Mark's Peugeot 206GTi

Fast and thrilling as it was, the Westfield became rather tiresome (for 3/4 of the year) and I decided I'd better go back to some car I could enjoy all year round. I wanted decent performance and handling, I wanted a few creature comforts and I wanted a new car for a reasonable price. After months of checking out all the obvious contenders*, I went for the Peugeot 206GTi. (*see bottom of page).

Here's why;

I've had 3 x 205GTi's and loved them. The 306XSi I owned was good too and they were all reliable. Insurance is group 14, which isn't too bad for me (600 quid/yr fully comp) even though I live in a relatively high risk area in Birmingham. Road test quoted 0-60mph times of between 7.4 and 8.4 seconds, 30-70mph in about 7.2secs and a top speed of 130mph+ means it's rapid enough, and the 205 tyres on those 16 inch rims with an excellent suspension set-up make for a top class B road machine. Personally I like the looks too.

 

You also get a lot of goodies for your money such as; climate control, 4 airbags, leather/alcantara sports seats and trim, ABS/EBD, remote central locking and immobiliser, remote 6 CD multichanger, auto windscreen wipers (personal favorite!) and a few nice aluminium touches (pedals, gearstick, interior door handles and petrol cap). It's also reasonably spacious inside for a small car - which helps on the odd occasion I have to get the family in or get a suitcase in the boot!

206's also hold their value quite well (despite being the top selling supermini of 2001 in the UK) and 206GTi's are in short supply which should also help long term residuals.

So what's it like to live with then?

The driving experience is excellent. It's taken me a while to get used to the relatively high seating position (I know all cars are high compared to a Westfield but in most French cars you tend to sit higher than most!), but I'm now very comfortable and it helps visibility. The clutch is light, the power steering well weighted, the engine is an absolute treat and is torquey right through the rev range (suprising for a 16v - which tend to be quite 'peaky') and the grip is also very good (I've yet to find the limit). Stereo sounds good and the boot-mounted CD player has only jumped once, which is good considering the diabolical state of the UK roads. My only gripes are that the steering is quite low geared and the brakes, whilst well weighted for me, start to fade quicker than I'd have hoped considering 4 disks and large, well vented wheels. I guess this is due to the cars' extra weight over the 205GTi and the fact that I drive too fast (gulp).

I've been getting just over 30mpg which I can live with, especially since I never drive for economy and (after all) the car is a low geared sportscar, not a Honda Insight wannabe.

So overall a cool car. Running reports will follow.

*The competition - a short discussion:-

For around 14k (206GTi UK list price with metallic paint) you have a large choice of cars, but I see the following as being the best sports hatches in this range;

Seat Leon 20VT (Cupra) - went to see a few of these and was very tempted. Performance, 180bhp, 6-speed gearbox novelty, quality and almost reasonable price. But dull looks, totally uninspiring black plastic interior, alloys which must be almost impossible to clean and slightly supsect 'quality' (I have a 2.5 year old VW Passat too and it's had more problems that all the other cars I have owned put together - this is true!) put me off. Also I have driven other cars featuring the VW group 1.8T engine and have not been overly impressed.

Renault Clio 172 sport - quicker than a 206GTi, more power and equivalent kit. Good driving environment and well rated. I owned a Renault 5 turbo and loved it, so the 172 was a top proposal. Mainly it was looks and running costs that put me off. For a start the standard 15inch alloys on the 172 are just not acceptable and the front grille is not to my liking (latest front end is even worse). Group 16 insurance (only 1 less than an Impeza turbo), higher fuel consumption and higher tax band are factors but the asking price of at least 2 grand more than the 206GTi is just too much. I also suspect residuals will not be as good.

Ford Puma 1.7 - OK, not quite in the same power league as the 206 or the 2 cars above, but a drivers car never-the-less and after sitting in a few of these I got to like them. You can (or could - supplies are drying up) get these relatively cheaply and running costs are bound to be low, also the driving environment is brilliant. I suppose it was the 'PR girl' image that put me off and the lack of outright power, plus I've never been too keen on the look from the rear. You don't get quite the same goodies as the 206 either and you see a lot around.

So there you have it.