RE: Peugeot 205 GTI: PH Used Buying Guide
Discussion
Had a 1985 1.6 bought when 3 years old. Kept it for 3 years and traded it in against a 1988 CRX. During my ownership, only thing that went wrong was the alternator. It hated being driven in town and certainly liked a drink; I think it used to average about 28 mpg. At 6 years the GTi had corrosion on the screen pillar/above screen. The CRX was a much better car in every respect (4 seats weren't essential back then!).
Dale487 said:
996GT3_Matt said:
Ah the 205, the only car I have written off during 20 years of performance motoring.
Alas I was just 18.. and bought a shonky 1.6 in graphite grey. At this stage of my motoring history (my paper licence was crease free and shiny) I blew the rest of my Barclays Bank loan on a K&N induction kit, a Kenwood mask head unit and of course a big bore exhaust. I may have added a Dimma petrol cap too (cringeworthy now, I know).
Having never visited a track or benefited from any driver training, the electric chassis was all too much for my dim-witted wrists and clumsy feet... 6 weeks later the car was upside down in a ditch having left a B road at approximately 70mph tailgate first. A baptism of fire in lift of oversteer!
Despite the tinfoil build quality, my friend and I both walk/staggered away, collecting two trees and rolling several times at ~70mph. We were extremely lucky of course but the 205 is perhaps not as flimsy as the internet will have you believe.
My next purchase (a year later) was a 106GTI. What a car that was too.
Which did you think was better the 205 or the 106? Alas I was just 18.. and bought a shonky 1.6 in graphite grey. At this stage of my motoring history (my paper licence was crease free and shiny) I blew the rest of my Barclays Bank loan on a K&N induction kit, a Kenwood mask head unit and of course a big bore exhaust. I may have added a Dimma petrol cap too (cringeworthy now, I know).
Having never visited a track or benefited from any driver training, the electric chassis was all too much for my dim-witted wrists and clumsy feet... 6 weeks later the car was upside down in a ditch having left a B road at approximately 70mph tailgate first. A baptism of fire in lift of oversteer!
Despite the tinfoil build quality, my friend and I both walk/staggered away, collecting two trees and rolling several times at ~70mph. We were extremely lucky of course but the 205 is perhaps not as flimsy as the internet will have you believe.
My next purchase (a year later) was a 106GTI. What a car that was too.
There is an aura around the 205 and rightly so, but I think a well cared for 106 or 306 make for better value. Perhaps not quite as sharp, but you won’t be forking out £15k for a decent example!
The 106 is an epic steer.
996GT3_Matt said:
Dale487 said:
996GT3_Matt said:
Ah the 205, the only car I have written off during 20 years of performance motoring.
Alas I was just 18.. and bought a shonky 1.6 in graphite grey. At this stage of my motoring history (my paper licence was crease free and shiny) I blew the rest of my Barclays Bank loan on a K&N induction kit, a Kenwood mask head unit and of course a big bore exhaust. I may have added a Dimma petrol cap too (cringeworthy now, I know).
Having never visited a track or benefited from any driver training, the electric chassis was all too much for my dim-witted wrists and clumsy feet... 6 weeks later the car was upside down in a ditch having left a B road at approximately 70mph tailgate first. A baptism of fire in lift of oversteer!
Despite the tinfoil build quality, my friend and I both walk/staggered away, collecting two trees and rolling several times at ~70mph. We were extremely lucky of course but the 205 is perhaps not as flimsy as the internet will have you believe.
My next purchase (a year later) was a 106GTI. What a car that was too.
Which did you think was better the 205 or the 106? Alas I was just 18.. and bought a shonky 1.6 in graphite grey. At this stage of my motoring history (my paper licence was crease free and shiny) I blew the rest of my Barclays Bank loan on a K&N induction kit, a Kenwood mask head unit and of course a big bore exhaust. I may have added a Dimma petrol cap too (cringeworthy now, I know).
Having never visited a track or benefited from any driver training, the electric chassis was all too much for my dim-witted wrists and clumsy feet... 6 weeks later the car was upside down in a ditch having left a B road at approximately 70mph tailgate first. A baptism of fire in lift of oversteer!
Despite the tinfoil build quality, my friend and I both walk/staggered away, collecting two trees and rolling several times at ~70mph. We were extremely lucky of course but the 205 is perhaps not as flimsy as the internet will have you believe.
My next purchase (a year later) was a 106GTI. What a car that was too.
There is an aura around the 205 and rightly so, but I think a well cared for 106 or 306 make for better value. Perhaps not quite as sharp, but you won’t be forking out £15k for a decent example!
The 106 is an epic steer.
The 306 might seem like it's too big and lardy in comparison, but if you drive one next to a modern car they really do feel like they're from a different era!
Interesting to see what 106 GTIs have started creeping up. Good ones seem to be commanding strong money.
What i don't get is why 306s aren't doing similarly well. There are only around 1100 306 GTIs either SORN'd or on the road, yet there are 5,800 205 GTIs. There are no 306 GTIs on PH, none on Autotrader, and only a handful on ebay, yet those that come up are only in the £1k-£2k bracket, higher and they don't seem to sell.
Nice article to see... I was a real Peugeot Man in the 1990s The decade consisted of a 205GTI 1.9, then new 106 Rallye Mk1, then a new 106 GTI.
Of them all the 106 Rallye is the one I have the best memories of and the one kept the longest. The 205 GTI 1.9 (1988 model - about 4 years old when I bought it) always seemed a bit highly strung - it was very fussy on fuel back then, pinking a fair bit if it wasn't happy. (Pinking - not something you hear much about these days!)... Mine also suffered from an oil feed problem which made the engine to sound like a bag of spanners - it was taken to the dealer and fixed under Peugeot's used car warranty. It also started to corrode (tailgate) even at such a young age. It was a blast though and at the time it was very, very fast compared to most things - it was the now infamous insurance/hot hatch/1990s/young driver which made me give it up, but as the Rallye was it's eventual replacement, it was a blessing in disguise - it was brilliant.... even more so because not many poeple 'got it'.
The 106 GTI was nice, fast and in my opinion, much more classy than its Saxo counterpart back then.... but it seemed way too civilised after years with the Rallye... I never really got to like it as much - especially after the novelty of a gaining a 12V socket for my discman/tape adapter had worn off. Given the choice of having one of the 3 now, in order it would be:
1. 106 Rallye (by some margin).
2. 205 GTI (2nd mainly for the nostagia)
3. 106 GTI (a close 3rd)
I remember 2 CAR magazine articles from the time - both had a big influence on me. 1st was putting a 205 GTI against a Lotus Esprit - I must have read that a hundred times! The other was about the best fun cars under 10K. One was the 106 Rallye (I bought mine shorty after reading this)... I can't remember many of the others.... Suzuki Cappucino was one and I am sure a Caterham was in there too.
Good days.
Of them all the 106 Rallye is the one I have the best memories of and the one kept the longest. The 205 GTI 1.9 (1988 model - about 4 years old when I bought it) always seemed a bit highly strung - it was very fussy on fuel back then, pinking a fair bit if it wasn't happy. (Pinking - not something you hear much about these days!)... Mine also suffered from an oil feed problem which made the engine to sound like a bag of spanners - it was taken to the dealer and fixed under Peugeot's used car warranty. It also started to corrode (tailgate) even at such a young age. It was a blast though and at the time it was very, very fast compared to most things - it was the now infamous insurance/hot hatch/1990s/young driver which made me give it up, but as the Rallye was it's eventual replacement, it was a blessing in disguise - it was brilliant.... even more so because not many poeple 'got it'.
The 106 GTI was nice, fast and in my opinion, much more classy than its Saxo counterpart back then.... but it seemed way too civilised after years with the Rallye... I never really got to like it as much - especially after the novelty of a gaining a 12V socket for my discman/tape adapter had worn off. Given the choice of having one of the 3 now, in order it would be:
1. 106 Rallye (by some margin).
2. 205 GTI (2nd mainly for the nostagia)
3. 106 GTI (a close 3rd)
I remember 2 CAR magazine articles from the time - both had a big influence on me. 1st was putting a 205 GTI against a Lotus Esprit - I must have read that a hundred times! The other was about the best fun cars under 10K. One was the 106 Rallye (I bought mine shorty after reading this)... I can't remember many of the others.... Suzuki Cappucino was one and I am sure a Caterham was in there too.
Good days.
Edited by edwheels on Friday 27th July 17:44
This is my little 1.6 that I got not too long ago. Bought it as a project to do through the summer. The steering is insane, the throttle response is incredible, and the ability to place it is perfect. Bought some new badges to replace the dated old ones, getting the rust treated and painted this weekend too. I thought my ST170 was immediate in throttle response until I drove this. I can't imagine how quick a 1.9 must be
I had a cherry red 1.6 back when they were cheap, absolutely brilliant little thing, the reg was H584 LOE.
Mine had numerous issues but nothing serious, I don’t think it’s on the road anymore. The lad who had it off me got a little carried away on his way home, 69mph he was clocked at in a 30, the speeding ticket came to me.
Clio 1*2’s offer a similar but more modern experience, you just hit the wall a bit harder if you lift off.
Mine had numerous issues but nothing serious, I don’t think it’s on the road anymore. The lad who had it off me got a little carried away on his way home, 69mph he was clocked at in a 30, the speeding ticket came to me.
Clio 1*2’s offer a similar but more modern experience, you just hit the wall a bit harder if you lift off.
PTF said:
996GT3_Matt said:
Dale487 said:
996GT3_Matt said:
Ah the 205, the only car I have written off during 20 years of performance motoring.
Alas I was just 18.. and bought a shonky 1.6 in graphite grey. At this stage of my motoring history (my paper licence was crease free and shiny) I blew the rest of my Barclays Bank loan on a K&N induction kit, a Kenwood mask head unit and of course a big bore exhaust. I may have added a Dimma petrol cap too (cringeworthy now, I know).
Having never visited a track or benefited from any driver training, the electric chassis was all too much for my dim-witted wrists and clumsy feet... 6 weeks later the car was upside down in a ditch having left a B road at approximately 70mph tailgate first. A baptism of fire in lift of oversteer!
Despite the tinfoil build quality, my friend and I both walk/staggered away, collecting two trees and rolling several times at ~70mph. We were extremely lucky of course but the 205 is perhaps not as flimsy as the internet will have you believe.
My next purchase (a year later) was a 106GTI. What a car that was too.
Which did you think was better the 205 or the 106? Alas I was just 18.. and bought a shonky 1.6 in graphite grey. At this stage of my motoring history (my paper licence was crease free and shiny) I blew the rest of my Barclays Bank loan on a K&N induction kit, a Kenwood mask head unit and of course a big bore exhaust. I may have added a Dimma petrol cap too (cringeworthy now, I know).
Having never visited a track or benefited from any driver training, the electric chassis was all too much for my dim-witted wrists and clumsy feet... 6 weeks later the car was upside down in a ditch having left a B road at approximately 70mph tailgate first. A baptism of fire in lift of oversteer!
Despite the tinfoil build quality, my friend and I both walk/staggered away, collecting two trees and rolling several times at ~70mph. We were extremely lucky of course but the 205 is perhaps not as flimsy as the internet will have you believe.
My next purchase (a year later) was a 106GTI. What a car that was too.
There is an aura around the 205 and rightly so, but I think a well cared for 106 or 306 make for better value. Perhaps not quite as sharp, but you won’t be forking out £15k for a decent example!
The 106 is an epic steer.
The 306 might seem like it's too big and lardy in comparison, but if you drive one next to a modern car they really do feel like they're from a different era!
Interesting to see what 106 GTIs have started creeping up. Good ones seem to be commanding strong money.
What i don't get is why 306s aren't doing similarly well. There are only around 1100 306 GTIs either SORN'd or on the road, yet there are 5,800 205 GTIs. There are no 306 GTIs on PH, none on Autotrader, and only a handful on ebay, yet those that come up are only in the £1k-£2k bracket, higher and they don't seem to sell.
WARNING: many moons ago a friend had this nearly new year old car, five of us travelled up the Great Orme in anticipation of a good night out in the clubland of Llandudno. Swapping seats in the car park, three of the tallest and heaviest of us sat in the back.
The car refused to start.
AA arrived to investigate, no fuel flow to the engine.....
The weight of the three of us in the back had flexed the rear seat enough to crush the fuel pipe that ran over a bulkhead under the rear seat.
The car refused to start.
AA arrived to investigate, no fuel flow to the engine.....
The weight of the three of us in the back had flexed the rear seat enough to crush the fuel pipe that ran over a bulkhead under the rear seat.
Derek Chevalier said:
Arsecati said:
but ANY modern hot hatch from a Fiesta ST to a Type-R,
Agreed on the Type-R, but thought the ST was similar in character to the 205The Civic has the most spectacular engine by some margin of all the cars mentioned above, it handles well to but it’s not as focused as a French Hatch. The VTEC engine is the highlight of the package by some margin (inclusive of the awesome gear shift).
I really like my Fiesta ST, in fact I sold my 911 turbo (over the Fiesta) when I bought my GT3. The turbo engine is obviously less inspiring than the N/A engines, and 20 years of chassis and tyre technology mean the limits are far less approachable on the road.. however the ST is just superb if you can live with the firm ride. Yes the brakes are over-servoed, the interior and ICE are a mess.. but what chassis! Like the Peugeots of old, the Fiesta is super adjustable on throttle, the brakes can handle a track day fine and you’ll still see 35mpg + all accompanied by low(ish) road tax and servicing costs.
I still enjoy getting in my Fiesta after spending a few days in the GT3.. I can’t say more than that really. That said, I often joke to my wife about swapping out the ST for a 205 👌
Ps I agree with the above comments in the sense that the 306 is seriously underpriced.
Edited by 996GT3_Matt on Friday 27th July 23:40
I had four of these throughout the years (all 1.9's) one of them had the Mi16 lump from the 406 which produced 150hp if my memory serves me right.
Great fun cars that made me smile every time which is what it is all about.
Head gaskets seem to be a weak point as all four of mine went at some point.
Great fun cars that made me smile every time which is what it is all about.
Head gaskets seem to be a weak point as all four of mine went at some point.
LarsG said:
WARNING: many moons ago a friend had this nearly new year old car, five of us travelled up the Great Orme in anticipation of a good night out in the clubland of Llandudno. Swapping seats in the car park, three of the tallest and heaviest of us sat in the back.
The car refused to start.
AA arrived to investigate, no fuel flow to the engine.....
The weight of the three of us in the back had flexed the rear seat enough to crush the fuel pipe that ran over a bulkhead under the rear seat.
Funny story, but misleading. The foam if the seat cushions would absorb all the weight of 3 adults before any movement of the floorpan could occur. If this really happened then there must have been other factors at play and I seriously doubt it was weight upon that area crushing the floor. Yeah it's funny to claim 205s are like tin foil, but lets be realistic, they aren't that flimsy.The car refused to start.
AA arrived to investigate, no fuel flow to the engine.....
The weight of the three of us in the back had flexed the rear seat enough to crush the fuel pipe that ran over a bulkhead under the rear seat.
EDIT: OK, I just googled some images as I couldn't remember how the fuel hose was routed from the pump. I suppose it's vaguely possible that the small section of floor between the two access panels could flex causing the hose to be crushed IF that area was seriously abused. I have NEVER heard if this happening in years of being around the 205 owner scene. It would take some doing and isn't really the sort of thing a potential owner should be worried about.
Edited by PoopahScoopah on Saturday 28th July 10:29
Derek Chevalier said:
Agreed on the Type-R, but thought the ST was similar in character to the 205
I have a 1.6 GTi. I test drove the last fiesta st as everyone was banging on about how amazing and "traditional hot hatch" it was. I properly rung it's neck on the test drive to the point the "product genius" looked ill but I just didn't feel it was any more exciting than any other modern hot hatch. It certainly shared very little with my 205 in term of character.Not sure about the recent type Rs but I enjoyed my ep3 almost as much as my first 205 GTi. It had a very similar character.
nunpuncher said:
Derek Chevalier said:
Agreed on the Type-R, but thought the ST was similar in character to the 205
I have a 1.6 GTi. I test drove the last fiesta st as everyone was banging on about how amazing and "traditional hot hatch" it was. I properly rung it's neck on the test drive to the point the "product genius" looked ill but I just didn't feel it was any more exciting than any other modern hot hatch. It certainly shared very little with my 205 in term of character.Not sure about the recent type Rs but I enjoyed my ep3 almost as much as my first 205 GTi. It had a very similar character.
aaron_2000 said:
nunpuncher said:
Derek Chevalier said:
Agreed on the Type-R, but thought the ST was similar in character to the 205
I have a 1.6 GTi. I test drove the last fiesta st as everyone was banging on about how amazing and "traditional hot hatch" it was. I properly rung it's neck on the test drive to the point the "product genius" looked ill but I just didn't feel it was any more exciting than any other modern hot hatch. It certainly shared very little with my 205 in term of character.Not sure about the recent type Rs but I enjoyed my ep3 almost as much as my first 205 GTi. It had a very similar character.
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/EVYRgE4W.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/CGiiDJOH" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/CGiiDJOH.jpg)
Here are my 2, 1.9 steel grey and 4x4 Cossie.
The 1.9 won’t lift off oversteer on modern tyres and people say the 1.9 is less revy, this is largely down to the square bore and more importantly the longer diff ratio, swap it for a 1.6 and it becomes similar to the 1.6 to drive. I did have a 1.6 and it was the better car in my opinion.
Caddyshack said:
The 1.9 won’t lift off oversteer on modern tyres [/url]
Is it still running the standard rubber mounts for the rear beam, or have they been swapped for solid mounts (which will remove some of the playfulness)? I never had any problems getting LOO on any of mine, even with the solid beam mounts, but at the time modern tyres for me were stuff like Toyo T1Rs. I preferred the 1.6 as well. Even when I had my Mi16 I felt like it had the similar character to the 1.6 being more rev happy, but too quick to enjoy on the public road in many cases. The beauty of a 1.6 is the very fact it's low powered. The old adage of "better to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow". I'm no driving god so it always felt easier to extract more of that lowly 115 or so BHP than it did with the Mi16.
Standard bushes, refurb beam.
Even on a greasy wet roundabout it will understeer, big lift and the line tightens but it won’t oversteer and I am talking about a big lift at a good speed. My old 1.6 would do it at the slightest little provocation. Modern tyres have done a lot to tame the beast.
I am sure that at 80 on a wet track it might do something.
Even on a greasy wet roundabout it will understeer, big lift and the line tightens but it won’t oversteer and I am talking about a big lift at a good speed. My old 1.6 would do it at the slightest little provocation. Modern tyres have done a lot to tame the beast.
I am sure that at 80 on a wet track it might do something.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff