The congested roads around Charles de Gaulle airport at Roissy near Paris weren't the best testing location for Peugeot's newest family saloon.
Still, there was a certain privilege in being among the first motoring press in the 407 driving seat, taking off and assessing form against the cacophony of low-flying jets.
On hand too, was Frederic Saint-Geours, Peugeot's chief executive who was excited by the "feline grace" of the exterior styling.
The 407, Peugeot's key player against family competitors like the Toyota Avensis, VW Passat, Renault Laguna and Ford Mondeo, goes on French sale at the end of this month. We will see it in Ireland at the end of May.
Our driving sample took in the 1.8-litre 118 bhp petrol version and the common-rail 2-litre HDi diesel. Not present for testing was a 1.6-litre HDi with 110 bhp which Peugeot thinks will extend the diesel influence in the 407 range. The diesel versus petrol split is forecast as 30:70 on the Irish market, much in line with the world trend.
And what of the driving? Oddly we preferred the 1.8-litre petrol car to the diesel which felt surprisingly vocal. In fairness at no stage did we achieve "cruising altitude" in the airport environs. The petrol engine showed great flexibility in use, even at the lowest speeds. At a lowly 1,500rpm for instance, it is providing 87.5 per cent of maximum torque or pulling power. As for the diesel, it was more clattery than we expected. We emphasise though, that the driving impressions were brief, no more than 20 kilometres in either case.
Compared with the outgoing 406, it looks distinctly extrovert, especially at the front. It's very much in your face what with a monstrous air intake grille, and headlamps and a Peugeot lion badge that are equally huge.
But customers in the family way should find the interior arrangements appealing and rear space is impressive. The forward position of the windscreen does create an ambience of airiness and light.
After the driving, Frederic Saint-Geours introduced us to Peugeot's latest initiative, the four figure nomenclature. Mainstream models like the 407 aren't affected: the four figures are being used to denote niche or smaller volume products. The first manifestation of the new system comes later this year, at the Paris motor show when the highly innovative 1007 is unveiled. It goes on sale at the start of 2005.
It was actually unveiled to our select press group on Friday on the strict basis that we don't write about it. Be prepared for a car that comes in colourful packages with easy entry and exit!