RE: Peugeot 309 GTI: PH Ad Break
Thursday 23rd May 2013
Pity the Peugeot 309 GTI. Based on a defunct Talbot project and sneered at for slightly dumpy looks, it also had to share a showroom with the pert, petite 205 GTI back in the days of the now-revived Peugeot Talbot Sport stripes. The 205 was the car everyone wanted, and it’s the one that’s remembered as such today. But despite its reputation as the frumpier, more sensible big brother, the 309 was a fantastic car in its own right; perhaps even, some reckoned, a better one. “The 309 GTI is a most desirable alternative to the usual run of sports hatchbacks, offering the performance and handling of the 205 GTI but with more space and greater refinement,” ran the Autocar road test at the time.
Peugeot 309 GTI: PH Ad Break
The 205's bigger brother gets a blat around a country house for a photo op in this neat ad from 1989
This was the era that car ads were just starting to get amusing, of course, and rather than go with its usual, dour efforts to tell us all about how worthy its cars were, Peugeot decided it wanted a piece of that action in 1989. So it came up with this little number, memorable not just because of the neat plotline that still raises a chuckle today, but also for the fabulous array of brand new, and now much sought-after, 80s hot hatches assembled to take part in the photoshoot at the ad’s heart.
Throw in some spirited driving, including a cool reverse turn, several bouts of lift-off oversteer and a precise handbrake stop to finish, and it’s enough to get you all excited about trotting down to your local Peugeot showroom to hand over some cash. Except you can’t, because all they’ll be able to sell you these days is a 208 GTI. No, if this ad woos you, you’re best off turning to the PH Classifieds, where you’ll find this fruity-looking GTI-6 powered example, converted by well-known tuner Pug1off.
Discussion
Mine broke the rear torsion bar, shortly before an unfortunate coming together with a caravan. It was written off, and I couldn't afford to replace it with another one at the time. I loved that car, my dad had a succession of 205 GTIs in both 1.6 and 1.9 form and I always thought the 309 was at least an equal.
Edit - mine was pretty much identical to the one in the first pic, except it was a H reg.
Edit - mine was pretty much identical to the one in the first pic, except it was a H reg.
Edited by mattmurdock on Thursday 23 May 10:00
Never, in the field of human conflict, has so much decent hardware been wrapped in such a hideous exterior and then there's the interior, which appears to have been designed by the same people who design the insides of choccy boxes and is made from the same stuff.
The only reason they seem 'classic' now is you've not seen one in the best part of a decade - meanwhile, 205s keep on going and going and going.
That's not looking like a hippo for you...
The only reason they seem 'classic' now is you've not seen one in the best part of a decade - meanwhile, 205s keep on going and going and going.
That's not looking like a hippo for you...
seriously good car, i regret selling mine especially as the guy only wanted the beam and wishbones to put on his 205 i assume the rest got scrapped. I was going to drop a 2.0 turbo in it from a xantia as standard they were a little underpowered. As far as i recall the 16v weren't the same as the mi16 it was a lower powered engine.
mybrainhurts said:
Worst looking car Peugeot made at the time. A true dog...
I agree it wasn't beautiful, but most Peugeots are not pretty things (the 405 and 406 were OK though). A bit of an overstatement to call it a true dog though.Even the lesser versions of the 309 handled really rather well. I did 40,000 miles in one year in one back in 1989/1990 (it was my first ever company car). Good gear change, brakes and steering. Didn't weigh too much either. Downside was iffy build quality and water leaks. I read somewhere that the rear light clusters never fitted the apertures properly.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff