I was initially impressed with the looks of the 407 at the showroom. The design and the build quality simply shouts at you. In terms of look, it is simply the most beautiful looking car on the road today. Too bad they did not bring in the crimson or the ferrari red, dark grey-green and the many other colors that I saw in Europe.
But I was extremely disappointed when I went for the test drive. It is obvious to me that it is too underpowered and the gearbox/engine combo was simply not up to the mark. At kickdown, the gearbox was hessitant to the extent my body lunged forward before there was any pickup. At slow speed, the gearbox was simply hunting between gears and the ride was unsettled over potholes. I found the car not to be quite the handler as described by many of our local testers.
The car is still new to conclude of ownership experience, faults, maintenance cost and resale value.
All in all, for the same amount of money, I would still rate a used E46 318 as a better proposition.