For the 405, I'd certainly have to say that the closest "cousin" to it
would be the Infiniti G20. Almost every article I've read about it
makes some reference or another to the 405 Mi16. Being the owner of a
G20, it is obvious that the 2 cars share much on paper, and size wise
and even engine wise they are very similar (1.9L 16v vs 2L 16 v for the
G20). However, the 2 are _very_ different in execution. The Mi16's
strengths tend to be best-in-class, such as the ride-handling, braking,
and in my opinion, the leather interior is unmatced as well, however,
it's weak points stand out too, mainly in the area of quality. In this
area, the G20 is the total opposite. I often think that the 405
development guys were spending the evenings at the bar drinking wine
while the G20 guys were slaving away testing and re-testing because the
difference here is huge. The Infiniti doesn't handle as well as the
Mi16, nor does it have the charm and character that make Peugeot's so
endearing. It's a car that you'll often forget that you own because
there's precious little to have to do to it, just start and it and go.
That said, it's engine is excellent, has a 7500 rpm redline and likes to
go there too. The braking is fantastic as well, the ABS unit works very
well.
The Alfa 164 looks similar to the 405 but the two are very different
drives, as the 164 is at least 400lbs heavier and has a V6 engine whose
dynamics are totally different to the 16valve unit in the 405. The same
can be said for the Saab 9000 which is probably closer to the 505 than
the 405. However, the handling on the Saab leaves something to be
desired.
Perhaps the 505 is closest to the old BMW 5-series, the one they
produced until 1988. I've never driven one but they were probably
competing for the same buyers and probably weren't that far off on price
either.
Robert Cullemore
Ottawa, Canada
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Garage/5385/peugeot.html
_____________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, send email to PEUGEOT-REQUEST@PADUI.ORG with the word
UNSUBSCRIBE in the message body. Leave the subject line blank.
_____________________________________________________