Spotted: Peugeot 309 GTI
The 309 GTI isn't a looker, but who cares when its so good to drive?
Remember, you can't look at it from the driver's seat...
The reason is simple; compared to the pert and petite 205, the 309 was a bit of a munter. The shape was (and is) rather blocky and it lacks the cute cohesiveness of the smaller hatch. But in 2012 it looks refreshingly unpretentious to these eyes and the GTI touches (wheels, foglights, bumpers) lift the shape suitably. Alright, the 309 won't ever be one of Peugeot's great masterpieces but a GTI should be all about the driving, shouldn't it?
Cherry Red paint looks great
Either way, a 309 will still be great. I've wanted one for ages (I have a model in exactly the same colour!)and this Spotted is possibly the best example you could find. Not only is it hugely desirable in terms of spec (a three-door, first-gen car in Cherry Red), it also appears to have been meticulously owned throughout its 25-year life.
Grab a drink before you embark on the original ad, it's quite read. Dr Walker, who bought this GTI new in 1987, owned it for longer than I've been alive (!) and sold it on to the mechanic who had serviced it. The current proprietor has ensured the car has wanted for nothing. Though completely standard, this GTI has been treated to the best components; Ferodo pads, Helix oil, OEM suspension and exhaust parts. The advert makes for wonderful reading and there seems no reason to doubt the fastidious care seemingly lavished upon this little hatch. The vendor's enthusiasm is contagious, and it's only the Somerset location that is preventing me handing over the required cash and fulfilling my 309 GTI dream.
Nothing to distract you from driving in here!
So there you have it. The drivetrain of the most celebrated hot hatch clothed in a less attractive body for under two grand. What more could you want? Somebody please buy this and enjoy it. Seriously, before I find myself on the way to Somerset...
PEUGEOT 309 GTI
Engine:1,905cc, four-cylinder
Transmission:Five-speed manual
Power (hp): 132@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 119@4,750rpm
MPG:28
C02:N/A
First registered:29th September 1987
Recorded mileage:110,000
Price then:Dr Walker paid £9,695...
Yours for:£1,750
See the original ad here
My first car way back in 1999 was an E reg 309 GTi... I was 17, just passed my test and found one for £600 locally. It was exactly the same as that, in fact I had to do a double take there. I absolutely loved it (so did my insurer at 17!) Compared to everything my mates had, it was stupidly fast, went round corners like nothing else and despite being made from recycled telephones and tissue paper, it was surprisingly bombproof.
I lowered mine, put some sticky tyres and a Mongoose back box and continued to drive it and thanks to the baffle int he tank parting company and the tank design, which when low on fuel and being driven at pace round a right hander would make the fuel slosh over the 'hump' and that would run the pump dry and massive lift off spec oversteer would follow. Well, that's what the Peugeot mechanical told me and I'm sticking to that. It obviously had nothing to do with hugely ambitious cornering speed and unforgiving suspenion.
Sadly mine started dying about 6 months in. Being 17 and full testosterone, I thought it wise to do a burnout one night which to be fair was rather epic. Sadly the internals of the box didn't age and fired the main shaft through the bell housing in 4 places (I still have it on my desk!) and that was the beginning of the end. I changed the box then the bottom end started knocking. A 'mate' figured he could build a mega spec engine using a Citreon XM 2.0 bottom end and an Mi16 top end which in theory was brilliant, but in practice it just never worked and never ran well. Being 17 and a bit broke and ignorant to engines, I lost heart and by this stage I was on a mission to buy a Cavalier GSi2000 instead.
I left it with him and forgot about it (stupidly) It then sat in the corner of his yard for about 2 years, getting steadily worse then disappeared. He moved on, we never spoke again but I went back over a couple of years later and it was abandoned in a makeshift scrapyard on an adjacent farm. Poor old thing. A year or so later I was passing and looked in again and it was gone. And that was the end of E21 HSN.
I still find myself browsing the classifieds and the owners club on a semi-regular basis...
Have been browsing for decent examples of these for a while and most have been butchered or destroyed. If somebody made me a decent offer on my car I think I might just go and buy that one tomorrow. Proper hot hatch.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1990-Peugeot-309-1-9-GTI...
Debadged though....
I can live with ugly exteriors - as people say, you can't see it when you're driving it, but that interior is HIDEOUS.
It's not just the 'slab' looks - the plastic quality made a 205 feel like a Jaguar (and they were pretty basic) - my 405 is more like a Rolls in comparison!
People say the Germans make statements and the French make tools - but even hammers have a BIT of ergonomic design
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