RE: Peugeot 309 GTI | Spotted
Discussion
belleair302 said:
I believe that back in the day all imports into Japan had to be LHD. Stopped the domestic market filling up with European imports. The rules may well be the same today.
... How would you explain all the RHD MGF’s and RV8’s, Lotus, Astons, Morgans, TVR, Jaguar, etc in Japan that are all RHD and have been reimported to U.K. by dealers then? Dblue said:
I didn't state it was limited , just that its a japanese market car and will have an appropriate spec. Just because the speedo (definitely in Kph) reads higher doesn't mean it goes that fast!
Nevertheless , it is intrinsically a worse bet than a UK car would be even in worse condition.
Your response sound a bit like the “Bing bong, Bing Bong” the bubble period Japanese cars used to produce at speeds above the legal limit as my AE86 used to do... At a frequency that was proportional to speed... until I took it off.Nevertheless , it is intrinsically a worse bet than a UK car would be even in worse condition.
My E30 M3 which had been supplied new in Japan had no such “Bing Bong”....
It definitely isn’t “intrinsically inferior” to the comparable rusty U.K. supplied examples I narrowly avoided buying instead. It’s still completely rust free to this day (including underside!), in spite of the supposedly inferior rust proofing you suggest it received at the factory, being a Japan spec. car...
The mind boggles still! .... LOL
cerb4.5lee said:
One of my old next door neighbours had one of these and he put a superchip on it. I thought that it was awesome at the time. 
They always seemed to get overlooked though because of the 205 GTi.
The ‘Goodwood’ limited editions were superb. They came with wooden rimmed steering wheels, IIRC. Properly nice cars them.They always seemed to get overlooked though because of the 205 GTi.
pete.g said:
miniman said:
Never had a GTi but I had a 309 SRi that was broken into omore times than Jordan.
I had a 309 SRi from 1991-93 - it was a really great handling car and a lot subtler than either the 205/309 GTI. When I swapped to a Mk2 Golf GTI I realised how sharp the Pug was. I still have a Mk2 though - Pugs not as durable.,
My mates brother had a 309 GTi back in the day, the story is that he wanted a 205 GTi but apparently a 1.9 309 was cheaper to insure than a 1.6 205 so he went with a 309 instead?? My main memories of it (apart from the red carpet!) where of bombing around some lanes in west Wales at speeds even a modern hot hatch would have struggled with, good times! 
njw1 said:
My mates brother had a 309 GTi back in the day, the story is that he wanted a 205 GTi but apparently a 1.9 309 was cheaper to insure than a 1.6 205 so he went with a 309 instead?? My main memories of it (apart from the red carpet!) where of bombing around some lanes in west Wales at speeds even a modern hot hatch would have struggled with, good times!
For whatever reason ( age profile of owners, image, accident history etc ) a 309Gti was certainly cheaper to insure than a 205 1.9 Gti for me - although they were both Grp 6 on the old scalesI’m pretty sure insurance was cheaper. It’s not just the engine size but desirability to thieves and the 205 was the one in demand. This was the 80s and 90s when hot hatch theft went through the roof.
I had a 1.6 205 Gti in 89&90 and then moved onto a 309 Gti for a few years. I loved the 309, it was a great car.
I had a 1.6 205 Gti in 89&90 and then moved onto a 309 Gti for a few years. I loved the 309, it was a great car.
bompey said:
I’m pretty sure insurance was cheaper. It’s not just the engine size but desirability to thieves and the 205 was the one in demand. This was the 80s and 90s when hot hatch theft went through the roof.
I had a 1.6 205 Gti in 89&90 and then moved onto a 309 Gti for a few years. I loved the 309, it was a great car.
Yes, I think the 205 had more of a ‘loading’ on it or some other insurance term because of accident history - they certainly were the same basic group but I got quotes for both at the time as I was originally going to buy a 205 until I tried the 309I had a 1.6 205 Gti in 89&90 and then moved onto a 309 Gti for a few years. I loved the 309, it was a great car.
I never owned a 309 GTI, to my regret, but drove a borrowed one a few times and thought it was terrific. The 205 1.9 was a little bit more exciting and certainly prettier, but the 309 was a better car overall. In particular I remember it for the first power steering system I'd tried that really connected me to the road.
Lowtimer said:
I never owned a 309 GTI, to my regret, but drove a borrowed one a few times and thought it was terrific. The 205 1.9 was a little bit more exciting and certainly prettier, but the 309 was a better car overall. In particular I remember it for the first power steering system I'd tried that really connected me to the road.
Performance Car mag used one for their annual tyre testCame in handy that year for choosing which tyres to go for
^^ Great post above on the Performance Car tyre test! thanks for posting....being a PC mag fanatic back in the day I can remember reading this!
My mates dad worked for Peugeot for many years quite high up in management and he always said the chassis guys prefered the 309 GTI.Compared to the much more common 205 GTI you just don't seem them on the road anymore which is a shame.
My mates dad worked for Peugeot for many years quite high up in management and he always said the chassis guys prefered the 309 GTI.Compared to the much more common 205 GTI you just don't seem them on the road anymore which is a shame.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff