Auto Express – August 20, 2019

SpecialIssue 57

50

MODERN

CLASSICS

PEUGEOT 406 COUPE

Years produced: 1997-2003

Price range: £500-£3,500 Rarity:★★★★★

Maintenance:★★★★★Investment:★★★★★

Citroen C6

Years produced: 2005-2012

Price range: £1,500-£7,000 Rarity:★★★★★★

Maintenance:★★★★★Investment:★★★★★

RENAULT

CLIO 172

Years produced: 1999-2004

Price range: £1,500-£5,000 Rarity:★★★★★

Maintenance:★★★★★Investment:★★★★★

ITALIANstylinghousePininfarinaismostfamous
foritsworkwithFerrari,butwhenitredesignedthe
humblePeugeot406saloonintoacoupé,theresult
wasnolessbeautiful.Yetunderneaththegorgeous
exterior,the406wasapracticalfour-seaterwith
thesolidmechanicalsofafamilysaloon.
Thatmeansachoiceoffour-cylinderorV6
petrolenginesora2.2-litreturbodieselpowerplant.
EvenwiththeV6it’snotasportscar,though,with
asoftridemakingitfeelmorelikearelaxedgrand

tourer.Atleastagehasbeenprettykindtothe

406Coupé’sstyling,andalthoughtheinterioris

notuptothestandardsofthoseofmostmodern

cars,thebodystilllooksgoodtoday.

TheV6sanddieselenginecanbeexpensive

tofix;insomecases,routinemaintenancebillsfor

itemssuchasacambeltcouldcomfortablyexceed

thevalueofthecaritself.Wewouldseekoutan

uncomplicated2.0-litrepetrolmodelwiththe

poshSEtrimforausableeverydayclassic.

BIGCitroenshavealwaysbeenanoddballchoice

fornew-carbuyers,andafterthefirstownerhas

experiencedhorrificdepreciation,thevaluesgenerally

bottomoutandthenbegintoriseasthecarsbecome

soughtoutbyenthusiasts.ThepriceofaC6hasnever

reallyfallentobangerterritory, becauseitsdramatic

looksandamazingridecomfortensurethatthefans

havealwayskeptdemandhigh.Mostgarageswill

wincewhentheyseeaC6,though,soifyoudobuy

one,findagoodspecialisttolookafterit.

RENAULTSPORT-tweakedhatchbacksarelegendary

amongenthusiasts,andtheClio172isthecheapest

waytogetasliceoftheaction.Itslightweight

andsharphandlinghelpittorunringsaround

moreexpensivecars.Thisreputationandability

meanthatmany172shavebeenmodified,used

hardontrackdays,crashedorstolen.Findone

thathasn’tanditsvaluewillclimb,justasitdid

ontheClioWilliamsthatcamebeforeit.

France
RENAULT

AVANTIME

Years produced: 2001-2003

Price range: £2,000-£8,000 Rarity:★★★★★

Maintenance:★★★★★Investment:★★★★★

THEthoughtofacoupéversionofaRenaultEspace

MPVstillseemsbonkers.Butthefirm’sideawasthat

coupésdidn’tneedtobecramped,andthatyoucould

havestyleandspace.TheAvantimewascertainlya

strikinglooker,anditwasmorepracticalthananAudi

TTorBMW3SeriesCoupé.However,thecar-buying

publicdisagreed,meaningthattheAvantimewas,

andis,arealrarity.They’vealwayshadaloyal

following,though,whichkeepsvaluesbuoyant.