Tuesday 27th June 2017

Peugeot 106 GTI: Spotted

If 205s, 306s and 309s are anything to go by, 106s won't stay cheap for long!

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Unless you've been hidden away in a cave for the past few years, it won't have escaped your attention that values for classic fast Peugeots have been climbing rather rapidly. Where once upon a time 205 and 306 GTIs were regular Shed fodder, even opportunities for the latter to feature are now very seldom. Where a nice 309 GTI was once sub-£2K, up to £10,000 is now being asked. Whatever next?

Original down to the stereo!

Well, the 106, if you want a straight answer. Prices for Rallyes are already going up, Series 1 cars carrying the cachet of genuine homologation and the 1.6-litre cars also appealing to the current lightweight, manual zeitgeist. It stands to reason, therefore, that the GTI will follow.

And why wouldn't it? The 106 GTI was, and remains, a very light, very fast and very pretty hot hatchback. It comes from a time when Peugeot were making fabulous hot hatches and the rest of the world really wasn't. Then the rest of the world was and Peugeot was making the 307 XSI, but let's not get drawn into that now.

It represents all that so many are coveting in classics nowadays, namely a return to the simpler times of fast cars with naturally aspirated engines, low kerbweights and manual gearboxes. The GTI ticks all of those boxes, with the added appeal of the car having never been replaced. 'Old school' is a hackneyed term but the Peugeot's combination of attributes isn't going to be repeated soon. Mainly because cars have to be safer now...

So it seems safe to say that the little Peugeot will become ever more desirable in the coming years. And this one looks like a little gem, especially at just £2,500. Oh sure, it was probably worth £1,500 a few years back, but there we are. It's Diablo Red - arguably the best colour for 106 GTIs - totally mechanically standard - no, seriously - and looks extremely good in the pictures. Indeed the only blemish is a dent in the bonnet but, come on, it's 20 years old and two thousand pounds - it won't be perfect.

Looking good...

And what else is there to consider? A Saxo VTS is the obvious choice as the mechanically identical twin, though it's less pretty and lacks the enviable heritage of Peugeot GTIs. Otherwise this is the era of the Corsa SRI (barely worth mentioning) the Ford Fiesta Zetec S (good, but a bit slow) and, a little bit later, the MG ZR too. 'Diamond in the rough' doesn't really seem adequate for the 106.

A GTI will need regular cambelt changes, and you'll need to ensure your feet fit too, though of course the benefit of having something so small is that consumables will typically be cheap. Where's the downside?

Overall then it really is quite hard to argue against the 106 if you like hot hatches. It's a reminder of all that was classically brilliant about the genre while still being modern enough to use on a regular basis. And £2,500 really isn't a lot of money - don't rue a missed opportunity...

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PEUGEOT 106 GTI
Engine: 1,587cc, four-cyl
Transmission: 5-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 120@6,600rpm
Torque (lb ft): 107@5,200rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: 201g/km
Recorded mileage: 76,000
Year registered: 1998
Price new: N/A
Price now: £2,500

See the original advert here

[Turbobanana]

Hey, Pistonheads: to supplement Shed of the Week (which seeks out sub-£1000 cars), could we instigate a slightly upmarket version aiming to find, say, the ultimate sub-£3000 car for those with a tad more to spend? A posher SOTW: "Summerhouse of the Week", if you will.

This looks good, and if it's anything like the S1 Rallye I used to have your feet will fit fine (I wear a size 11 and had no problems heel-and-toeing).

[culpz]

In terms of contenders to these, couldn't you get a Phase 1 Clio 172 at about the same time? Or did they come out a bit later on?

[sjg]

I spent much of my 20s in one of these - it's just coming up to 10 years since I sold it.

Utterly brilliant cars - on track, on B-roads, touring around Scotland or just driving back and forth to work. Rather tempted to seek out another before they become too rare and expensive.

edit: £10k for this, good lord You'd expect them to clean up the rocker covers for that...

[Mike1990]

Give that a 'detail' and it'll be on sale for 10k lol.

Think the Clio 172 came round in 2000 so quite a few years after the 106 GTi, tbh, I'd love a spin in any of these type of Hot Hatches from that era, small, light, N/A and fun. Yes the GTi/VTS's might have been the best around but there was always other alternatives to be had, good or bad. Can't be picky now as there's nothing left, and I'd love a Corsa B GSi/Sport lol, hell even a Corsa C 1.8 SRi, but then again I'am a Vauxhall fan.

Edited by Mike1990 on Tuesday 27th June 11:19

[sjg]

GTI was 1996, first Clio 172 was 1999 I think.

[suffolk009]

I would love a 106 Rallye. Probably an S2 in indigo blue. I blame Dickie Meaden.

Anyway, I haven't the room for another car, so I'll just have to add it to the list of cars that I wanted to buy, could have bought, but now (or soon) can't afford. Damnit.

[e414078]

I've seen the occasional '53 plate crop up, so very much overlapping the Clio 172.

I've owned both (the Clio is essentially better in almost all regards) but I lust more for the little Peugeot.

The chassis is pin-sharp, but perfectly matched to both the engine and brakes. It won't suffer fools mind (aggressive weight transfer at the limit) but this characteristic adds to both the challenge and reward.

I personally preferred my 106 to my 205 GTI.

[DugyC]

culpz said:

In terms of contenders to these, couldn't you get a Phase 1 Clio 172 at about the same time? Or did they come out a bit later on?

As previously stated, not the 172... though maybe you meant the Clio Williams which was definitely the same period.

[culpz]

DugyC said:

As previously stated, not the 172... though maybe you meant the Clio Williams which was definitely the same period.

No, i did mean to question the first gen 172 and i did presume it was a good few years after the 106 GTI was released. I just wanted to confirm.

[e414078]

culpz said:

No, i did mean to question the first gen 172 and i did presume it was a good few years after the 106 GTI was released. I just wanted to confirm.

Without resorting to forums/wiki I believe the phase 1 172 arrived in 1999/2000.

The 106 GTI continued into the 53' registration, possible '04, so both absolutely overlapped.

[s m]

e414078 said:

culpz said:

No, i did mean to question the first gen 172 and i did presume it was a good few years after the 106 GTI was released. I just wanted to confirm.

Without resorting to forums/wiki I believe the phase 1 172 arrived in 1999/2000.

The 106 GTI continued into the 53' registration, possible '04, so both absolutely overlapped.

Round about Spring 2003. Autocar did a hot hatch test at Rockingham and they had both the Saxo VTS and 106gti included as you could buy them new at the time.

[Dale487]

Thank god it's in Hampshire, otherwise I'd be £2.5K worse off.

I loved my 106 Quicksilver - bar the driving position - quick enough, fantastic handling & looked like a GTI but you could insure it.

[ambuletz]

Lusted after these when I first passed my test around '07. I could never insure one so it was all about wanting the quiksilver variant. Still cost too much for me and I had no money as I was a student. Some of the quiksilvers go for silly money (it should be within shed money). hate that the GTI's are so rare now

[Basil the 500]

I had a brand new silver one in '97.
The suspension was so firm that if you parked it on a camber it would "cock a leg" and stand on three wheels.
Cornered like a go-cart - so much so that the oil would swill to one side of the sump causing oil starvation / nasty top end noise.....wasn't going to last very long....
Great fun but built out of foil...don't have a crash in one.....went on to a new classic shape Scooby.....also made of foil...

[s m]

Basil the 500 said:

I had a brand new silver one in '97.
The suspension was so firm that if you parked it on a camber it would "cock a leg" and stand on three wheels.
Cornered like a go-cart - so much so that the oil would swill to one side of the sump causing oil starvation / nasty top end noise.....wasn't going to last very long....
Great fun but built out of foil...don't have a crash in one.....went on to a new classic shape Scooby.....also made of foil...

The similar Saxo VTS caused some consternation on Watchdog when people noticed that 'feature'

[lee_erm]

The Phase 1 172 had a 4* Euro NCAP rating, the 106gti/Saxo VTS didn't, to say the least!

For that reason a 172 gets my vote.

[tjlazer]

Come on, the 106 was and still is st. There's no way they have the same cult appeal as the original 205.

[Basil the 500]

tjlazer said:

Come on, the 106 was and still is st. There's no way they have the same cult appeal as the original 205.

A case of " rose tinted glasses" me thinks.
106gti was a fantastic little thing - as was the 205 from 13 years before.....
Based on experience - not having read someone else's opinion and regurgitated it

[Basil the 500]

[t4thomas]

A few interesting articles here on the 205 and 106.

205 Clicky

"And the 205 Rallye 1.3, that came in 1987 like the 1.9, literally was a piss take! Peugeot wanted to show that groupA as it was was an unfortunate top rally category. For the lowest up to 1300cc categories A5 & N1 they developed a 205 minus all gimmicks, super light and an engine that would have exactly 1299.9cc and with 4 huge carburettors it would deliver 100BHP already in road trim, just 30BHP down on the 1.9. The exact minimum number had been produced. This was like in the groupB days a homologation special, only that the minimum production number had been increased from 200 to 5,000 units. Clearly it was created to show off the FIA and their new rules, the car obviously cost much less than any bigger category homologation special, but why else would you create a homologation special for the class least likely to deliver overall results? Not surprisingly this car stayed a class winner for more than a decade, and it did so in such stunning way that it only stopped dominating when the FIA increased the max displacement for this class from 1300cc to 1400cc"

106 Clicky

"And if that is not convincing enough, the 205 GTI has become a legend for probably the best fun hot hatch ever. But several guys from Peugeot Cups in UK and France agreed the 106 even tops the legend for fun."