Peugeot 407 coupé: the £2k baby V6 GT you forgot about

And a mighty effective cruiser too – if autoroutes, motorways and autostrada were your commuting destiny and hell. It was quiet, comfortable and relaxingly stable at high speeds, the experience enhanced in some models by an exceptional JBL stereo and a colourful infotainment system that was no more than moderately obtuse to use.

The aura of refinement and quality were heightened by the Coupe’s exceptionally rigid structure, the noise-quelling effects of laminated screen and side windows, the superb sealing of the frameless doors and the fact that all models bar the base ‘S’, a very rare beast, came with leather.

That Peugeot was bothered about quality was also evident in the way the 407 Coupe was built. Rather than advancing down a busy assembly line in company with 407 saloons and SW estates, the Coupe was built on a dedicated, slow-moving assembly line at PSA’s Rennes factory in western France, which it shared with the contemporary Citroën C6. 

The idea was to heighten the craftsmanship applied to both cars, each being the flag-bearers of their makers’ ranges. Truth was that the line probably ran even more slowly than PSA had envisaged – demand for neither car lighting up Peugeot or Citroën showrooms across Europe – but your reporter saw it in operation and can vouch for the care taken with the construction of this pair.

Your quiet cruising could be enjoyed behind a variety of four- and six-cylinder engines, including 2.2 and 3.0-litre petrols and 2.0 and 2.7-litre diesels. Of these, it was the 2.7 twin-turbo 24-valve diesel that best suited the 407’s character, its thumping 1900rpm, 330lb ft deluge of torque working to great effect with the six-speed automatic that this version always came with. The diesel V6 was largely developed by Ford in a joint venture with PSA, yielding oil-brining V6s for Peugeot, Citroën, Land Rover and Jaguar, and a diesel V8 for Ford to use in its American pick-ups. At the time, it was reckoned to be one of the best big diesels out there.

You could also have a 208bhp 3.0 petrol V6, initially with a slightly uncooperative automatic, later with a manual – this combination being one of the rarest 407 Coupes of all. But a manual transmission, which was usually teamed with the four-cylinder engines too, didn’t do much to make a sports car of this Peugeot despite its many dynamic merits.

These included impressive resistance to body roll, terrific roadholding and distinctly unTrumpian directional stability. But it didn’t feel especially agile, and attempting to trim its trajectory with the throttle was as effective as this technique would be in the cab of a high-speed train. It cornered and cornered well, the 407 Coupe, but you were very distant from experiencing the frisson of delicately charging bends at the edge of adhesion, once a Peugeot speciality.