The pictures do not do the thing justice. I have yet to see a photo of the 607 which makes it look anything other than bland, but when you're standing next to it this is a handsome car. And that's not just my own opinion - plenty of acquaintances admired its shape, including that notoriously hard to please bunch of motoring enthusiasts, The Lads.Peugeot first made the 607 available for press examination at a time when it was very far from being ready, and as a result it got an absolute roasting in certain quarters. Our own Malcolm Baylis, who drove the car in Jordan, was a good deal more generous in his launch report, in which he pointed out that the 607's main rival is likely to be the Vauxhall Omega.My own view is that anyone considering buying this car is likely to give at least some consideration to the more obviously German rivals (the Omega being in fact a German Opel, of course). This causes an immediate problem, in that Audi, BMW and Mercedes have a long history of building big cars and are quite comfortable with the concept.French manufacturers - Renault and Citroen as well as Peugeot - have generally seemed less happy designing big cars, and there is an unavoidable suspicion that their big cars are really small or medium-sized cars with the corners pulled further apart. My first couple of days with the 607 made me think that this is exactly what has happened here. The ride quality is basically good, because the French know all about that sort of thing; but it is good in terms of something the size of a 307, less so when compared with German rivals of the same size.Still, it's very comfortable (a steering wheel about an inch smaller in diameter would make it even more so) and the big V6 engine is quiet and smooth and gives suitable if not startling performance. The automatic gearbox is too lazy at changing gears at its normal setting and too excitable in Sport mode, so you often have to make (brief) use of the sequential manual option, but the changes themselves are absolutely silky and among the best I've come across recently.The interior, which in the case of the test car combined light-coloured leather with dark wood-effect features to give a pleasant colour contrast, is very roomy, and indeed more so in the rear than you might at first expect. The designers have curved the tops of the rear windows to give a coupé effect which disguises the more saloon-like line of the roof. As a result, the car looks as if it has less rear passenger space than it actually does. Four large adults could travel a long way in comfort without any space-related complaints from the back seat.The boot is disappointingly shallow but very long, so it can take a lot of luggage as long as none of it is unduly bulky. One of the ways of getting into it is by pressing the centre of the zero in the "607" badge, which is all very neat, but you can also do it the more prosaic way by prodding the relevant remote control button on the key fob.Actually, it's very easy to do this without realising, and on more than one occasion I came back to the car to find it sitting unlocked and with the boot wide open. This is probably the most hopeless security feature on any car since the mid-1970s Matra Rancho (early versions of which had side windows with no catches, making unlawful entry a matter of the greatest simplicity). I can't help thinking Peugeot should come up with some other design which prevents you pressing that button unless you specifically want to.Such embarrassments aside, I grew to like the 607 a lot over the days I drove it, and I'd be happy to recommend it to anyone who was considering a car of this size. But I can't see it selling in huge numbers in this country unless the German motor industry suddenly forgets how to make big cars.Second opinion: The first time I saw the 607 in the metal and in the round, I thought immediately of that magnificent 1930s Figoni & Falaschi Delahaye seen in some of the top European historic rallies. These two cars don't have a single styling detail in common, but they're both the product of studios which decided - and in the case of Peugeot's, was encouraged - to let rip. The 607 is very elegant, the V6 is a fine long-striding long-distance engine, and you'll go a long way before you find a finer cabin ambiance in any Continental saloon at the price. More than £4000 dearer than the S model, the SE is certainly loaded with equipment, from traction control and ESP to satellite navigation and a tyre pressure sensor. I agree about the transmission, which certainly dulls the acceleration, liked the automatic switch-on of both lights and wipers, but was a bit worried that, already, the buttons on the key fob often needed a couple of prods to operate properly. There's one thing noticeably missing, though. Except on the coarsest surfaces, where's the audio channel from the tyre treads via the suspension into the passenger cabin? The 607 doesn't pick up anything like as much road noise as some of its rivals. One more plus point to Peugeot. Ross Finlay. Engine 2946cc, 6 cylinders Power 210bhp Fuel/CO2 27.7mpg / 245g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 9.9 seconds Top speed 144mph Price £30,495 Details correct at publication date
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