the nameplate, and the lock will open.
 
No matter what spiteful people say, and Peugeot 407 attracts the attention of even sophisticated French, who are not yet accustomed to a large number of these cars on the streets of their cities and are still reluctant to talk about the interesting and original features of the exterior of the novelty. And despite the fact that the car does not look very proportional, it is perceived as a whole, and not a set of poorly cooked body elements.
 
Healthy conservatism
The PEUGEOT 407 salon, on the contrary, is far from radicalism and aggressiveness. Everything is solid here. The materials used in the decoration give birth to associations with the products of German auto giants: you can immediately see whom the French decided to lure potential buyers. If this is plastic, then it is elastic and slightly rough to the touch, if the skin, then dense and nonsense. There are many familiar details in the interior - such as the instrument panel with five dials from the older model 607, and the seats, not too much, migrated too much from the previous model. A three -spoke steering wheel of dense, but soft material with small inserts of metallized plastic has in expensive versions of adjustment on the angle of inclination and flying. On the casing of the steering column, there are traditional three steering wheel switches for PEUGEOT, the third is responsible for the operation of the audio system. Again, in expensive versions, white dials are edged with chrome rims, and in versions they are simpler they are traditional black. The information of the dials themselves does not affect their color, and they are protected from glare with an original visor.
 
The central console starts from the windshield. The deflector located on a small ledge smoothly passes into the console itself, on which there are many keys and rotary regulators. Naturally, the central place is given to the multifunctional screen, which reflects the entire set of parameters of a modern car. The screen pleases with a variety of colors and clarity, and the console is upset by a large number of buttons that the driver must press in search of the necessary information, which will certainly distract him from the road. It is much easier in inexpensive versions, where the screen is exactly half less and, accordingly, fewer buttons necessary for communication with it. Apparently, just such cars will be delivered to Russia, which means that our customers will be spared from a long search for the desired position of the menu. Although, on the other hand, we will lose the possibility of viewing digital photographs and DVDs, navigator and diary, because all these opportunities are realized only on the large screen.
 
Depending on the option on the tunnel, there is a lever of a mechanical 5- or 6-speed gearbox or a handle of a 6-band automaton that has the ability to manually switch.
Seats, regardless of the presence or absence of electric drives, can be easily and quickly fitted on the figure. Tall drivers will have to come to terms with the constant pressure of the ceiling, but everything is in order with their legs. It is good for the rear passengers who are not deprived of comfort and attention from the manufacturer. Three head restraints, their own air ducts and other little things will certainly be pleased to travel on this car.
 
Built on one platform with Citroen C5, the new Peugeot 407 provides its owner with the opportunity to use it for all occasions. If necessary, you can turn a representative sedan into a kind of light truck. If necessary, you can use the traditional opening for many sedans for transporting long -sized objects, as well as fold the rear seat in parts or completely.
 
Portuguese sprint
We had a trip to the western point of Europe - the cape of the rock in Portugal, and for starters we chose the most powerful of the gasoline engines - a 3 -liter V6 with a capacity of 211 hp, which is paired with a Porsche machine gun. A car with such a motor is an example of calm and balance. Smoothly and without jerks, he accelerates on the freeway, without bothering passengers with shocks when switching the gears or by the sounds of the engine. The suspension, in which shock absorbers with variable stiffness are used, protects from vibrations, everything is quiet and calmly. So do not fall asleep for long! But to fall asleep in the salon of the 407th still it will not work: you only need to enter the turn, and the steering with variable effort and the new front and back suspensions will show their character. The traditional McPherson in front refused in favor of double transverse levers, and a new compact multi -link with a steering effect was installed behind. It is in the moments of the passage of the turns that you begin to understand how many PEUGEOT 407 with a 6-cylinder engine. A imposing business car turns into an easily controlled and obedient car with sports potential. He quickly responds to the actions of the steering wheel and enables the driver to control the situation, and if the driver was mistaken, then electronics will always come to the rescue. Peugeot 407 turns are confident and clearly. Here there was a small fraction on the steering wheel - demolition, one steering wheel, and the car continues to follow a given course without swing and a clear tendency to drift. Although if you provoke it, then the sedan can wag its tail, but this is already blasphemy - to force the car to do what is alien to it. However, the predecessor was also distinguished by good running qualities, and in the new machine the continuity of generations is felt, which, of course, positively affects consumer qualities.
 
But what about the younger 2.2-liter motor? He is awake, pulled up and not as an example of the V6 vocabulary, has a good traction, although it is slightly lost in the lower revolutions. But you can talk about the mechanism of gearboxes of the mechanical box for a long time and look for ways to resolve the eternal problem, how to make it clear and not so limp. The gearbox lever walks bewilderedly along the tunnel in search of the necessary gear, and when he finds, he is strictly included in the connection. Of course, you can get used to this state of affairs, but the manufacturer needs to do something. More precisely, not something, but the refinement of the switching mechanism.
 
But back to the car as a whole. In our rapid age, any car is simply obliged to ensure worthy safety indicators. Peugeot 407 has all the prerequisites for this indicator in a par with recognized class leaders - such as Renault Laguna. In addition to a developed safety frame with many programmable deformation zones, the car can be equipped with nine airbags, one of which protects the driver when hitting the steering column. Of course, the electronic stabilization system and such an important device as a tire pressure sensor are installed standardly or as an option on cars with different engines. Safety and tranquility is also provided by brakes with a sufficiently toothy ABS, which strives to turn on at the beginning of the pedal and stop the car at all costs.
 
We would be happy to get acquainted with this car better, but the organizers took us to communicate only a few hours, for which someone managed to fall in love with the car, and someone saw in it another one as everyone else. Well, time will put everything in its place, and in a year we will be able to verify the correctness or erroneousness of the path selected by Peugeot with respect to the 407th.
 
The final
Peugeot 407 is already going to Russia for permanent residence. The only thing we could not find out was how much it will cost in our market, but we managed to make some preliminary calculations. In France, a car with a 1.8 liter engine that did not participate in our test costs about 20 thousand euros, and knowing the friendly pricing policy of the manufacturer in Russia, we can assume that our car will cost a little more expensive, and its price will correspond to the cost The main competitors in similar trim levels.
Only gasoline versions of Peugeot 407 will be delivered to Russia, diesel engines were and remain inaccessible to us. But immediately after the sedan, a station wagon with a full trunk and an original rear part will enter the Russian market.
 
Some technical characteristics of Peugeot 407 3.0
(manufacturer data)
Dimensions, mm 4676x1811x1455
Base, mm 2725
Front/back, mm 1560/1526
Benzine engine type V6
24-valve
Working volume, cubic meter. cm 2946
Max. Power, L.S./rpm 211/6000
Max. moment, nm/rpm 290/3750
The transmission is automatic
6-band
Tires 215/55 R17
Max. Speed, km/h 235
Acceleration time 0-100 km, with 9.2
Fuel consumption (EU), l/100 km 14.5/7.0/9.8
Tank volume, l 66
 
Maxim Rakitin
Photo by the author

 
 

Source: Avtopanorama magazine