PEUGEOT Test drive 607 2000 - 2005 sedan

The lion's share

Hunting for lions is unpredictable. Despite all the efforts of the hunters, the scales cup this time bowed in favor of Leo on the hood of Peugeot 607.
As you know, the situation obliges. At a banquet on the day of the capture of the Bastille, the ambassadors of France treat the guests of the Escarte and frog paws, and from banquets in other embassies are traveling to Renault Safrane. What can you do, in such cases it is necessary to demonstrate loyal sentiments in relation to domestic industry. Although Safrane does not pull the car-plate car on the car, especially after the appearance of Peugeot 607.
The presence of Peugeot in the sector of prestigious cars is still limited to the 406th coupe. The flagship of the brand with index 605 lasted on the conveyor since 1989 and was slightly updated only three times: in 1993, 1995 and 1997. The presentation of the new 607th is a large event in the history of the company, and the French reacted to this as seriously as possible. So seriously that with understanding they took journalistic criticism after the first test drives published in the French press, and detained the beginning of official sales.
The first shot. We found out all this in Paris the day before the start of our presentation. And the trip turned not just into a test, but into a test with intrigue. Are the French colleagues right or is it just a pickup? It turned out that Peugeot engineers with smart steering control were right. In the 607th it is adaptive, that is, the force on the steering wheel depends on different factors. On the most powerful version, with the V6 engine, it is associated with the speed of the car, the higher it is, the tougher the steering wheel. In principle, this is not bad if the car flies along the high-speed and direct auto-highway turned on the cruise control and rejoice in life, looking at the landscapes outside the window. But it was not there. At speeds above 150 km/h, you understand that the car does not obey the steering wheel, even in a small turn, you have to constantly steal, controlling the demolition of the car’s lining. And the higher the speed, the stronger this sensation. Even the transfer of the suspension into the active mode, provided for the same version of the V6, does not save the threshold of comfortable driving increases by 1020 km/h, but the feeling of anxiety remains.
On the Peugeot 607 with a 2.2 liter gasoline engine and on the diesel version, the steering is also difficult, but now its acuity depends on the engine speed. And still, at a speed of 170 km/h and higher in the bend, the car is constantly necessary to hold.
All this is so, but a batch of cars on which we drove was made in November last year. Currently, engineers are seriously working on this problem and promise that in the commercial version it will be resolved. For this, we invited you to listen to an objective opinion and correct the maximum shortcomings in the new car, the French say.
The return move. The PEUGEOT journalists once again presented all the possible modifications of the new 607th three new engines, each in combination with automatic and mechanical boxes, but we stopped on three: a gasoline version with an V6 engine, with a machine gun and a diesel engine with a manual box. It is these models, according to the autopilot, that can be in demand in our country.
Automatic box in the Peugeot 607 V6 sequional type with the ability to switch the transmission manually. Plus, the adaptive itself adapts to the temperament of the rider. We must pay tribute to two in one, PEUGEOT is achieved by all 100 percent. The machine gun was more thoughtful and the degree even seemed to us that the French were deceiving with accelerated dynamics. In order to sharply accelerate, for example, from 60 to 100 km/h, simulating, sharp overtaking in the city, we had to sharply press the gas pedal a couple of times. Only then did the tachometer arrow overcome the mark of 3,500 revolutions. But at a speed of more than 100 km/h, the engine responded to a sharp press of gas pedal more adequately. But it is enough to transfer the automatic transmission lever to the Manual position, as the picture changes. The feeling that you are traveling on a real mechanical box so large that the left leg mechanically begins to grope at the clutch pedal.
So we rode calmly admired the surroundings of the Dead Sea in automatic mode, until we rested with the bumper on the bus, slowly overcoming the rise at a speed of 50 km/h. After making sure that the oncoming strip is empty, we put the selector into manual mode, two clicks on ourselves the transition to two gear and sharply to the gas. Peugeot practically throws forward, after which you can again switch to a calmer machine.
We liked the version with a manual gearbox even more magnificent accelerated dynamics and the possibility of choosing the type of suspension of a normal mode or sports allow us to maximize the new 607th almost any movement mode: from a sluggish urban traffic jam, when the second or third transmission is enough, to an aggressive semi-sports Throw along the high -speed line.
The turbocharged diesel engine with a volume of 2.2 liters with direct fuel in the fuel-rail, which Peugeot is rightfully proud of the direct injection of fuel, turned out to be good. On the 607th model, for the first time, a filter of exhaust gases on the serial model was used, and this motor is the most environmentally friendly among all diesel engines. But we would advise fans of diesel fans exclusively a version with a manual gearbox. The motor is elastic and requires immediate switching to reduced gear at the time of a sharp set of speed.
The lair of the beast. And what's inside? There is everything inside: climatic installation, a stereo system with a CD changer, a triple-computer with navigation plus a mass of insignificant, at first glance, but useful electronic lotions. For example, sensors that automatically include wipers or close light depending on the situation. Until that time, such options were a sign of a higher class cars at least in price.
Peugeot 607 A good example of a successful combination of price and quality. A solid decoration of the salon, amazing sound insulation (even a diesel engine inside is practically not heard), the volume of the salon and trunk in all these PEUGEOT parameters is practically approaching cars such as BMW 5 series or Volvo S80. But the price promises to be much more attractive.
Unfortunately, the future of Peugeot 607 in our country is still vague. In France, the first cars will appear at dealers in June at a start price of $ 27.5 thousand for a basic configuration with a gasoline engine. About a thousand dollars will have to throw on the diesel. The new Peugeot will reach the Russian dealers even later in September. The gasoline version, especially with the V6 engine, will definitely find its buyer, and not one. With diesel, problems are possible for the Sommon-Rail system painfully perceives diesel fuel with a high content of impurities, and the owners of such machines will have to refuel at several gas stations in Moscow and St. Petersburg, where diesel fuel complies with European standards in chemical composition, and at a price approaches AI-95, especially in winter . Well, what is the savings?
 
Text Nikolay Kachurin, photo of the author and Peugeot
 

Source: "Autopilot"