By blackdice23
on 4th Jan 2005
blackdice23's Ratings| Year Manufactured | 1992 |
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| Length of ownership | 2 Years |
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| Performance | 9/10  |
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| Practicality | 9/10 |
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| Reliability | 6/10 |
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| Value for money | 10/10 |
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| Overall value | 10/10 |
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 blackdice23's recommendation |
Good Points
Classic styling, great engine note, very revvy, broad power range, inexpensive performance, becoming very scarce
Bad Points
Harsh ride, a bit rattly, many are beyond repair
General Comments
What needs to be said about the Peugeot 205 GTi 1.6? Popular convention states that the VW Golf GTi was the first hot hatch. This is true, but the 205 was the pioneer. Even now, it is still cool. The name of the hot hatch, for most manufacturers, has been sullied by pink Nova's and slammed Golf's, but the 205 is a true enthusiasts rollerskate. Conceived in 1984, before the age of 'practicality' and 'emissions' and 'health & safety', and perfected over the next decade, Peugeot had only one concern: thrills!
My car is a 1992 1.6, on a K-plate, Miami Blue and one of the last 1.6's ever built. I bought it for 850 pounds while on just over 100,000 miles, and the engine is still a peach. I spent about one hundred quid getting an intermediate service (plugs, oil, injector clean, leads, filters etc), which is very cheap, and the results were fantastic! These cars are French, and getting old now, so they're never going to be as well built as a Golf from the same year, but when looked after, a 205 will just run and run.
She looks incredble too. Since mine is a late model, all the plastics are black, as opposed to grey. The black trim looks far better, and the grey tends to react badly to sunlight and poor car shampoo, but looked after well, they can really turn heads. A whole brand new set of side time and bumpers can still be purchased in black, which I would recommend! Miami Blue is a timeless colour, and black and silver pollish up brilliantly too. The red cars are more common and fade badly, so are not as eye-catching. The rarest of colours is Topaz Blue, with is a light sky blue in metalic, and only available on the early models.
The wheels on the 1.6 compliment the car perfectly, however many are in poor condition. Wheels make or brake a car, so keep them gleaming for the full effect. A set of refurbished wheels will set you back less than a hundred quid. Since this is a finely balanced performance car, the biggest expendeture, apart from the Shell Optimax, are tyres. There's no point sticking cheap remolds on a GTi, so get a decent set of Goodyear F1's or Toyo's, they look fantastic and enhance the driving experience greatly.
Like I said, the engines on these cars are amazing, but may have had a tough life. Although my car has done over 100,000 miles, a little care and attention made it run like it was brand new. The first thing I did was change the oil. I performed an engine flush with the old oil and a cleaner, then filled it with semi-synthetic. I then replaced the oil, fuel and air filters. Don't be tempeted to used performance parts! The GTi left the factory in optimum tune, a K&N WILL lose you some performance. I replaced the plugs and leads, then scrubbed the whole engine with a cleaner and a pressure washer, as a finishing touch. My engine buliding mate was blown away! Infact, I'm a bit obsessive about cleaning cars, especially ones as pretty as the 205 GTi, I think it just adds to the whole owning experience. Finally, I filled the tank with Shell Optimax, and put DOUBLE the dose of injector cleaner. I thrashed the engine, allowing it to relish in the clean up, and it responded in kind, with more power and a solid idle. However, the best is to come... the rolling road. For about 80 quid, you can get the full tune-up, and for an old and sensitive motor like this i'd recommend it. The roller experts ran the car, diagnosed what was wrong (my car was topping out at 110mph, and it should be doing 120 with ease), then re-tuned accordingly. My 205's timing was retarded, so the problem was fixed on the spot and set to run on Shell Optimax. Now she's a peach, and still puts a massive smile on my face everytime I just climb in.
Speaking of which, the interior, especially on the late models, is very comfortable. Ok so there is better out there, but compared to it's contemporaries, and even the more recent 106, it's positivly luxurious. Supportive sports seats, a dark, cozy surrounding, small, chunky leather stearing wheel, and brght red carpet make the car feel special. The doors shut with a quality 'clunk', and the central locking sounds mechanical and brutal. The driving position is low-slung, yet provides loads of vision around the car. The bronze-tinted windows eliminate glare, making for a more comfortable drive.
I could go on, but I'm sure you have realised that I couldn't be happier with my 205 GTi 1.6! I love it so much, I even cleaned our garage, which had been filled with assorted junk for 20-odd years, just to give it a warm, fry home over winter.
My bottom line is: get yourself a GTi and spend the same amount getting it sweet, and I PROMISE you won't get more thrills for you money.
kyudan
on 3rd Oct 2005
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