1997 Peugeot 605 – Classified of the Week

For reasons we have never been able to fathom, the big, luxury, French car has never really found a home here in the UK. We’ll buy German stuff until the cows come home. S Classes, 7 Serieseses, Audi A8s. Yes please. But if it’s big and French, it falls flat. It’s no fault of the French, though. In fact, France is truly excellent at building big, luxurious machines. It always has been. Us Brits not adopting them is our loss, not that of the French. The Citroen CX, the Renault Safrane or 25, and of course this, the mighty Peugeot 605. All excellent.

If you want comfort and luxury, France really is the place you want to pick your car from. They know how to get you from point A to point B in style. The Germans are good, of course, but even their luxury offerings can be a bit hard and a bit stiff. The French don’t do that. You could drive any luxury French car through a crater and you would barely notice. The 605 is no exception. It’s a soft, squishy machine designed to make every journey, long or short, a relaxing experience. Just look at the sumptuous leather interior in this 39,000 mile 1997 Peugeot 605 SVE and tell us you’re not more relaxed at the mere sight of it?

And that’s the big selling point of this particular 605; it’s done a mere 39,000 miles. Since 1997. That’s nothing. This is as close as you’re going to get to buying a new one. The silver metallic body has the odd mark here and there according to the seller, but we can’t see anything of concern. Plus, a bit of ‘life’ is to be expected after the better part of three decades. It’s packing full history, it has a recent MOT with no advisories, it’s in full original condition and it still looks utterly stunning. And it’s incredibly rare, so if you’re looking for a car that will turn heads, this is it.

Our Pollitt has had a 605, an SRti with the 2.0 turbo petrol engine. It’s one of the cars he regrets getting rid of. And that wasn’t nearly as luxurious, what with the velour trim and the manual transmission. But it was still a glorious machine. This V6, leather-filled example should take that energy and run with it. We can warn you that parts can be tricky to find, or at least parts that are 605 specific. The mechanical stuff is easy enough to get your hands on. The trick, in our experience, is to buy parts when you see them available rather that waiting until you need them.

Sure, you could buy a 7 Series, or an S Class, or an A8, but are they not done to death? The French know how to do luxury motoring, they always have. Gems like this 605 are not cars you should pass up on, because trust us when we say that whoever buys this one will be in no rush to let it go. Vive la France.