Peugeots have always brought me out in a cold sweat - particularly the 406. This is a fear that can be traced back to a dark day in April a decade ago. It was my wife's birthday, and we'd gone for lunch at a riverside bistro. Leaving the restaurant after a meal spoiled only by the constant crying of our six-month-old baby, we headed for the rush-hour traffic. After 20 minutes, a clapped-out 406 (with a bumper sticker which said: 'Beware: Bastard on Board') swerved from its lane and blocked ours. I leaned on the horn. Instantly, the Peugeot stopped, rocking on its rusty springs. The driver's door swung open slowly and two booted feet were placed carefully on the tarmac. A fat belly and shaven head followed. The quick wits of a lifetime's cowardice prompted me to lock our doors and roll up our windows. It was like breaking down in the lion enclosure at Longleat.
The man approached our car, face red with rage. In panic, I inched down my window a crack and gasped, 'Sorry, I pressed the horn by mistake.' The effect was amazing. Wrong-footed, the 406 driver paused, his mind spinning. After a long moment, he pressed his fat face into the half-inch of open window and rasped: 'That's lucky, otherwise you'd have got your Christmas present early.' He turned and went back to his car. 'I wonder what he was going to give you?' my wife asked with a snigger.
Anyway, the 406 has been pensioned off and replaced with the swanky 407 SW. And a week behind the wheel has done wonders for my Peugeot phobia.
With its sweeping headlamps, elegantly tapered tail and angular rear windows, the 407 is a true head-turner. Peugeot hasn't always been known for its design aesthetic, leaving its French cousins Renault and Citro'n to claim most of the style awards. But in the 407, they've found a natural beauty.
To get there, the designers have taken a few risks - the huge gaping grille has caused ripples of controversy (not since Julia Roberts has a newcomer had such a pronounced mouth). But the real delight of the car is its glass ceiling.
Following in a continuous curve from its huge windscreen is a roof of darkened glass which stretches virtually the length of the vehicle. It's a squeegee cowboy's dream job. In total, the car boasts almost 5 sqm of glass. It's like driving a greenhouse. All it needs is a few tomato plants and a bag of compost.
Peugeot has given its 407 a real squirt of technology, too: automatic lights, windscreen wipers and air conditioning, a state-of-the-art suspension system, an electro-chromatic rear mirror that darkens so you don't get dazzled, and fob-activated headlamps. There's a 10-speaker CD system, and nine individual airbags. There's also a split tailgate, which should be mandatory on every estate. And all this for £16,350.
In fact, it is just what I want for Christmas...
· Is there anything about motoring that you'd like to ask Martin Love? Email him at martin.love@observer.co.uk and his answers will be published in a special Ask the Experts edition of OM at the end of July.
