Peugeot 406

The Peugeot 406 was a mid-size family car produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot from 1996 to 2004.

History

The 406 was available in saloon (sedan), estate (station wagon) and coupe versions with a choice of petrol or turbo diesel engines.

The car can be seen as a direct descendant of its predecessor, the 405, to which it has a very similar silhouette. It used the same floorpan as the 1993-2001 Citroën Xantia, though without that car's sophisticated hydropneumatic suspension system.

The Peugeot 406 was a sales success from its launch.

As was to be expected given Peugeot's long history with diesels, the diesel versions were very popular, and the 406 became one of Europe's best-selling diesel cars. Initially, the car was available with 1.8 litre and 2.0 litre petrol and 1.9 litre diesel engines, followed by a 110 bhp 2.1 litre turbo diesel and 2.0 turbocharged and 3.0 V6 petrol engines.

The turbo diesel engines were replaced by HDi units in 1999. These new generation HDi engines were cleaner, smoother, quieter and 25% more economical than the units they replaced.

Although the 406 was not marketed as a sporty vehicle, its turbocharged 2.0, 2.1 turbodiesel, fuel injected 2.2 and 3.0 litre V6 engines provided competitive performance.

The 3.0 litre V6 could match some sports cars for straight line accelereation. Performance figures for this engine have been timed variously between 0-60mph in 8.5 and 6.9 seconds, the latter time recorded by the UK's Top Gear magazine.

While similar in size, shape, and design to the contemporary Honda Accord, French journalists lavishly praised the 406 as an excellent driving car, agile and sprightly enough to entertain on back roads, while still comfortable a long-distance cruiser. Some pundits of that era even felt the 406 was superior to the Honda Accord, Vauxhall Vectra, and Ford Mondeo in almost every aspect.

Contemporary journalists noted that build quality was dramatically improved over earlier Peugeot models. Despite its humble commodity marque badge, the 406 has even been compared to larger, more prestigious cars like the BMW 5-series and the Mercedes CLK.