Peugeot 406 Coupe v Peugeot 206 GTi v Mondeo v Mazda6

[Fastdruid]

TheAngryDog said:

The heated seats on my 15 year old BMW still work

Everything (including the heated seats) except the left heated mirror worked on my 15yo Mondeo when I got rid of it.

[nipsips]

Mines auto so its a bit out but you should be able to get 40mpg out of a Mondeo on a run. Easily. In fact I reguarly do. Mine sits at 28 on the trip, however that is a mix of motorway, town and traffic.

If image is the main problem go for the 406 however Mondeo's are extremely reliable.

Ghia X will see you with 17"s, heated leather, electric sunroof and windows with global closing, heated screen, remote locking, 6 cd changer, cruise, climate control, auto dimming mirror, front fogs, footwell and rear courtesy lights, drivers + passengers + side + curtain airbags, ABS etc.

Refinement is excellent to on a run. Mine munches miles, its been on the continent twice in the last 2 months with no issues.

I know what id be buying in the OP's situation.

[GTIAlex]

Im looking at getting rid of my Clio 182 in a few months for a similar reason...not going to be doing anywhere near as many miles as you but looking at saving as much money as possible.
Kind of fancy a year of not caring about where I park my car etc and wont be so worried about the taxi drivers of Wolverhampton scraping down the side of it.

Cant really look pass the Ford at this price point really although I have always been a fan of the 406 I would always wish I had the v6!
With the Mondeo id just accept it for what it is and get my kicks elsewhere

[406highlander]

TheAngryDog said:

Thanks for the write up! I'll check that forum out.

Would you say that the 2.2 is the one to go for? I need something with a compliant ride as Sheffield is not treating my suspension nicely! Does the Coupe come with Xenon head lights?

The heated seats on my 15 year old BMW still work

I like my 2.2, but I'd have bought a V6 if there was one near me (at the time, the nearest one for sale was in Manchester; as it was, I had to go down to the borders to buy the 2.2). With a stainless exhaust, the 2.2 makes a nice noise, but doesn't compare with the V6 too well. The 2.2 is naturally aspirated, and produces 160 HP. The newer ES9J4S V6 engine (the Porsche-tuned one, with VVT) produces 210 HP. If you need an automatic, the 2.2 petrol is manual only - the V6 was available with either a 5-speed manual, or a 4-speed ZF automatic (an excellent auto box, by all accounts). If fuel economy is a concern, apparently there's not all that much difference between the 2.2 and the newer ES9J4S V6 (the older ES9J4 V6 was a fair bit thirstier) - the V6 is probably the one to choose.

The ride quality is about the same regardless which Coupe you go for. It's a soft ride; the suspension is definitely set up for comfort rather than out-and-out performance.

It doesn't have Xenon headlights; they can be retrofitted though.

I do want to get my seat heaters fixed, but I can't really justify the expense. I'm definitely grateful they're the only things that don't work though, things could definitely be so much worse!

[TheAngryDog]

Well, just to give some closure to this thread.

I've decided against all of these cars.

As I plan on doing this job for no more than 10 more months, I've factored in all the costs etc, and I've decided that I might as well just stick with my E39 M5 as the daily drive. It is so good at everything that it isn't really a weekend car, and it would be a shame not to use it.

So there, my DD is my M5..