February 18, 2004. Copyright, 2004, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Peugeot gambles with in-your-face styling for new 407 family car

By Neil Winton

London, February 18, Graphic News:  If you look quickly, Peugeot is hoping that you might just think Ferrari.

Peugeot has thrown caution to the winds with the styling of its new 407, which will compete against other family cars like the Ford Mondeo, Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, Toyota Avensis, Volkswagen Passat, and the Honda Accord.

No more bland, Russian doll, anonymous look-alikes for FranceÕs Peugeot. The Ferrari-esque front end, with its aggressive, open-mouthed grille, is an unashamed attention grabber. No doubt the 407Õs competitors will try and say it looks like a goldfish or a gulping grouper, but there is method in PeugeotÕs risk-taking.

Family car sales are under severe pressure from above, as luxury manufacturers like BMW and Mercedes move downmarket with increasing success. From below, smaller, cheaper cars offer more flexibility and big-car extras like air-conditioning and high-tech safety gadgets, with buyers increasingly believing that Volkswagen Golfs or Honda Civics have all the attributes of more expensive cars.

Peugeot reckons that to capture sales and restore profit margins it needs a ÒwowÓ factor. It might offend some, but who cares if it turns on real buyers. Peugeot unveiled its first ideas for the 407 at the Frankfurt Car Show last September and it certainly excited the crowds there. The actual design, which will be introduced at the Geneva Car Show in early March, has retained most of the design cues from the ÒconceptÓ model. Sales in Europe start in May.

Under the skin, the 407 is impressively engineered. The 406Õs MacPherson strut-type front suspension has been supplanted by a new aluminium double wishbone system that should provide better handling, less weight, and less wear on the tyres. Standard throughout the range is an electronic system, which coordinates anti-skid brakes, brake assist, brake force distribution and stability control. Seven airbags are standard, including protection for the knees. Top of the range models will include satellite navigation, and electronic memory of steering column, seat and mirror settings. Radar parking sensors are available, and are a necessity because of the difficulty in seeing the heavily stylised carÕs extremities.

There are four petrol engines Ð 1.8, 2.0, 2.2, and 3.0 litres, and two diesels Ð 1.6 and 2.0 litres. Later this year a new 2.7 litre V6 diesel engine will be available, which has been developed jointly by Peugeot and Ford. The engines can be mated with 5 or 6 speed manual gearboxes or 4 or 6 speed automatics. The latter incorporates a ÒPorsche Tiptronic SystemÓ, which allows manual override of the automatic. Manual override is de rigeur for modern automatic boxes, but about as useful to normal drivers as a toboggan in high summer.

Because of all the new safety and luxury equipment, the 407 weighs about 130 kilos more than the 406 it replaces, and is also wider and longer than its predecessor. A higher roofed estate car version of the 407 will also be introduced at the Geneva Car Show in March, which should finally dash any illusions that it might be related to Ferrari.
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