Peugeot has luxury diesel on its mind

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

The Arab boy was shy and hung on to his dad's hand. But once he saw how the boot of the new Peugeot 607 opened he wanted to have a go too.

And so he did - again and again, until we said farewell and drove off to join the other Peugeots in the fleet at the launch in Jordan last month.

The "0" in 607 is the boot release button. Push it and, hey presto, the boot lid eases up on its struts. The process is catching, as the Arab boy, his dad and a handful on onlookers found out.

The new top-end Peugeot will go on sale in New Zealand early next year. Right-hand-drive production for the British market is expected to start in September.

Peugeot in New Zealand hasn't decided which models, other than the premium 3.0-litre V6, it will take.

It is understood to be considering the 2.2-litre common-rail turbo-diesel. The 2.2-litre four-cylinder petrol model is unlikely to make it here.

The V6 will join a crowded $80,000-plus luxury segment, chockabloc mostly with offerings from German heavyweights Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, Italy's Alfa Romeo and Sweden's Saab and Volvo.

But the less expensive oil-burner will give Peugeot another option, certainly considering its backing of diesel cars as family transport over the past 10 years.

The 607 looks from some angles like the Audi A6, although the French car is better looking overall, most certainly around the rear.

The 607 with the 152kW 3.0-litre petrol engine has all the traditional Peugeot qualities, including excellent ride and handling, but its power-assisted steering let it down.

The servo unit works on the car's road speed and it lacks feel, most clearly coming back on the straight-away after being loaded up through bends.

The servo units in the 98kW 2.2-litre common-rail diesel and 116kW 2.2-litre petrol work on engine speed and have considerably more feel and directional stability.

Certainly the diesel, with its ground-breaking particle filter, and the smaller petrol model were all-round better cars to drive.