THE Peugeot 407 SW really looks the part – sleek and streamlined – and I was more than happy to pick up the key for my stint as its keeper.

But that key has been causing me some problems, more specifically the button on it which allows you to open the tailgate as you approach the car – handy when you’re loaded down with shopping bags.

If you press the boot symbol, assuming it will unlock the tailgate, it actually unlocks the separate glass window section instead.

This means the tailgate will not open at all, unless you eventually notice the window section is unsecured and close it again.

I wish I’d known that from the start as it would have saved me half an hour of head-scratching to work out why the tailgate was stuck fast.

Another niggle has been the gearbox. Moving into what I thought was second from first ended each time in fourth, a mishap which not only causes the engine to bog down and leave you fishing for second gear again, but which could catch you unawares if you wanted to pull out quickly into traffic.

I’ve got used to it now and am careful to push the gear lever well over to the left when changing from first into second.

Our road test team have criticised the loose feel of PSA gearboxes on some of its models in the past, and I can now see what they mean.

Other than that, this sleek estate has impressed me. Even my two-mile stop-start commute from home to office hasn’t dented the 2.2-litre engine’s fuel economy. It is returning an average of 29mpg, very close to Peugeot’s claimed figure of 31.6mpg. Not many cars on our long-term test fleet get near their claimed economy figure, so top marks Peugeot.

Model: Peugeot 407 SW 2.2 SE
Price (OTR): £19,300 (£20,025 as tested)
Mileage: 9,898
CO2 emissions (g/km): 214
Company car tax bill (2005/6) 22% tax-payer: £108 per month
Insurance group: 14E
Combined mpg: 31.6
Test mpg: 29.0
CAP Monitor residual value: £5,175/28%
HSBC contract hire rate: £398
Expenditure to date: Nil

Figures based on three years/60,000 miles