2004 Peugeot 607

There's no doubt that Peugeot CAN produce luxurious cars - the 406 coupe is a prime example of that. But can the company produce luxurious BIG cars that rival those from Germany? That's what we're trying to ascertain in our test here of the Peugeot 605 BV V6 automatic.

Moving away from Teutonic styling is no great hardship, and the Peugeot 607 has a totally different look from anything else on the market - which means people look at you and understand that YOU dare to be different.

Its lines are clean and uncluttered, with modern headlight styling and grille, a "fastback" style side look, and a neat and unobtrusive tail.

The Peugeot 607 is nearly 4.9 metres long, and much of this goes into an airy and wide cabin that feels more generous than those offered by the Germans at this money.

Front seat passengers are super-comfortable, and the rear is also roomy and comfy, although rear passengers may feel their heads are rather close to the swooping roof when they sit in the back.

The boot, however, is huge. It has a low load height, losing no space at the sides to the suspension. The rear seats split and fold, to offer a luggage area growing from 408 litres to 1 264 litres when the rear seats are folded flat.

Leather is standard trim throughout the cabin and the driver gets electrically adjusted seats along with lumbar support adjustment and a couple of memory options.

Other creature comforts include automatic air conditioning, CD shuttle and radio with eight speakers, cruise control, electrically operated mirrors and windows, power steering, on-board computer and remote central locking with immobiliser.

The automatic cruise control operates independently on both sides or can have one side set manually and the other on auto.

However there's some sloppy ergonomics - the fact that the button to operate the sunroof is tucked behind the gear lever illustrates this.

The steering wheel adjusts for rake or reach, but the seat is set too high for taller drivers, even at the electric seat height adjustment's lowest setting.

Equipment

There are electronic gizmos galore, as is to be expected these days from a top-end motor car.

Thus we see ABS brakes with electronic brake distribution and emergency brake assist, electronic stability control and traction control.

Occupants are protected by twin front airbags and side bags, plus rear curtain airbags, and all in the back are offered three-point seat belts.

The suspension comprises MacPherson struts, with lower cast-iron L-arms, coil springs, and a jointed mount 23mm anti-roll bar while at the back there 's a full independent setup with double wishbones, upper fabricated steel A-arm, lower fabricated steel A-arm, coil springs, and a jointed mount 26mm hollow anti-roll bar.

More importantly, though, the suspension features an electronic damping mode that allows the driver to choose between sport and comfort settings.

The former programmes the suspension in the firmest setup, while in comfort the suspension is continuously adaptive, its "brain" choosing between nine different damper settings.

The 2 946 cm³ V6 quad cam engine has variable inlet valve timing, four valves per cylinder, and output is 152 kW at 6 000 r/min, with torque 285 Nm at 3 750 r/min.

This is linked to a four speed electronically controlled automatic, with sequential shift, three modes, and a lock-up torque converter.

Steering is rack and pinion, with variable power assistance according to road speed.

Alloy wheels are 7.5 inches wide, and shod with 225/50 ZR17 tyres.

The big Peugeot feels well balanced in freeway driving, but it can feel cumbersome and skittish around town.

On tighter roads it's important to use the sequential manual shift option to go down a gear or two for tighter turns to get the best power down for the exit - when left to its own devices the auto takes just a tad too long, with sometimes dramatic results.

That said the 607's controls operate smoothly, and little tugging is relayed through the steering wheel as the front wheels cope with their dual role of transferring the power to road and steering.

The sport setting for the shocks works well and gives a genuine choice between a very high quality ride and sporty driving.

On the performance front, although the engine output is acceptable, it's dealing with a heavy car (1 580 kg) and this makes the car feel less powerful than its German opposition.

The brakes work well, with tremendous bite and good feel. Hit them hard enough to kick in the ABS system and the hazard flashers trip, turning off again when the car is accelerated.

Peugeot, like compatriot Renault, is more comfortable producing smaller cars than luxury limos.

That said, the 607 is well executed, though perhaps not as well as either BMW or Mercedes equivalents. Still, if you're sick and tired of seeing your friends in the same old same, take a chance!

Pluses
- Not German
- Spacious
- Good looking

Minuses
- Opposition quicker