- Doors and Seats
4 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
2.0DT, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
100kW, 320Nm
- Fuel
Diesel 5.9L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Manual
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
5/5 star (2004)
Peugeot 407 ST HDi Executive
Peugeot has a right to be amused by the growing interest in passenger cars powered by turbo-diesel engines. Along with Mercedes-Benz, the French marque has long been a retailer of compression ignition engines for a small and predominantly rural audience in Australia, exploiting the expertise it has developed for Europe's mass markets.
Now its latest turbo-diesel technology has been added here to the 407 range. Outside the engine bay the 2.0-litre HDi version of the 407 shares much with the 2.2-litre four-cylinder and 3.0-litre V6 petrol versions, including their long-nosed look and choice of sedan (as tested here) or wagon body styles.
The HDi's model designation is ST, and there is a choice of the Comfort or slightly more luxurious Executive interior package that adds leather trim and power front seats.
The entry point is the $45,990 six-speed manual ST HDi sedan in Comfort specification; the Executive manual sedan is $49,490. A four-speed auto is a $2200 option, which is a substantial charge, considering we have entered the era of luxury cars with seven-speed transmissions. There is an enormous amount of standard equipment for the price; apart from the shortage of automatic gears and a six-stacker CD player, this car has everything you would need and almost everything you would want. The 407 is simply very good value.
But the long equipment list doesn't completely make up for some imperfections. The storage areas aren't generous, the air-conditioned glove box is tiny, there are too many buttons and dials in the centre console (23 for the audio alone), the long A-pillar obscures the drivers' vision, the handbrake is on the wrong side of the centre console, the cab-rearward stance means there isn't much rear seat space for adults, and the boot is disappointingly small, although a rear split-fold adds flexibility.
The look and presentation inside is somewhat more cohesive than the 406 without being at class-leading levels of elegance. There's a cleanliness and simplicity to the instrumentation (even if the numerals are odd numbered rather than even), reach and rake adjustment on the steering column and voluminously comfortable front seats.
Indeed, comfort has long been a Peugeot strength, in particular brilliant suspension tune. But the HDi is a puzzlingly average car to ride in, and that's its most serious flaw. Where the old 406 glided and melded, the new car bangs and jolts noisily, despite a clever new double wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension - including Peugeot's own dampers - and a substantially stronger chassis and body than the 406.
There is too much kickback from the electro-hydraulic steering under load on rough corners, and a tendency for the rear-end to skip and jump when faced with the same sort of conditions. The simple fact is that on anything but smooth roads the 407 ST HDi is an unhappy vehicle.
The drivetrain puts a smile back on the face, though. The new four-cylinder engine has been developed with Ford and includes the latest diesel technology - double overhead camshafts, 16 valves and variable geometry turbo.
The engine produces 100 kW at 4000 rpm and 320 Nm of pulling power at 2000 rpm, which makes it the least powerful but the best for torque in the 407 family. No surprise that it is the most fuel-efficient, according to official figures.
The smaller petrol engine seems unhappy with the 407's substantial kerb weight increase over the 406, and the V6 performs best at higher revs, but the turbo-diesel is the ideal companion for Australian driving conditions, in which low and mid-range kick beat theoretical sprinting claims every time. The HDi engine even provides a momentary extra 20 Nm torque boost under full load to aid with overtaking.
As modern as this engine is, you are left in no doubt that this is diesel, thanks to a low and distinctive growl that is ever-present but not unpleasant. Less pleasing was a shudder that ran through the drivetrain of our test car every time we pulled up.
The key to getting the best out of this engine is letting it do its work at lower revs, rather than running it like a petrol engine. There's no evidence of turbo lag or roughness below 4000 rpm, although above that it soon runs out of breath.
But 100 km/h comes up at 2000 rpm, a bit high for a turbo-diesel, but that is a function of the four-speed auto rather than having five or six ratios to choose from.
Other than that, there are no issues with how the auto works, the torque of the engine meaning the sequential shifter on the left-hand side of the gearchange is pretty much redundant.
The 407 HDi will continue to woo its traditional audience, and perhaps even win some petrol customers over despite the diesel hoodoos of expense, smell and grotty service station pumps.
And why not? The issues encountered with interior space and chassis balance aren't unique to the HDi within the 407 range; indeed, its excellent drivetrain makes it the pick over the petrol variants.
This car is certainly a testament to Peugeot's affinity with turbo-diesel technology, and desire to deliver value for money, but less convincing when it comes to abilities in other areas. It's a respectable car but it could have been great.
What's it got?
Dual climate control; six-speaker CD audio; cruise control; central locking; trip computer; air-conditioned glove box; rear and rear-side sunblinds; parking assist; rain sensing windscreen wipers; foglights.