Peugeot points to new 407

Peugeot is remaining coy about its announcement that it will "reveal a new design at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month", but all fingers point towards the long-awaited 407, replacement for the popular 406. The new 407 is due on sale in Ireland in April/May of next year.

The 406 proved extremely popular in its time, both here and on the Continent, but it's been looking decidedly dated of late, particularly as competitors like Toyota and Opel have pushed forth the boundaries.

The new 407 is expected to feature a more forceful design, with larger bumpers, wheels and more spacious cabin. It's believed the new car will come in at about 10 centimetres longer than the current 406, of most benefit to rear-seat passengers.

Based on the same in-house platform as the Citroën C5, it is likely to feature several new diesel options, a very important element considering that more than 80 per cent of the current 406 sales on the continent are with HDi engines.

It seems likely the initial model will feature a 1.6-litre diesel with 110 bhp and a torque of 240Nm, along with a more potent 2-litre unit with 135 bhp.

The top of the range diesel is likely to be the 2.4-litre V6 with 180 bhp, which has been developed as part of a collaboration with Ford, and which will first roll out in the summer under the hood of a Jaguar S-Class.

Petrol engines are likely to be in the same category as the current model.

First introduced in 1996, the original 406 won the European car of the year title that year, and sold between 1,500 and 2,000 annually for the first few years. It received a facelift in 1999, which in turn marked the arrival of the new generation 2-litre diesel direct injection HDi engines.