Looking at a new 407SW

[tatami]

Hi All,

I shall be changing my company car soon. I have to choose from a list including the following:

Peugeot 407 SW 2.0 HDi Executive (Manual or Auto) - can add extras
VW Passat Estate 2.0 TDi (140bhp) SE or Sport - can add extras to SE
Toyota Avensis 2.2 D-4D Tourer T4 - can add extras
Skoda Octavia 2.0TDi Laurin & Klement Estate - can add extras
Audi Avant 2.0 TDi (140bhp) SE - no extras allowed

Your thoughts & comments would be much appreciated as would feedback from existing 407 SW HDi owners. I am a high mileage driver (45,000 p.a.) so I am interested in comments on reliability and service.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

[Admin]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

That's afair old list you have to choose from.

Obviously the audi and VW will hold their value the best and probably proove pretty reliable though not as reliable as the Toyota.
HAve heard good things about the Skoda but resale values can be harsh, not that these bother you as a company car driver.

The 407 is the best driving car in the group and (I think) the mosy stylish too). The Audi is not a great load lugger, the Passat is better. I have it on personal authority from management at Peugeot that recent reliability problems are now much improved - but we will all have to wait and see on this. Apparently they have invested big time in training and proceedures at their factories.

I'd go:

Pug
Audi
VW
Skoda
Toyota

;D

[tatami]

Hi,

I drove the 407SW SE with 136bhp HDi engine yesterday. It was a nice enough car but lacked torque compared to my current 150bhp diesel.

It also seemed rather slow to turn into corners before then giving the feeling of being (comparatively) slow pulling away form them. Cornering was also accompanied by creaking and rattling from somewhere at the rear of the car.

Bit of a shame as I really wanted to be impressed by this car. To be fair I'm going to hold on and try the 170bhp diesel in the 407 if the local dealer can find one.

I'm used to decent grunt from a 150bhp rear wheel drive diesel car so maybe I'm expecting too much?

Interested to hear if anyone else has bought or tried the 170bhp HDi in the 407.

[x]

The 6 speed auto option sounds nice.......Don't know if your bothered about the personal taxation but I think the manual 407D is fairly low in 136bhp form as its got the FAP filter... maybe thats why it feels like Feck All Power!!?

[205309407]

I guess it depends how fast you actually want to go.

I've had, over the last 2 years 3 407 136's. Albeit in the saloon guise, but the engine is the same and dimensions are similar.

I would have to say, out of the cars I have driven recently (with the exception of the 205 1.6 GTI it is the most comfortable and relaxed at motorway driving. I do about 44k a year so believe I am in a position to comment. This car just eats up miles in great comfort.


Having never driven the auto(that's my next car in 4 weeks time) I would go for the manual - the fuel economy is better. I have driven the Skoda and the Audi, but preferred the seating position and visibility of the 407.


The issues I've had with these have been

leaking turbo seal
block coolant plug loose
3 new windscreens in the space of 4 months - bad batch I reckon.

[frank]

the 170bhp version is now out and ive driven both the 136 and 170, and would say that the 170 is miles better

[205309407]

Yes, the 170 is superb.

[pancaman]

In days of old the Peugeot name was not top of the list for reliabilty. the problem is that a 407SW 163 would suit my needs to perfection. Will it fall apart rapidly ?

[504V6Ti]

sadly... probably!

[lagers12]

I have owned ,driven or been a passenger in most of the cars you specify. They are all good cars but below is the high and low points of each.

407SW owned for 18 months. No reliability problems but the 3ft of water it drank in the floods have moved it on to another world.
Diesel 2.00L HDi Ok. A good allround car . Only failing really is the ride quality. It never settles and jitters all the time

Passat diesel- Beautiful car but 2.00l diesel a little noisy. The big problem with the Passat is the centre console. It is big , sharp and rubs the skin off your knee. Good ride quality.

Avensis- Only been a passenger but very noisy on motorway from tyre roar and engine noise. Not a good ride.

Octavia- You could think it was an Audi without the badge but the Volkswagen diesel engines are even noisier in the Octavia due to poorer sound deadening. The 2.00l is deafening at high revs.otherwise a good car with an acceptable ride quality.

If you do 45,000 miles a year, surely comfort, a quiet cabin and a magic carpet ride are high on your list. There's only one car , if you can get past the badge, the new Mondeo. It's like driving a limousine.

Hope this helps.

[lemonspa]

Bought a 2.7 HDi executive last week, 11 months old with 12,000 miles. It replaced a sweet Saab 3.0 TiD with 55K that failed to float during the July floods. Done about 1,000 miles already in very mixed terrian. Here's my subjective and emotional appraisal of the two:

Build quality : Saab doors close with a thunk, peugeot doors close with a clank. Saab solidity beats peugeot hands down. The back door/ window arrangement on the 407SW is a thing of flimsy wonder, a keen robber could wave a toothpick at it and gain entry. The Saab was a big, solid, wallowy old hog, the SW is a flippity gibbit.

Performance : The Saab was sweet and moderately fleet with a big firm push. The SW skitters quicker to a (significantly) higher comfortable cruising speed with no embarassing smoke trail. Saaby averaged 38MPG overall, SW would barely reach 34.

Comfort (Tears well) : The Saab was a big arm chair. Not many vehicles can carry a ton of builders rubble one day and cruise at 100 MPH for 5 hours the next. It was massively abused and never faultered. Sweet, sweet, sweet. Would I put a ton of rubble in the Peugeot? Well I'll bloody well try, but it'll end in tears. The SW is actually quieter than the Saab, particularly at extreme speeds. Over the worst kept urban roads in Britain, found in Altrincham, the Peugeot bibbles and bobbles, the saab wallowed and purred.

Reliability : Too soon to assess the SW, although one night parked under a lime tree was enough to stop the electric windows working. Goo on the windows completely defeated the motors, not a good sign. It cost me a fiver for a car wash before I could open them! Saaby had new pads at 53K (bugger), apart from that, good as gold.

Overall experience : The Saab was a completely random 2nd hand choice and worked out sweetly. The Peugeot was chosen for it's engine, which is indeed a neat, if thirsty, thing. The Saab was a hard car to see written off, the Peugeot is a hard car to love.

My advice : be lucky

[Admin]

hi lemonspa

An interesting comparison, thanks for taking the time. Hopefully the Pug will pull back some points over time with the comfort which is always a Peugeot strong point. I take it the SAAB was an estate too. SAABS are cars that inspire fanatical loyalty and also swallow huge milages without blinking. Sadly modern Pugs normally only manage one of these.

The 407 SW is of course pretty d**n stylish too!

[exploding307]

I have driven a few off your list, Pug's fall apart easily very poor build quality and dealer service - keep well away.

My advise is also check the JD Power survey, and see how they all check out, Pug's very low in the list, Skoda comes in at no 6.

Audi and Toyota built very well and last for ever.

I understand its acompany car but you will be in a 206 courtesy car for most of the time as your 407 will be in the garage being repaired or bolted back together more often than any of the others will be put together.