Peugeot 407 2006 review

That's right a twin-turbo 2.7-litre V6 diesel engine that is also used in the Jaguar S-Type and the Land Rover Discovery after being jointly developed by Ford.

Now it's powering the stylish-looking Pug 407 coupe.

It's a curious move, particularly when competitors in the market are essentially marking time before fully commiting to introducing diesel sports cars in Australia.

As early as last month, Alfa Romeo's Australian distributor, Ateco, said they weren't sure whether the country was ready for diesel sports cars when they launched four and six-cylinder petrol versions of its gorgeous Brera.

In any case Peugeot are pushing the diesel sports message big time overseas.

They are coming out with an LMP1 diesel for the Le Mans 24-hour race next year with a car that they claim boasts more power and torque than Audi's R10 which won the race in June.

Diesel is very much the word in sports car racing in Europe.

But how oil-burners go on the street, particularly in Australia with vehicles perceived to be sports cars, remains to be seen.

Although the 407 coupe has stunning low slung lines it is more of a cushy cruiser rather than a go-hard two-door.

At 150kW the HDi engine has five kilowatts of power less than the petrol version. However, what it may lack in oomph it more than makes up for in torque with 440Nm, a full 150Nm more than the petrol.

And the beauty is you can't hear the clang and clatter of the diesel even sitting at a standstill.

It is oh-so-quiet in the cabin.

All this silence has been helped by double glazing, a laminated windscreen and plenty of sound deadening in the fire wall.

There is a nine-setting electronic suspension which comes standard with damping continuously adjusted to help keep body control in check.

Ride quality is reasonably neutral and while it is not as firm as a sports coupe it doesn't dampen a more vigorous drive experience.

There is enough flexibility and torque with this six-speed automatic gearbox for there to be little reason other than overcoming boredom to push the shifter to the left and have a play with the sequential function.

At low speeds the turbos kick in with little or minimal delay and it also keeps things nice and neat in the front with no trace of torque wanting to reef the wheel from your hands.

Inside, the cabin is nicely appointed, however the controls are fiddly and not easy to decipher.

And there is not a lot of room to put stuff like mobiles and things so they don't fly across seats and on to the floor.

The other gripe is the ghastly looking steel bar that is exposed near the floor on each side which is an anchor for the seatbelts which slide backwards and forwards.

The doors are almost dumbell heavy and they have hooks on the inside at the bottom which slide into two holes the frame underneath the door sill for extra rigidity.

On this test over 700km, the Pug returned about 7.9litres/100km which is not great but it's certainly more economical than petrol and was a little under the factory claim of 8.4litres/100km.

This Pug, which looses none of the pizzaz of the previous Pininfarina styled 406 coupe, gains big marks for what's in the boot a fullsize 18-inch spare.

There is a long, long list of standard equipment including all the electronic safety control systems, front, side, curtain and knee airbags, JBL premium sound system with boot-mounted six-stacker and electronic parking sensors and leather trim.

In fact the only options are $2990 for the premium leather and $1000 for Bluetooth.