Purr… go!

Peugeot unveiled its new-look 406 this week. Its combination of ride and handling is as good as ever.

Changes to the body and in the engine compartment have given the latest Peugeot 406 a new lease on life.

The facelifted range was launched in Auckland the other day and affects all versions apart from the handsome two-door coupe. It looks too good to tamper with and has been left untouched.

Four years ago the first series 406 was launched in New Zealand and soon succeeded the 306 as the top-selling Peugeot.

Mark Darrow, general manager of Peugeot Concessionaires, believes the redesign of the 406 will ensure this status is maintained. The new engines and revised specification levels will "leave our competitors worried," he says.

With no fewer than 1000 engineering changes and styling modifications involving top Italian design house Pininfarina, the latest 406 is more than a once-over-lightly rethink.

Yet the changes to the bonnet and grille are different rather than better than the pretty original model.

Shallower headlights and more pronounced bonnet ribbing are new but the front end has lost some of the distinctiveness of the original model. The changes add 4.3cm to the overall length.

A higher boot-lid design and ruby-red tail lights split by a body-coloured strip are discreet rear-end changes. Redesigned front crossmembers were needed to house a revised cooling system and the new bonnet is stronger but lighter.

By raising the rear parcel shelf 40mm, boot height is increased and the new bumper incorporates an impact absorber in injected polypropylene.

Repositioned engines are further away from the passenger compartment while improved seatbelts and airbags are claimed to boost the occupants' protection significantly.

The anti-lock braking system is linked to an electronic braking force distribution system which works better, especially when braking in corners. Even the least expensive 406s now come with larger 15-inch diameter wheels.

New pressurised, valve-equipped shock absorbers improve the ride comfort at low speed, but when it comes to handling and roadholding, there isn't too much wrong with the 406.

Best of the engine changes is the new HDi common rail diesel, but most New Zealand buyers are likely to plump for the equally fresh 2-litre EW10 twin-cam petrol engine and the carry-over 3-litre V6 with an automatically adaptive transmission.

This lighter, 16-valve four cylinder is 10 per cent more fuel-efficient than the previous motor and provides the medium-size Peugeot with a top speed of 208 km/h, 17 km/h higher than the HDi diesel, and zero to 100 km/h in 10.8 seconds.

The 99kW petrol motor has a light alloy crankcase and achieves its peak torque of 190Nm at a highish 4100 rpm. Even so, flexibility and low-rev response is good and the engine is responsive and crisp when the pressure is on. Engine note and a certain amount of harshness leave no doubt, however, that this is a four-cylinder.

By next year auto transmissions will be available for the HDi diesel versions. Meanwhile, production of the new generation diesels in manual form is struggling to meet demand.

Front seats have been redesigned and top-spec 406 sedans and wagons inherit electrically folding door mirrors and the electro-chromatic day/night interior rear-vision mirror from the coupe version. The interior mirror adapts automatically to light, to avoid blinding the driver.

New audio systems can be operated from the redesigned steering wheel with an offset display while the car's new air conditioner varies temperature according to information received from a sunlight sensor. A vehicle speed sensor controls airflow to improve cabin ventilation comfort.

More than 750,000 406s have been built since the model's launch in October 1995. About 46 per cent of these have been diesel-powered, while 70 per cent of all 406s have been exported from France.