19/03/2014

Living with the 407


A stroke of good luck, I am now privileged to drive the Peugeot 407 on a daily basis since wifey became the owner of another car. A tri-party discussion among those who have driven both the BMW 320 and Peugeot 407 acknowledged the latter wins hands-down on comfort and interior space whereas the former wins on performance, economy and handling yet at a price. Drive light and easy, and press the accelerator pedal gently, released early and car made to roll for the car to sip petrol. The 407 consistently gives good fuel consumption on the expressway outstation trips. The car by virtue of long, low and wide shape plus engine personality does not likes to be driven boy-racer mode. After 2,000 rpm, it starts to roughen up and inertia can be strongly felt.  Sharp junctions must be quickly anticipated and ensure a more L-shaped turning is achieved or else one easily runs out of driving space. As the car is skewed towards comfort, treat it like a sports car and I'm quite sure I will not like it whilst it is in stock form.

My Peugeot 407 recently went through its first phase of customization when many stabilizer bars were added. Road handling now is a different cup of tea. It handles pretty well but not performance tight though this could easily be overcome by high performance shock absorbers. I can throw the car fast into a corner without braking but the problem of handling now has transferred from chassis to the tires where the more aging tire squeals faster. The car now has a clear sense of focus and precise steering when one points the car to a specific direction. The many stabilizer bars are worth the investment for comfort and stability.

The Peugeot 407 has now evolved to its second phase of customization which consists of a total exhaust package upgrade: 4-2-1 extractor, mid and rear muffler. They were all customized from scratch as these parts could not be acquired off-the-shelf. Driving the car now is such a joy. The engine is now silky smooth, almost no inertia at all short of a little back pressure to give an automatic gear car that oomph to kick off. Because the exhaust gas is released faster than before even at standstill, the car now purrs. It has a deep growl but not harsh when the car is asked to accelerate hard. I don't mind people cutting in with sidelight indicator switched ON politely but I hate it when people do so otherwise, especially at the last moment. Thus, because the car can now surprisingly spring forward in heavy traffic, most of the selfish cutting-in is now a thing of the past. I am rarely a bat out of hell, a result of the car's personality and I find the car now has more than adequate extra oomph I sought for so long that I really don't need to push it to the limits. The bat out of hell personality tends to come out though when I need to release the hot air inside the car as soon as possible after the car has been sitting outdoor the whole day.

The last phase of my customization is to have the car's ECU remapped but I am in no rush.

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