How special is the Peugeot 405 T16?
Discussion
Eighteeteewhy said:
ooo only round the corner too! RenesisEvo said:
Now that was a proper homologation special - I still recall the day I got to sit in a 205 T16 road car, reportedly 1 of 5 in the UK at the time.
Remember doing the same along with a friend at the Peugeot dealer in Stafford. Friend's Dad was picking up his new 205 Gti that day - think the one we sat in went round a lot of dealers' showrooms405... Was such a great car - this was my experience in the 90s:
Growing up, in the 80s and 90s, I would read car magazines which, in general, would rave about how good Peugeots were to drive. I didn't really know what this meant at the time, and I scoffed at them. My family didn't really like them, with the stereotypical 'French tat' opinion. However, I was fortunate enough to work for an independent garage, driving all sorts of vehicles all over the place. Unbelievably, 3 days after passing my test, I had to take a Corrado VR6 to Hereford and back, quite a long drive. It was a car that I absolutely adored for its engine, looks and speed (I can still remember the autocar quoted 0-60 time of 6.4 seconds - still quick today). I have to say, though, the car didn't really do it for me. It was quick, but that got boring quickly, and what you were left with seemed to feel like the Mk3 Golfs I had already driven.
But it was days later, when I had to collect a 405 Estate - a veterinarians car of all things - that I realised the difference between expectations, preconceptions, and reality. I can still recall driving round the very same roundabout in both cars. One car felt dead, and numb, just waiting to use the throttle on the straight bits, really. The other was alive - in the steering, in the way the suspension responded with the road, and with its incredible turn-in and a feeling of front-to-rear balance. It was not a sporting car but it just put a grin on your face with the way you felt about its cornering. A very memorable drive, that was. Since then I've had a soft spot for the 405, although it's never caused me to buy one. It's a car you have to drive to judge, but even then I'm sure, like any car, that it's not for everyone. And is the T16 version as good as that diesel estate I drove all that time ago? I guess I'm unlikely to find out. Interesting, though, that it sounds rather similar in spec to my current classic, the Mercedes 190E 2.5-16.
Growing up, in the 80s and 90s, I would read car magazines which, in general, would rave about how good Peugeots were to drive. I didn't really know what this meant at the time, and I scoffed at them. My family didn't really like them, with the stereotypical 'French tat' opinion. However, I was fortunate enough to work for an independent garage, driving all sorts of vehicles all over the place. Unbelievably, 3 days after passing my test, I had to take a Corrado VR6 to Hereford and back, quite a long drive. It was a car that I absolutely adored for its engine, looks and speed (I can still remember the autocar quoted 0-60 time of 6.4 seconds - still quick today). I have to say, though, the car didn't really do it for me. It was quick, but that got boring quickly, and what you were left with seemed to feel like the Mk3 Golfs I had already driven.
But it was days later, when I had to collect a 405 Estate - a veterinarians car of all things - that I realised the difference between expectations, preconceptions, and reality. I can still recall driving round the very same roundabout in both cars. One car felt dead, and numb, just waiting to use the throttle on the straight bits, really. The other was alive - in the steering, in the way the suspension responded with the road, and with its incredible turn-in and a feeling of front-to-rear balance. It was not a sporting car but it just put a grin on your face with the way you felt about its cornering. A very memorable drive, that was. Since then I've had a soft spot for the 405, although it's never caused me to buy one. It's a car you have to drive to judge, but even then I'm sure, like any car, that it's not for everyone. And is the T16 version as good as that diesel estate I drove all that time ago? I guess I'm unlikely to find out. Interesting, though, that it sounds rather similar in spec to my current classic, the Mercedes 190E 2.5-16.
P4T said:
406 SRi Turbo is an 8V.
Oh! How disappointing.I though they were rare as a friend wanted a turbo charged convertible project years back, and it came down to a Mk3 Astra with the C20LET engine, or a 306 with the 406 SRi Turbo engine in. I didn't even know there was a turbo version, and I've only ever seen one.
We went with the Astra in the end and it was a stonking car.
E30M3SE said:
Is that from Performance Car?
Vaguely recall reading that at the time, probably filed up in the loft.
Loving the last couple of paragraphs.......
Yes, it is - Car and Autocar ran similar articles as well at roughly that time. Vaguely recall reading that at the time, probably filed up in the loft.
Loving the last couple of paragraphs.......
I suspect a bit of launch euphoria there, great and interesting car though it might have been. It either wasn't marketed well or maybe not quite what people wanted as the 21 Quadra, Cavalier Turbo, Legacy Turbo and Sierra Cosworth 4x4 all sold fairly well. RHD would have helped a lot for UK market I expect.
I'd liked to have seen a big comparison test to see it judged alongside the bigger sellers.
The Mi-16 didn't seem to do well on track, although a great road car, and in the end the Primera P10 GT seemed to be a lot sturdier for a road car with 95% of the Pug's agility
Great little car. I had a red one as a company car in 1989/1990 and the only problem I had with it was when, in very cold weather, I was queuing for the car wash and had the engine off but the heated seats on, flattened the battery in double quick time - all very embarrassing!!! As far as I can remember it didn't cost a lot to run either.
Perik Omo said:
Great little car. I had a red one as a company car in 1989/1990 and the only problem I had with it was when, in very cold weather, I was queuing for the car wash and had the engine off but the heated seats on, flattened the battery in double quick time - all very embarrassing!!! As far as I can remember it didn't cost a lot to run either.
405 Mi-16 I presume?There seems to be some confusion on this thread, the t16 and MI16 were two different cars. The MI16 was the normal hot production model and the T16 was the homolgation special. The two are different mechanically. I get the impression some of the posters think they are the same car. There was also the Turbo-16 which was different again and was the actual rally car and very different to even the T16.
Alnassma said:
"The T16 is better than the cossie in nearly every department"
Probably a bit of launch euphoria but interesting nontheless..
Performance yardstick of its time so was almost inevitable that any 4 door turbo car would be compared to the Ford - although by 1993 and the launch of the 405 T16 the Sierra was at the end of its model life and the Jap turbo cars like the Legacy/Impreza/Galant were on the way in.Probably a bit of launch euphoria but interesting nontheless..
It would have been a mighty car if it had beaten the old Ford on cross country speed as that in turn was compared very favourably to an E34 M5 for sheer pace a few years before - you have to take the comments with a pinch of salt from journos.
I'll see what other articles I can dig out for you later unless you've seen them already?
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