RE: SOTW: Peugeot 406 Coupe

[johnpeat]

slashley said:

To me, a Peugeot, is a thin tinny piece of crap with crap wiring. The diesel engines were brilliant though. Are they still a load of old rubbish?

They are tinny - the doors bend inwards when you push the key in - but mine is past 17 years old and is less rusty than some cars half that age...

Can't speak for cars newer than the 205/306/405/6 tho as I've never felt the need to own one - the 206 a mate had was a horrible place to sit (highest driving position ever) and went wrong a lot tho - so...

[anonymous-user]

kiwifraser said:

The back seats do fold down

mine didn't?

[kiwifraser]

The Spruce goose said:

mine didn't?

I managed to get 4 winter wheels and tyres in the car, so I'm pleased mine do

[peter450]

B19GRR said:

That's the later 210bhp VVT lump, little more frugal than the earlier 194bhp model. Very tame below 3k as I remember but opens up nicely.

Cheers,
Rob

My friend had one of the later 3 litres, and i dont recall the engine feeling short on power at lower RPM, if i recall it pulled 3rd and 4th pretty easily from low RPM's

[johnpeat]

peter450 said:

My friend had one of the later 3 litres, and i dont recall the engine feeling short on power at lower RPM, if i recall it pulled 3rd and 4th pretty easily from low RPM's

The odd thing is, the V6 probably feels less pokey than the 2.2 HDi in "lazy thrust" terms, it's just that it will respond to being stirred and generally be more likely to have some oomph when you need it most.

Depends what you're buying it for really - it's NOT a hot hatch or even a sportier coupe like a Celica, it's a cruiser/GT car which can to motorway trips with ease and still not disappoint when the roads get narrower and bendier...

It's also all about the looks - if you don't like the 'image', buy a regular 406 as they're cheaper, roomier etc. etc.

[radlet6]

"Of course, because this is Shed money, you'll also be pleased to learn that it has had a brand-new alternator, four decent tyres and a new exhaust system. And that magic Pininfarina badge..."

And very dodgy Peugeot electrics.

Just pray it wasn't built on a Friday PM by Jean Claude after his statutory 2 hour lunch of vin rouge.

Don't dispose of the bus pass just yet, you may still need it...

[anonymous-user]

radlet6 said:

And very dodgy Peugeot electrics.

I've owned 3 pugs and never had an major electrical issues, and looking on the coupe website not many have. To me it is one of those self perpetuating myths by people that have never owned one.

[B19GRR]

peter450 said:

My friend had one of the later 3 litres, and i dont recall the engine feeling short on power at lower RPM, if i recall it pulled 3rd and 4th pretty easily from low RPM's

Now I didn't say underpowered, it was just more docile below 3k which made around town driving easier. Dropping a cog when on the open road soon got things shifting along nicely.

Cheers,
Rob

[slashley]

The Spruce goose said:

radlet6 said:

And very dodgy Peugeot electrics.

I've owned 3 pugs and never had an major electrical issues, and looking on the coupe website not many have. To me it is one of those self perpetuating myths by people that have never owned one.

Not for me.I had a 306 and the electrics were crap...very crap. Brilliant engine though!

[KM666]

Haha got laugh at all the rubbish spoken about reliability and bodywork. Of course when its a rusty 8 year old 330d thats the only bad one in the country when somebodies mates 2nd cousin drove something french like a tt and broke it thats an accurate reflection of the whole brand. Why isnt there the same level of hatred towards the awful interiors of things like subarus, plenty of people harp
On about french reliability but dont say oh japanese have crap interiors golfs lifeless steering

[anonymous-user]

Top shed. Had the 3.0 saloon for 8 years and never had a major problem with it. Very comfortable, but could also give it a good thrashing when needed.

[retroracing]

back seats definately do fold down, there is a little lock on the backin the boot. I've had a 7'2'' surfboardin mine!

[slashley]

KM666 said:

Haha got laugh at all the rubbish spoken about reliability and bodywork. Of course when its a rusty 8 year old 330d thats the only bad one in the country when somebodies mates 2nd cousin drove something french like a tt and broke it thats an accurate reflection of the whole brand. Why isnt there the same level of hatred towards the awful interiors of things like subarus, plenty of people harp
On about french reliability but dont say oh japanese have crap interiors golfs lifeless steering

My bmw i bought after the 306 was on a completely different planet with regards to quality in all areas. A much more solid car. The 306 was literally like driving round in a tin can. Are you french?

[Rammy76]

radlet6 said:

Just pray it wasn't built on a Friday PM by Jean Claude after his statutory 2 hour lunch of vin rouge.

Major assembly took place in Italy though didn't it?

Anyway, my mate owned a 3 litre one and it had done over 100000 miles by the time he got rid. It was very reliable only needing a new wiper mechanism and routine servicing over the 80000 miles he'd had it for.

If I remember right these had Brembo brakes which were rather good, if expensive to replace.

[KM666]

slashley said:

My bmw i bought after the 306 was on a completely different planet with regards to quality in all areas. A much more solid car. The 306 was literally like driving round in a tin can. Are you french?

Whats to say that 306 wasn't a bad one? Had a 318 on a mates land for a while, awful car it didn't have one redeeming feature bar being easy to sell, they must be good at something to receive such glittering reviews time after time, I couldn't find what that was. No not french a grease monkey. Oh yes they 'feel' solid but rust like escorts. It seems strange that the stink sticks with french cars (and to an extent italian motors) whereas the issues with german and japanese cars seems to be forgotten and forgiven and the cars raved about like they were cast from gods own steelworks.

Edited by KM666 on Saturday 19th November 19:33

[anonymous-user]

Rammy76 said:

If I remember right these had Brembo brakes which were rather good, if expensive to replace.

yes, they did change to Lucus which some people prefer.

[slashley]

KM666 said:

slashley said:

My bmw i bought after the 306 was on a completely different planet with regards to quality in all areas. A much more solid car. The 306 was literally like driving round in a tin can. Are you french?

Whats to say that 306 wasn't a bad one? Had a 318 on a mates land for a while, awful car it didn't have one redeeming feature bar being easy to sell, they must be good at something to receive such glittering reviews time after time, I couldn't find what that was. No not french a grease monkey. Oh yes they 'feel' solid but rust like escorts. It seems strange that the stink sticks with french cars (and to an extent italian motors) whereas the issues with german and japanese cars seems to be forgotten and forgiven and the cars raved about like they were cast from gods own steelworks.

Edited by KM666 on Saturday 19th November 19:33

True enough point. I guess I just don't like Peugeot's. Had one and sat in a few and they just felt really rubbish and remember the old renaults too. Maybe things are different now. Can't take away the fact that the diesel engines were top notch and would go on forever. My feeling on Jap cars is they are very well engineered and very reliable and German cars seem to have a feeling of quality, although they can sometimes go wrong. I'm sure some people will read this and have completely different views though.

[DHE]

The Spruce goose said:

kiwifraser said:

The back seats do fold down

mine didn't?

The back seats folded down on all my 406 Coupes, I've had four. The earlier ones (D8)had buttons on top of the seats to press down to release, the later ones (D9) had release catches accessed via the boot.

[james280779]

I have owned three of these and they are seriously under rated cars!

Eight years of ownership and only brakes/ exhaust and tyres needed replacing!

Also alot quicker than the figures suggest, Whats not mentioned is that its the same 3.0 V6 that powers the clio v6 and the ones I owned were in fact 210bhp with a very similar feel to the old V6 cosworth engine.

Get them over 3500 revs and they fly, mine would happily top out at about 150 mph and once moving easily swept past TT's, Boxsters and the like.

I would buy another one tomorrow if I didnt have a company car nowadays!

[I WISH]

Entirely agree about the wheels.

I have always thought that a set of nice 17" or 18" alloys would completely transform the looks.

A mate of mine lives near the proving round at Millbrook. He saw a 406 Coupe on the local roads before they were officially launched and his first thought was that it could be a new Ferrari.

Says it all really. Very pretty car ..... and even better with a decent set of bigger alloys and tyres!