2002 Peugeot 206 XS review from Netherlands

Surprisingly for a Peugeot, this car has never really let me down so far. Not even rattles and squeaks. I only saw the dealer with the delivery of the car. Its first service is due now, at 20000 km.

There are a few minor electrical problems, though. One day the dashboard completely went nuts, all indicators fell to zero, the red STOP light started to flash. But before I could park my car on the hard shoulder, everything went back to normal. It never occurred again, though sometimes I see the STOP light flashing briefly.

Finally, the aircon is getting smelly.

I had to replace the right front headlight bulb last week: it took me an hour to replace! The engine bay is so full, you have to remove the filler pipe from the windscreen washer tank and still you need long, thin fingers to get the headlight cover off.

Another annoying design feature is the automatic windshield wiper interval speed setting, because at motorway cruising speed it is often too fast. I can recommend the rain sensor option.

But that does not outweigh the luxury and performance of this little car. Its 2 liter common-rail Diesel engine makes the car go like a rocket, the engine's torque is great, the road holding is superb, with 195/55 tires on 15" alloys the cornering is precise and the seats in this XS model are very good, mine has the all-leather option. And it's not just the inside, the outside looks very, very good too!

The only thing really disappointing to this car is its fuel mileage. Before this car was delivered to my, I drove a bigger, heavier VW Golf TDI, which easily did 5 l./100 km. The 206 HDi with the same driver and the same roads does 6 l./100 km average. But then again, the VW is much less fun driving, looks as astonishing as a milk carton and for the price of my almost full-option 206 I can't even get a basic VW.