1989 Peugeot 205 GTi from UK and Ireland - Comments

Given a good set of twisties, I would smash a VXR out of the way with a wrecking ball to get to a 205 GTI.

There has never been a better handling front wheel drive car, and if progress since is anything to go by, there never will be.

If you want to reduce it to drag race performance, then the Pug is wasted on you anyway. That was never the 205's strength even when it was a current car. If you get out of a 205 GTI and performance is first and foremost on your mind, frankly you don't deserve to hold a driving license.

The 205 owners started it by saying they can do 0-60 in 6 seconds.

Never been a better front wheel drive car? I drive a Honda Integra Type R, and I beg to differ! It is the car voted as THE best FWD car ever made.

Yeah the Integra Type R is regarded as the best FWD car made, but they built a very limited number of them and cost the earth to run and insure! The 205 GTi came out in the early 80's and defined how a small hot hatch should perform, and out-handled bigger and more expensive cars! I think both cars are GREAT, but if you're on a budget and want a great handling car, then the 205 is probably your best bet.

U can pick up an integra type r for about £4000/£5000 now and the 205 gti has gone up in price because of lack of that many good examples left being an older car. as for insurance the teg is group 18 (think the 205 is group 15) not cheap, I'm 29 and pay £590 a year with 8 years no claim and 3 points. but being only a 1.8 VTEC you can get 35 mpg on a run and average 28mpg when booting it. worst I've ever had in 4 years of ownership is 23mpg, but that was booting it the whole tank full. a decent 1.9 205 gti will now set you back about 3 grand and cost nearly the same insurance and same fuel costs.

The 205 GTi is a great car, and personally doesn't need an engine swap, as the 1.6 and the 1.9 in original form are perfect for the great chassis it has. My opinion would to leave them standard!

Respect to the tegs, but I'm pretty sure an mi16 (that's 160bhp in standard form - difficult to get hold of, I grant, in an un-abused form), will give you a good run for your money. Remember, these are not the standard 205 1.9's, but that of the old school 405 mi16, dropped into the 205 chassis. Combined with twin 45 carbs, these cars really do fly. If you ever take one round a track, you will quickly realise that the performance quite easily matches that of more expensive cars such as bmw's (and even porches). But again, this is all relative to the tuning done to the engine.

Its getting harder and harder to tell on public roads, with the significant increase in traffic in the last 10-15 years (in safe conditions) but I've personally seen a 205 Mi16 quite easily keep up with Scooby WRX's that are flooring it.

Respect goes out to all that love their motors. Just keep it safe on the streets.

RaceMC.

The thing is that there are two types of MI16 engines; 160hp, and 150hp. The 150hp had more torque down low, so at least I prefer the older high revving 160hp version.

As for the 0-60 (or 0-100km/h) the standard 130hp 1.9 205 Gti takes 7.4 seconds. And add 30hp and more torque and you could easily get to 6-7 seconds. Tune it up, let it rev higher (it has a lot left unused in the high revs) than standard and you will get a low 6 with ease.

I don´t know what kind of car 205 is to drive, but I have driven 405 MI16, and all I can say it is a hoot to drive.

The only reason holding me back from getting 205 MI16 over 405 MI16 is the fact that is too small for me.

At least for me there is no other cars that can give the thrills for the same ammount of money (I repair cars for living so I have driven many). I mean even my 110hp and 730kg 1965 VW Bug does not give me the satisfaction that I got when I was driving my friends 405. You just can´t drive it without a big grin on your face.

Hi I'm currently building my own 205 mi16..it has kant cams, lsd gearbox,40mm throttle bodies, and a dta ecu. as the car its self I have an omp role-cage, spherical burings, bucket seats, gti subframes and racing springs and shock-absorbers..

What do you think will it be good?

I have a 205 GTi which started as a 115bhp 1.6. It now contains a XU engine from the 306 S16 with fast road cams, lightened bottom end, Gti-6 injectors & port & polished manifold. The engine is coupled to the original 1.6 box. I've had it dynoed at 180bhp at the flywheel.

The car weighs 800kgs and gets to 60 in 6 seconds dead.

I've owned 3 GTI's in the past, as well as a host of other cars including RS Turbo's, Cavalier Turbo's, Astra GTE's and GSI's, and a MR2 Turbo.

I've now got a company car, but im looking for a weekend thrash. A 205 GTI is top of my list. For what they cost, you cannot do better!

I think there are far too many kids posting comments about the 205 and what cars etc they have "raced"... I race (properly) a 205 GTI and although road legal is only used for motorsport.

The car will do 0-60 in 5.2 seconds. It is running 180 bhp with a tran-x LSD and semi slicks and weighs around 770 kg... a 205 with 160 bhp will do 0-60 in 6 seconds if you can get the power down.

You can read about our car here

http://www.driversdomainuk.com/motorsport/205-gti-project-2.shtml

All this chit chat about 0-60mph and power of the 205 1.9. I have a 1.9 that I have spent thousands on in the last few months. The only thing left to do soon is get some more power from the engine, thinking of the mi16, but also a turbo conversion but that is costly.

It's a real classic, mine is cherry red and polished every few weeks and gets so many looks. Yes, it will get smashed by VXRs and STs, but so what, just ain't all about straight line stuff. That's too easy, get down some country lanes and then let's see who comes out the other end first!

Had a 205 1.9 for many years. it's brilliant. I brought it back with me from Holland and haven't used it for 19 months.

I don't want to let it go. Just before I was going to import it (British plate+MOT, tax etc.), I was hit by an un-insured driver who doesn't know how to look to the right. But I'm sentimental and can't seem to part with it (it's been repaired more or less since). They feel sooo fast along the country lanes and are a good laugh to drive.

I drive a vtec japanese import Prelude now, it's 210bhp and fast as ****. It's sooo nice, the quality of build and ride make the Pug feel like a go-kart with a lid. But they are 2 completely different types of car, and it's unfair to compare them.

I love my Pug, but my next motor will be a Toyota Supra, which I am busy choosing right now.

At some point I will have to do something with the Pug, it can't stay rotting in the back yard, the thing still starts too with a charged battery.

They are fairly quick, but feel quicker than they are most of the time. Top little car, and an icon of early 90's motoring, and besides the Golf, the No2 hot hatch ever.

I recommend owning one if you're a petrol head, forget the mi16, just put some GSXR carbs on it, makes it fly and very revvy, a good exhaust and use Tesco 99 RON fuel. Don't bother with a turbo or 16v motor. You can get 145ish with a few mods. Enough for the Pug chassis and everyday reliability.

I have owned many 205 GTIs and currently own a JDM Integra Type-R. They are different cars so it is unfair to compare - although the running costs are surprisingly cheap with the Type-R - 32MPG mixed, which is better than my 205's ever managed!

I must admit I still dream of my old 205's though, and wonder if I made the right choice "growing up" and away from 205's - admittedly the rattle free and air conditioned Integra is more modern, but there's nothing more fun than a 205 for a country drive - one of the best handling cars I've ever driven. I've had a thousand times more fun in a 205 than I ever will in my Integra :)