Our New Project Car

Frank the project car Falcon has gone – but what to replace it with?

Back in our late 2005 / early 2006 Car Crazies Car Crazies, Part 1 series I canvassed the options I’d considered before I’d bought the EF Falcon. I’d liked the idea of a diesel, and had driven a Mercedes 300D that I loved, but it was slow and – without a turbo let alone an intercooler – very old fashioned. I couldn’t find any other diesels in the right price range, so moved on to other cars.

Audi, Volvo, BMW models had been tried and rejected before I settled on the Falcon, a rare 5-speed manual. That car had subsequently proved perfect for its intended function – a(nother!) car for my family but also one that was a very down-to-earth modification vehicle for AutoSpeed stories.

But now it was time to move on.

The Falcon had proved its worth - both as a good car in its own right and as an excellent car to modify - but with the changing emphasis of AutoSpeed, something different was desired. And ever since we’d started running stories on hybrids – and then modifying the NHW10 Toyota Prius – readers had been writing: yes the hybrid’s fine but you really should look at diesels...

So here I was again looking for a cost-effective diesel. Two years ago, when I went through the same process, I wrote:

Back in 1999 I’d test driven the then-new Peugeot 406 HDi and been enormously impressed. That drive had been mostly on rural roads, and then in 2003 I’d had the 307 HDi for a week in urban Sydney. Both times the fuel economy had been stunning, and with the common rail fuel injection system and intercooled turbo, there was clearly plenty of room for unique and interesting modifications.

But those cars were then – as now – beyond the budget. I continued:

But then I started browsing prices of the earlier model 405 diesel. The turbo diesel Pugs hold their value extraordinarily well, the size of the prices being asked being exceeded only by the kilometres most seemed to have travelled! A ratty 405 petrol engine car can be had for only a few thousand dollars; a diesel version of the same car is usually well over $10,000! (All dollars in this story are Australian.) In fact, on a budget of less than $8,000, I couldn’t find a 405 diesel to even test drive.

And the problem is still much the same – the cost. The late model common rail direct injected turbo diesels are clearly a huge step up in effectiveness over the earlier diesels – but the way they maintain their value here in Australia has to be seen to be believed. However, the very brilliance of the current diesels has meant that the earlier relative – the mechanically injected (but still intercooled and turbocharged) diesel 405 Peugeot – has finally started to drop in price.

How low then? In the $6000 - $8000 range there are plenty of 405 diesels. Now that’s still easily double (gulp!) the prices being asked for similar vintage petrol engine 405, but many of the diesels have been very well looked after – and the premium being charged for ‘diesel’ seemed to be quite consistent. And these prices are well under half what you’ll pay for an HDi common-rail Peugeot...

The Peugeot 405 SRDT

The 405 SRDT diesel was first released in Australia in 1993.

Utilising a 1.9 litre, four cylinder, 8-valve, intercooled diesel turbo with conventional mechanical injection (some references say it has electronic injection but that is incorrect), peak power is just 69kW at 4000 rpm – but with 205Nm of torque at 2250 rpm. When the diesel was locally released, the 405 was in the twilight of its years – the model had first been sold here in 1989 and was replaced by the brilliant 406 in 1997. (The current 407 model? I think it’s one of the most disappointing cars ever made.) Quoted performance of the 405 diesel included a 13.2 second 0-100 km/h time – but one Australian magazine test figure was actually 15.3 seconds.... So,as you’d expect with those power and torque figures, it’s quite a slow car.

In the 405 diesel a sunroof was an option but ABS was fitted – complete with drum rear brakes! In the way of mid-priced Europeans of the time, interior equipment was relatively sparse – just a driver’s airbag, semi-manual climate control and no seat electrics. However – also in the way of the best Euros – interior space belied the compact exterior dimensions and the mass was just 1159kg. In terms of today’s cars, that’s extraordinarily light. Styling was conservative and mid-Eighties square but still elegant and aero-efficient (quoted Cd of 0.31 to 0.33).

But what would one be like on the road?

Driving and Buying

I soon found a local 405 SRDT, advertised at $8000 and having recently had a lot of work done to it. Stuff like new injectors, new glow plugs, even a new fuel injection pump (and the latter’s the expensive bit!). In fact, more than $3000 had been spent on it in the last year... The private sale vehicle presented beautifully – 206,000 kilometres but only two owners and as the ad said, the current owner was certainly fussy.

On the test drive the car was very much as I expected. Firm power steering, an excellent ride, and a reasonably well suppressed diesel noise. However, the gearbox was long-travel and notchy and the turbo engine flat below 2000 rpm and (as expected) breathless above 4500 rpm.

I bargained the man down to $6900 and picked the car up a few days later.

On the Road

More extensive driving has confirmed these initially found traits. On the open road the car is excellent, the revs sitting above 2000 rpm at normal highway speeds. This gives quick boosting with little throttle movement and so hills that you might expect to require a down-change are easily climbed. However, when outright power is needed – climbing really steep hills, overtaking, acceleration away from a standstill – the Peugeot is clearly a low-powered car... a high torque figure can only compensate so much.

The wet road grip is a little odd – incredibly, the rear tyres are a 70 series profile rather than the fronts’ standard 65 profile. The rear tyres are also a no-name brand, so the unexpected wet road oversteer under constant throttle cornering perhaps isn’t the surprise it otherwise would be. There also seems to be some bump-steer on turn-in – its feels like there’s toe-in on bump. I’ll get new tyres all-round and then see how it is.

The diesel engine’s narrow power-band (something much improved in more recent passenger car diesels) isn’t a huge problem. But it does mean that if you’re driving on hilly roads, you need to be very actively involved. Pick the right gear ahead of time each time and progress is sweet. But get it wrong and the engine will bog-down off-boost, feeling as gutless as they come.

The dashboard controls are old-fashioned in appearance but generally effective and simple – exceptions being the stupid positions of the mirror adjust, front foglight and headlight height controls. The instrumentation is wonderfully clear. The driving position is rather long-armed and the pedal area a bit cramped. For example, you can’t place your clutch foot to the left of the pedal – it needs to go underneath. The driving position is high (even with the seat height adjust at its lowest) and this and the low waistline of the car (and glass sunroof) makes for an airy and open feel. The seats are large, soft and comfortable.

Wind noise is higher than a current car and the engine makes a distinctive low growl – not really a diesel clatter but still sounding a little gruffer than a petrol engine car.

The rear seat space is good (you can fit two adults in there without problems - they won’t have sprawling space but their knees won’t be hard up against anything either) and the flat floor boot is very large for the overall dimensions of the car. However, the rear seat does not fold – just a ski-port is provided.

Even after 12 years the body still feels stiff (the doors shut well) and despite lots of stories of interior rattles, in this car they are minor and come only from the sunroof.

Conclusion

In short, the Peugeot is poised, comfortable, practical and very European. Driven intelligently the engine is fine: never a huge performer but quite adequate. And the fuel economy? I’m not sure yet but the previous owner claimed 1200 kilometres from a tank – which would make it 5.0 litres/100km. That seems optimistic but even it’s an open-road 6 litres/100km, that’s an excellent starting point for modifications to achieve better performance without sacrificing economy.

And we’ll be starting on those performance mods very soon....

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