Road Test: Peugeot 407 Touring HDi

By Feann Torr - 26/May/2006

Petrol. It makes the world go round, and it can also bring the biggest and most prosperous of this blue planet's many industries to a standstill when price fluctuations occur. And right now, in 2006, we are within the grip of what appears to be a never-ending price hike.

Many industries are affected by the changing price of crude oil, and the car industry is currently feeling the pinch as fuel price spikes wreak havoc on consumer buying trends. Larger, heavier and thirstier vehicles are currently being passed over in favour of more frugal vehicles, and one of the benefactors of this changing trend has been the much-maligned diesel car. But as time wears on, diesel technology has been rapidly evolving to a stage where it's so-called shortcomings are no longer a problem.

"But they're loud, smokey and slow," say the uneducated.

True, they once were. But today's modern diesels are in fact a very intelligent alternative to four-stroke petrol engines. They are much quieter, more powerful and with particulate filters and other improving technologies exhaust emissions are being significantly reduced. And for those deeply concerned about their carbon footprint, biofuel is an alternative combustible for many diesel engined cars.

Along with most other major European automakers, Peugeot has been fine-tuning it's diesel technology for many decades and the fruits of its hard work are now available to Australian drivers. Better yet, it has just added a new Japanese-built 6-speed automatic transmission to the diesel-powered 407 wagon (or Touring), which as it turns out can save you big bucks on your fuel bill. The provocatively styled Frenchman used to transfer power to the front wheels via a 4-speed auto, but now with the two extra cogs fuel economy and acceleration have improved, and besides, it's got a panoramic glass roof, so how could we resist?

Peugeot's 407 Touring HDi now gets a new 6-speed auto gearbox, which increases the diesel engine's scope

A versatile family wagon with awesome fuel economy and a panoramic glass roof

Once inside, strapped in and with all the mirrors suitably adjusted, I turned the engine over and what do you know? It was quiet, refined and entirely endurable. It didn't sound like a tractor, nor did it feel like one when I gently wound the throttle up.

Powered by a 2.0-litre, 16-valve, direct injection diesel engine, complete with a turbocharger and air-to-air intercooler for extra kick, Peugeot's 407 Touring HDi motivates very nicely indeed, developing 100kW @ 4000rpm and 320Nm of torque @ 2000rpm.

With more than 300 Newtons hitting the front wheels so early in the rev range, not to mention making use of the new Aisin FWD 6-speed automatic gearbox, the long and low Peugeot built speed quite adequately around. It's not a rocket ship as it's quite heavy, 1715kg, and has a low power output, but it's muscular bottom end that sends plenty of torque to the wheels ensures the car never struggles.

The performance statistics are nothing to write home about (0-100km/h in 11.2 seconds), but if you want speed your best bet is to check out the 155kW 3.0-litre petrol V6 model. But where the HDi excels is in it's ability to wring more kilometres out of each litre of fuel.

I was consistently impressed with the car's fuel economy figures, even during foot-to-the-floor journeys through the mountains. In traffic around town and in the suburbs, the 2.0-litre diesel recorded figures between 7 and 9L/100km, which puts many of the more popular large Aussie sedans to shame (Peugeot quotes about 10L/100km for the city cycle, so we assume their test driver had a heavy right foot).

The lowest figures we recorded for any decent period of time was on the highway, cruising at 100km/h in sixth gear. We managed just slightly more than 5L/100km, which is very impressive, and will theoretically take you 1320km before you need to refill the 66 litre fuel tank.

Welcome to the world of diesel power.

Generally speaking, we managed to record more like 6L/100km on the open road, and Peugeot cites the highway cycle as 5.5L/100km, which sounds bang on the money.

Though not as refined as the German-built ZF 6-speed auto gearbox found in vehicles like the Audi S4 and Ford Falcon XR8, the Japanese-built Aisin 6-speed auto does a very good job with the 2.0-litre diesel engine. It's not as intelligent or quite as rapid to shift as the ZF, but it's never left searching for gears either, and generally picks the right one for the job at hand.

Combined with the torquey diesel engine, the 6-speed auto gives the 407 wagon impressive mid-gear roll on abilities. Though it's a bit sluggish off the line with low throttle inputs, it's almost as though the effect is reversed at speeds above 50 or 60km/h, as it responded very rapidly and would accelerate swiftly from these speeds. So while it might be slow to begin with, overtaking other cars and making decisive decisions on the run is one of the 407 HDi's fortes.

Even with five occupants and their gear, the torque-laden engine motivates the almost 4.8 metre (4763mm) long vehicle nicely, building up speed without any major drama. It sometimes takes it's sweet time, but never feels out of breath or that it's struggling. The only time the engine feels underwhelming is below 1500rpm when the turbo is still spooling up, but this is a minor issue and rarely needs addressing in normal conditions, though the tiptronic mode helps alleviate this quibble regardless.

Deceleration is taken care of by ventilated discs front and rear, measuring 330 and 290mm respectively. Hooked up to assets such as ABS, EBD, ASR (anti skid regulation) and EBA (emergency brake assist), you'd expect the brakes to be pretty good. Though they're not amazingly arresting - the car is rather heavy - they get the job done safely, securely and with plenty of help from the car's electronic brain.

Not to say it's heavy, the variable rate electro-hydraulic steering is best described as well-weighted, and manages to suit the car's relaxed feel. There's not a great deal of feedback through the wheels, barring the odd kick from a mid-corner bump, yet for most customers the easy-to-steer characteristics of the Euro wagon will be a boon, particularly in the city driving and high traffic situations.

Despite it's 17-inch alloy wheels, this is no sports car, so communication through the tiller isn't crucial to its nature and the suspension is tuned towards the softer side of the spectrum, and like the steering setup it suits the urban driving cycle. Though it's suspension is softly sprung, it's not soggy per se, and has the pliancy to absorb a decent number of bumps in the road, and feels most relaxed at highway speeds. The 407 Touring HDi rides well over most surfaces, but it has gained it's generally compliant ride by trading off its handling, so don't expect to be able to keep up with a Subaru Liberty through bends.

Even with the odd-looking rear end and it's plethora of window panes, I found rearward vision to be quite good. The reverse-angled rear pillars didn't impinge the view through the rear view mirror as much as I thought they would, though they do create noticeable blind spots when head checking. Also, the seating position as the driver was one of the first things that I didn’t agree with, but after a bit of tom foolery with the handy electronic seat adjusters, I managed to find a more acceptable position. I reckon this could be to do with the shallow footwell and sloping-away bonnet, as when I drive I like to be able to see the car's frontal extremities, but with my long legs I had to extend the seat all the way back.

Inside, the 407 Touring is very well equipped vehicle with quality leather seats front and back, a relatively spacious 430 litres (or 1811 litres with the rear seats folded down) of boot space, plus access through the tailgate window as well as the usual boot door and plenty of doodads and gizmos to play with inside. There's also a rather large panoramic glass roof that stretches about two thirds of the roof's length. It's quite dazzling to be sitting in the rear driving through a forest looking up at all the conifers, and more than just a gimmick, it gives the car a very open and airy feel inside (and includes an electronically adjustable sunshade).

As a luxury family wagon, the Peugeot 407 Touring does a slap-up job, it must be said. There's enough room for two adults and three kids plus a good amount of junk for the boot, or two people up front a number of bicycles in the back, and it's one of the safest cars on the road with an abundance of airbags - eight, in fact, covering all five passengers - plus useful driving recovery systems such as EBD, DSC and electronic stability control (ESP) and ABS. The car can even count how occupants are involved and warn the driver that not all seatbelts are fastened, soit's not surprising then that the 407 Touring recently scored five out of five stars in EuroNCAP safety testing.

Overall: 4/5

All told, there's a lot to like about this Frenchman, particularly it's miserly fuel consumption. The small things add up too; touches like the rain sensing wipers, the chilled glove box and folding mirrors (when you remotely lock the car) add prudent quirkiness to proceedings. Speaking of quirky, not everyone's going to like the rear end styling on this thing (an unnamed colleague commented that the Peugeot designers must be on acid), but that's what I love about French cars: pretty much everything they do is just a little different from the accepted norm, and for this reason the car comes across feeling far less mass produced than some.

Peugeot claims that it's 407 Touring HDi is one of the cleanest cars on the planet, and I don't doubt that for a second. Fuel efficiency translates into fewer noxious emissions, and this European wagon is as efficient as they come. The 6-speed auto not only improves the 2.0-litre diesel mills efficiency even more, but also broadens its target audience as well, and at the same time the Euro wagon comes across as very competent family vehicle in a lot areas.

This is one car that will be stopping far less frequently than most.