Peugeot 407

Suspend your visual prejudices. Let's take a look beyond the Peugeot 407 Coupe's Gérard Depardieu beak and village-idiot grin. Forget the aesthestics and we could have a great car on our hands.

Particularly the V6 HDi. Here is the same 2.7-litre twin-turbocharged diesel engine that does such an effective job in the Jaguar S-Type.

The unit delivers just 6bhp less than the equivalent three-litre petrol V6 also available for the Coupe, and 112lb ft more torque.

Featuring a six-speed automatic gearbox with a Tiptronic manual shift function as a standard fit, it swooshes you up motorways and A-roads as forcefully and silently as if a giant, silk-gloved hand had dropped from the heavens and given you a helping shove.

The ride is equally plush, although there's plenty of pitch under braking and the steering is oddly inert.

You'll find standard satellite navigation, leather seats, and leather trim on the dashboard, in this GT-spec car. Somehow, all that kit still doesn't seem to justify the £30,900 price tag.

And, more to the point, just look at the size of that conk...