A nice plain English op on a car. I purchased my Peugeot 406Hdi rapier Saloon in December 2001. Only the second brand new car I had ever purchased. The first being a Peugeot 305 a few years ago. That car had given me many trouble free miles so I thought I would stick with them. I suppose it’s a bit like the devil you know.
As a cab driver in London it had to be a diesel car. Economy is the Number one rule as saving money these days is so important.
There was a company in Scotland offering the best deal so I phoned, and arranged delivery.
A week later my shiny metallic China blue Peugeot 406 car arrived.
I like a largish car that’s comfortable. I like reliability and economy fuel consumption. Speed is not that important, I suppose functional is the best description.
The Peugeot 406 fitted my needs on description, but would it fill my needs on use.
The controls and the interior.
I sat in the car and started to look through the manual to try to
get to grips with the controls. The steering wheel is small and compact. The centre is rectangular with four spikes going out to the outer wheel. It is chunky and easy to hold with one or two hands. The dashboard display is large and easy to see. Displays include speed, revs, Temp, oil temp, and a light fault display on the bottom. It is computerised and will tell you if anything is wrong. There is also an oil level digital display, a nice touch for those of you who don’t like checking the oil. There are various audio warnings. These include one for leaving your lights on and if you leave your keys in the ignition and attempt to get out of your car. The radio goes into economy mode and switches itself off after half an hour. All the periphery controls and indicators are to your left and clearly displayed. They are all digital. Time, outside temp, inside temp, air conditioning, fan, radio frequency. My car had a CD player as standard but I was upset I could not play my tapes. It meant they were obsolete. There is a small angled recess under this which holds things without them falling out. Behind this is the gear stick followed by the airbag on/off switch and the handbrake. Going backwards there is then a double drinks holder. I liked this. I am always drinking cans and never have anywhere to put them.
The drivers seat was comfortable and included controls to move it backwards and forwards, and for up or down. Another control on the side let your seat recline.
There are four airbags, two for the front and two for the back.
The seats were made of velour and seemed quite robust. It has four electric windows and the rear ones can be shut off from the front to stop those little fingers. One other thing, it has very rapid front window demisting, saves all that ice scraping in the winter. It is usually demisted within a couple of minutes of starting the car.
The boot.
The boot is quite large but the entrance can be a bit tight for large prams. Although the back seats all go down so it is handy for the DIY enthusiasts. This almost gives you small estate car status. Unusual for a saloon.
Under the bonnet.
I am not going to explain the technical details of the car in to much detail, as I am not a mechanic. However the car is equipped with a 2-litre diesel engine. I get about 46mpg when I am motorwaydriving, this drops to as little as 23mpg when in heavy traffic. I use about a tenner a day at work, which is brilliant. It has five gears and you can comfortably go into fifth at 35mph. The acceleration belies a diesel car and it is very quiet. People often comment on how quiet it is. Although under the bonnet resembles something out of the star ship enterprise, all the things we need to know and do are clearly visible. Oil filler, water, and windscreen washer water.
Handling.
The car has power steering, which means it is simple to steer. It holds the road well and I have no complaints there. It carries loads very well and I have often been fully loaded with lagers from France and it drives the same as when it is empty.
Servicing.
It has a very low maintenance threshold. Major services are only every 12.000 miles. The intermediate service is just a check and an oil top up. These are very cheap. I go to Peugeot and it costs about £50. The 12.000-mile services are more expensive and the most I have paid is £200. That was for the big 36.000mile service. I have now done 51.000 miles in 22 months without one single running problem. Worth noting, I also still have the original tyres.
Problems.
I have only had one problem and that involved replacing the aerial mounting, which is on the front of the roof. I whacked it while I was washing the car and I found a puddle of water by the gear stick one day. The seal had broken. There have been two recalls, one for the boot lock, and the other just to check a connection was correct. Neither was important and both were done at service times, so there was no inconvenience.
Safety.
It has central locking and child locks on the back doors. It is also fitted with all round air bags.
Security.
The locks can be operated by remote control, (button on key) or with the key in the door. Press twice and it puts dead locks on as well. So it is double locked. The radio is built in so is useless to a thief and not worth stealing.
Entertainment.
Fitted as standard radio with all sorts of frequencies and a CD player. The sound standard is very high, and has a very high potential volume. The radio has channel memory and loads of other things I have never used. I only listen to two stations. Speakers are fitted in the front and rear.
Conclusion
Once again I have found the Peugeot to be very reliable and trouble free. The servicing is not too expensive and the 12.000 gaps make it even cheaper. I have found it to be practical for load carrying and all my passengers say it is comfortable and a nice car. For a nice practical family car I would recommend it. However if you like a performance car this is not for you. It did fulfil my needs in use.
Regards……..Tony.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Very helpful and comprehensive review. Worth noting that the GTX version sped me up through France at (Ahem) great speed and with remarkable fuel economy last year.
hayslad 04.11.2003 13:27
Very nice, well organised op. I think I've learnt a thing or two about writing them from this. Thanks.
thingywhatsit 01.11.2003 18:27
Very good op, but I still reckon my Twingo is the best value you can get in a French car.
Oct 28th, 2003
very helpful by (100%):
