Peugeot 405

The Peugeot 405 was a midsize sedan automobile manufactured by the French manufacturer Peugeot between 1988 and 1997.

History

The 405 featured Pininfarina styling, characterized by good ride and handling. The 405 was voted European Car of the Year for 1988 by the largest raw number of votes in the history of the contest. About 2.5 million vehicles have been sold worldwide in left-hand and right-hand-drive versions, as a berline (saloon) and break (station wagon). No coupe was offered to the public, unlike the 504 and 406, as only two examples of the purpose-built 405 Turbo-16 GR (not to be confused with 405 T16) were made.

The appearance of the car was suspiciously similar to the Alfa Romeo 164, launched the same year, and also styled by Pininfarina.

It was produced in Europe from 1987 to 1997 and in Zimbabwe until 2002 by Quest.

The 405 is still produced in Iran by Iran Khodro and in Egypt by AAV. The Iranian models include the RD, a basic, rear-wheel drive version of the 405, and the Peugeot Pars or Peugeot Persia, a high-end 405 with a different grille.

The 405 was exported to the USA, where it sold less than 1,000 units. It was unable to match the build quality of Japanese competitors, even in the showroom, yet lacked the stolid workhorse flavor that so distinguished the 504 and 505 in the US market. Peugeot withdrew from the US in 1991. The economics of building volume cars in Europe and exporting them to the US are untenable. The only firm remaining, Volkswagen, builds its US market vehicles in Puebla, Mexico.

Model history

Left hand drive

• 1987: In July, Peugeot unveiled 10 versions of the 405 simultaneously. These cars were for the 1988 model year. The 405 was available as a 4-door only. Four-cylinder petrol engines included 65, 92, 110, 125, and 160 hp (48, 69, 82, 93, and 119 kW) units.
• 1988: 70 and 90 hp (52 and 67 kW) diesel engines are added to the range.
• 1989: Estate introduced. 500,000 vehicles already produced. Launch of the turbocharged, 16-valve, four wheel drive 405 T16.
• 1990: In France, the 1 millionth 405 leaves the Sochaux factory. BE1 transmission replaced by the BE3.
• 1991: Updates to the dashboard, steering wheel, and soundproofing.
• 1993: New boot (trunk) with better ingress, new dashboard.
• 1994: Production ended of the four wheel drive version.
• 1995: The 405's replacement, the 406 is introduced. 405 saloon discontinued.
• 1997: Estate discontinued in Europe.