Photo: pakkotoisto.com
Everybody these days is obsessed with making their car look similar, but slightly different to what the competition has. This has been going on for many years, but it has been really accentuated during the 1970s when cars became square.
While this aspect may be masquerading around as progress, it is, in fact, very far from it. For instance, most modern coupes are bland and dull, with a few exceptions coming from Latin countries. However, we say the perfect coupe shape, for the current shape of modern cars, was achieved in 1997, when Peugeot launched the very nice-looking 406 coupe.
Styled and partly-built by Pininfarina, the 406 coupe caused a real stir when it was first unveiled, and until it was taken out of production, in 2004 (though this didn’t reflect in its sales which were adequate, but no more). It is, without a doubt, one of the cleanest and most elegant coupes made in recent years. It was also very comfortable and had a decent engine line-up, which also included an excellent, albeit thirsty, V6.
It was also one of the last true French cars, with properly soft suspension (which only slightly hampered its cornering ability, which was adequate) and extremely soft and comfortable seats. Its interior, however, was not its strong point as it just didn’t represent a big enough progress over the outgoing 405, which it and the saloon replaced in ‘97.
If you like the look of the car (we have never met anybody who didn’t like the 406 coupe, and trust us, we’ve asked around) you will be relieved to hear that it is extremely cheap, and you can find a good 2003 - 2004 car with the V6, leather, heated and electric seats, as well as lots of other goodies for a quarter of what people are now paying for a mid-spec 208 hatchback.
Styled and partly-built by Pininfarina, the 406 coupe caused a real stir when it was first unveiled, and until it was taken out of production, in 2004 (though this didn’t reflect in its sales which were adequate, but no more). It is, without a doubt, one of the cleanest and most elegant coupes made in recent years. It was also very comfortable and had a decent engine line-up, which also included an excellent, albeit thirsty, V6.
It was also one of the last true French cars, with properly soft suspension (which only slightly hampered its cornering ability, which was adequate) and extremely soft and comfortable seats. Its interior, however, was not its strong point as it just didn’t represent a big enough progress over the outgoing 405, which it and the saloon replaced in ‘97.
If you like the look of the car (we have never met anybody who didn’t like the 406 coupe, and trust us, we’ve asked around) you will be relieved to hear that it is extremely cheap, and you can find a good 2003 - 2004 car with the V6, leather, heated and electric seats, as well as lots of other goodies for a quarter of what people are now paying for a mid-spec 208 hatchback.
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