The Marshall Mathers LP! (Peugeot 607)

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Product:	Peugeot 607
Date:	19/08/01 (179 review reads)
Rating:

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I had a good day yesterday. I bought a new lawn mower and I had Chilli for my tea. I Like Chilli. I also had an enjoyable 3 hours test driving a Peugeot 607. I arranged the test drive as I am due to change my company car soon and the new 2-litre petrol and 2-litre Hdi diesel models both come within our new car price allowance ie below £20,000..

The new models seem to be Peugeot’s way of boosting sales for the 607. Like the 506 it replaces (admittedly after a gap of a couple of years) it is not selling with what one would consider hot cake frequency. The car is still something of a rare sight on UK roads. It is not unusual for a car company to slightly re-position a car in the market place and this does appear to be Peugeot trying to sell 607’s more to premium Mondeo and Vectra owners rather than the higher car classes. The danger is you can compromise the sales to the higher market segments as a BMW 5-series or similar driver is not going to shell out £30k for the 3.0 litre V6 when ostensibly the same car is going below £20k.

The car is quite attractive and has styling cues from the entire Peugeot range but a rather unique rear-end treatment. The roofline is low in comparison with the height of the doors and it gives it a rakish sporty look as well as an upmarket design. The interior is spacious as a result having good leg room for all occupants as well as plenty of shoulder room. I was driving a 2.2Hdi today and this had leather interior which was very comfortable, not too firm like a Mercedes and not too soft like in some Jags. The dashboard is good neat and clear but again some cars in this class are better such as the Honda Accord. The dash is made of a nice soft touch plastic and slopes away from the front seat occupants and this adds to the feeling of roominess.

I had a few problems with the keys as I hit the boot release a couple of times whilst turning the engine on. This was due to this button being on the key also
and each time I pressed it in error I had to get out and close the boot again. Perhaps in time I would have stopped doing this. On locking the car the wing mirrors fold away and open out again when you unlock. I would have to put this on the list of things car manufacturers have developed for us that we never really needed. Perhaps more thought should have gone on visibility when reversing. The low sweep of the roof and the high rear seat and head rests mean its like trying to reverse looking through a pillar box opening. Luckily I didn’t try any particularly demanding manouevres.

The boot is long and reasonably wide but unfortunately as shallow as a teenager in an Ayia Napa disco. There are a couple of useful cubby holes in it (the boot, not the teenager) as well as the 6-disc CD changer.

Of course all this is well and good but it is what all this moves along like which counts and here we hit a snag. The car was reasonably brisk being neither startlingly quick nor sluggish but I have to think the 2 litre Hdi must really struggle with all this weight having 15% less bhp. On the open road of dual carriageways the ride is fine but on country roads the feeling from the front wheels is not good. Every little pothole, cats-eye and rut is amplified through the steering due to too hard a suspension setting. As this was not compensated by any improvement in handling this was not good. The steering is too heavy and perhaps needs a tad more power assistance to make it more of drivers car. In a tough market –whichever Peugeot decide it is in – this was not up to standard. Steering in a £20k car should be taut and responsive not woolly and hard work.

All things considered there is a lot to commend the 607. It seems well made, its attractive and well proportioned and on the face of it it’s a lot of car for £20k. However it is perhaps for the undemanding among us and not for those who want pleasure in driving.

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