RE: Peugeot S16 Revived As Dodgy 'Special'

[robsco]

Generous kit levels... Ok granted, that wasn't a very PH thing to say.

I'll get my coat...

[uuf361]

I saw a trailer load of these coming down the M40 last week and wondered what they were.....not I know, and not overly impressed TBH.

[briSk]

tux said:

Markets change.

That's profound. It's still rubbish though.

[RobCrezz]

What a load of crap. It just shows that if you want a French warm or hot hatch, Renault is the only way to go at the moment.

[Decky_Q]

One of the first cars I had was a knackered GTi6 dark greeen with a brown and black interior.


God damn I hated that interior...

[glazbagun]

I'm surprised Peugeot enthusiasts have never organised a convoy to France in protest at (first) them not making any cool cars any more and secondly at this raping of their heritage. Idea's like this can surely only be dreamed up by early-20's Media Studies/Marketing graduates who have used public transport all their lives and like it, but read in a book that you can sell things by linking them with past glories.

[McAndy]

Is it me or are Pug trying to Homer-Simpson-style dig their way out of a hole with driving enthusiasts? Very poor form!

[Ponk]

glazbagun said:

I'm surprised Peugeot enthusiasts have never organised a convoy to France in protest at (first) them not making any cool cars any more and secondly at this raping of their heritage. Idea's like this can surely only be dreamed up by early-20's Media Studies/Marketing graduates who have used public transport all their lives and like it, but read in a book that you can sell things by linking them with past glories.

We kind of did, took 4 Rallyes back to Mullouse as part of a European road trip and tried to blag entry. No joy

We also popped into the Peugeot musuem at Sochaux and were shocked to find that nothing existed in there post 1980. They had a 205 T16 and a 206 WRC which i haven't counted as they're specials but nothing else! It's like they are trying to erase their history.

[adambcvg]

HereBeMonsters said:

But do you drive it every day? In traffic, on long motorway journeys etc.? I'm getting massively tired of my current stable...

We've put 70k on our 306 rallye in 3.5 years. Been very reliable (until very recently - my fault!), easy to drive and overall fantastic fun.
I would say though that I couldn't own a 205 again now and put on the same kind of mileage. But they are getting on a bit! The Gti-6 is a proper bargain hot hatch at the moment, you do have to be very careful what you buy though.

Having driven most of Peugeot's newer cars they are 'ok'. Nothing special and I think thats the entire problem.

[CampDavid]

Decky_Q said:

One of the first cars I had was a knackered GTi6 dark greeen with a brown and black interior.


God damn I hated that interior...

Without wishing to be a total pedant, the GTI-6 was never available in dark green

[Antj]

funny how back in the day 80's 90's all the main manufacturers made great drivers cars and then all went off the boil.

Then they most such as Ford, Renault, VAG, and vauxhall all realised the hot hatch was still alive.

Yet Peugeot and also Citroen despite having huge success in rallying and also previously prioducing some of the best FWD cars ever have refused to believe there is a market, In fact Peugeot went as far as to publicly kill off its GTi badge, then they release this ste.

Still if you have 900 quid sitting in your back pocket, get on ebay and buy one of their last GTi's, the 206 GTi, strip it all out and use it for a few trackdays, a surprisingly capable car once you have ripped all the weight out.


Oh and little tip for Pistonheads, don;t waste bandwidth with crap stories of marketing con special editions such as this S16, save that drivvle for sutoexpress and we can stick to the real drivers cars news.

[richardxjr]

robsco said:

I personally can't understand the virtually universal hatred of Peugeots radiating from the majority of people on this site. Granted, this special edition isn't particularly impressive, more just a money spinning marketing ploy. But the cars that Peugeot are producing these days are well constructed, well designed (IMHO), actually fairly pleasant to drive, with generous kit levels and impressive engines (albeit slightly underpowered in some cases).

Ok, so the sporting pretentions of old may not be abundant, but Peugeot and Citroen are undergoing a major rebranding phase at the moment which I'm certain will produce some wonderful models sooner rather than later. Although none of them will impress you miserable sods no doubt

Well personally I HATE them since this (and they've learnt NOWT since which must be 5 or 6 years ago):

[CampDavid]

richardxjr said:

robsco said:

I personally can't understand the virtually universal hatred of Peugeots radiating from the majority of people on this site. Granted, this special edition isn't particularly impressive, more just a money spinning marketing ploy. But the cars that Peugeot are producing these days are well constructed, well designed (IMHO), actually fairly pleasant to drive, with generous kit levels and impressive engines (albeit slightly underpowered in some cases).

Ok, so the sporting pretentions of old may not be abundant, but Peugeot and Citroen are undergoing a major rebranding phase at the moment which I'm certain will produce some wonderful models sooner rather than later. Although none of them will impress you miserable sods no doubt

Well personally I HATE them since this (and they've learnt NOWT since which must be 5 or 6 years ago):

IIRC that car ways nearly the same as a 106 Rallye AND a 306 Rallye combined.

[Emubiker]

I also don't understand all the bashing. The 207 GTi is a capable car! I don't have one myself but it does handle its power very well. Since it has less bhp than most of its competitors it is cheaper to insure, but is still just as fast if not faster once you throw in some twisties. I also dont think they look to bad, infact one of the nicer cars in its class atm.

I've used these lap times before, but here they are agin for those who haven't seen them.

TRC mag tested hot hatches in 2007 around Bruntingthorpe. Times were:

Mégane R26 1min 24.93s
Clio 197 R27 1min 25.51s
Honda Civic Type R 1min 26.97s
Peugeot 207 Gti 1min 27.03s
Mazda 3 MPS SAK 1min 27.03s
VW Golf Gti Edition30 1min 27.50s
Vauxhall Corsa VXR 1min 27.75s
Seat Leon Cupra 1min 27.78s
Vauxhall Astra VXR 1min 27.89s
Volvo C30 T5 R-design 1min 29.44s
Mitsubishi Colt Black Hawk 1min 31.52s

[briSk]

going down the american/top gear route of it's fast so it must be good is a big mistake.

fair enough if you want to drive fast then buy one of these cars.

if i was solely intersted in going fast though i'd buy a powerful turdo diseasel..

[Emubiker]

briSk said:

going down the american/top gear route of it's fast so it must be good is a big mistake.

fair enough if you want to drive fast then buy one of these cars.

if i was solely intersted in going fast though i'd buy a powerful turdo diseasel..

But thats the point, its not that fast...in a straight line that is, but is when you have some corners, It was a good drive.

[CampDavid]

Emubiker said:

briSk said:

going down the american/top gear route of it's fast so it must be good is a big mistake.

fair enough if you want to drive fast then buy one of these cars.

if i was solely intersted in going fast though i'd buy a powerful turdo diseasel..

But thats the point, its not that fast...in a straight line that is, but is when you have some corners, It was a good drive.

No, that just means it grips. All modern Pugs have loads of grip, they have big tyres. They're still not enjoyable drives though

[Emubiker]

CampDavid said:

Emubiker said:

briSk said:

going down the american/top gear route of it's fast so it must be good is a big mistake.

fair enough if you want to drive fast then buy one of these cars.

if i was solely intersted in going fast though i'd buy a powerful turdo diseasel..

But thats the point, its not that fast...in a straight line that is, but is when you have some corners, It was a good drive.

No, that just means it grips. All modern Pugs have loads of grip, they have big tyres. They're still not enjoyable drives though

Well the one I had for a test drive was. What sort of tyres do you fit to you toy? do you deliberately fit ones with low grip levels or go for ones that will hold the road well? I personally dont like losing traction in a front wheel drive car, unless I mean too.

[briSk]

Emubiker said:

CampDavid said:

Emubiker said:

briSk said:

going down the american/top gear route of it's fast so it must be good is a big mistake.

fair enough if you want to drive fast then buy one of these cars.

if i was solely intersted in going fast though i'd buy a powerful turdo diseasel..

But thats the point, its not that fast...in a straight line that is, but is when you have some corners, It was a good drive.

No, that just means it grips. All modern Pugs have loads of grip, they have big tyres. They're still not enjoyable drives though

Well the one I had for a test drive was. What sort of tyres do you fit to you toy? do you deliberately fit ones with low grip levels or go for ones that will hold the road well? I personally dont like losing traction in a front wheel drive car, unless I mean too.

look i am not about to try and change your mind - if you like it then fair enough. if you honestly prefer it to the rs clio or rs twingo or 500 or any sort of BINI or or or..then fair enough it's up to you.

on the 'grip' issue - hopefully someone else can better communicate this than me but there's a big difference between grip or traction with feel than just grip. mechanical grip from a slippery diff or good damping or whetever is a joy. 'audi-like' grip for grip's sake is fine on a saloon but dullish in a hatch. this is very much from the point of view of someone who isn;t that fussed by absolute speed though..

[CampDavid]

Emubiker said:

CampDavid said:

Emubiker said:

briSk said:

going down the american/top gear route of it's fast so it must be good is a big mistake.

fair enough if you want to drive fast then buy one of these cars.

if i was solely intersted in going fast though i'd buy a powerful turdo diseasel..

But thats the point, its not that fast...in a straight line that is, but is when you have some corners, It was a good drive.

No, that just means it grips. All modern Pugs have loads of grip, they have big tyres. They're still not enjoyable drives though

Well the one I had for a test drive was. What sort of tyres do you fit to you toy? do you deliberately fit ones with low grip levels or go for ones that will hold the road well? I personally dont like losing traction in a front wheel drive car, unless I mean too.

Still missing the point by quite an impressive margin.

Grip does not equal good to drive, it also doesn't equal good handling.

The things that were so great about the 205/306/106 GTI were things like the handling feedback, the really sharp turn in, the way you could adjust the attitude of the car mid corner. They all feel really alive. None of the Peugeots I've driven after these (the 206, 308 etc.) feel like they've come from the same manufacturer.