SE 3.0 V6 Auto Coupe

Relaxed and Refined Grand Tourer

I bought this car new in 2008 after it had been sittign about in a dealer compound for over a year with 35 miles on the clock and over 8 grand off list.

Very well specified car: metallic paint; 18-inch alloys with full-size spare (hurrah!); full, red leather seats and door panelling; front seats heated and electrically adjustable; bi-xenon lights and washers; ESP; climate control; JBL HiFi and 6-CD autochanger; front and rear parking sensors with diagram on information centre (all-round sensors essentail on this beast); power-folding and electrically-adjustable mirrors (essential in narrow spaces); tyre pressure monitoring system and adjustable sports suspension (that does feel different when the button is pressed). In fact, the only two options that are not on the car that would have made it complete are sat nav and a sunroof!

Very quiet and refined on all up the most roughened surfaces. Much quieter than the Hyundai Coupe I test drove at the same time. You can drive for hours without getting tired.

On a long run, 40 mpg is possible from the petrol-powered 3.0 V6 (39.7 mpg on a run through roads in mid Wales at an everage speed of 47 mph). Obvously, this takes a hit in urban driving. The tiptronic box appears robust and works well in operation, with 'sport' and 'snow' modes available in full auto mode. Changes in full-auto mode without 'sport' mode pressed can be a little hesitant at times but the torque of the V6 can pull it along nicely. The box will also change down when you wouldn't always expect it. Mosty, I tend to drive it in tiptronic except for when in heavy traffic conditions.

I try to use Shell VPower as much as possible to improve engine efficiency and improve its longevity.

Being a big French car, the handling is not quite so sharp as the MG ZT-T 1.8T I had previously, and neither is it as practical (obviously). However, the 400 litre boot is sufficient for daily use and you can fold the rear seat backs down to increase this, but you need to remove the seat base to do so - and this comes out in one section!

The rear seats are big but are only for two people as they are indivudally shaped into two seats.

Overall, a really nice GT rather than an out-and-out sports car. I'll be sorry to see it go when I come to replace it. However, the Governemtn is doing its best to price big petrol cars of the road. This means a) trade-in will probably be awful as no-one will want it due to perceptions of Peugeots and big petrol engines and b) for people like myself who only do about 7000 miles a year (yet taxed far more than someone doing 3-5 times the mileage in a 'cleaner' car), a diesel is not really a viable option. So I'll be stuck for a suitable replacement.

Peugeot no longer offer the 3.0 V6 petrol in the 407, and more and more manufactuers are moving away from big petrol engines in cars priced in the 'real' world.

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