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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