1990 Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9 from UK and Ireland - Comments

Owned the car from new, so a few entries here:

Appalling build quality, so rattles and squeaks throughout from day one.

Poor hot starting / idling from new. Improved by dealer, but never really cured.

Head gasket popped at 14,000 miles (warranty)

Crank angle sensor and ECU at 21,000 miles (warranty)

Rear suspension bushes at 30,000 miles (warranty)

Stolen and recovered twice in a week in 1993 (55,000 miles)

Clutch at 70,000 miles

Rear suspension rebuilt at 95,000 miles to cure banging and pant-soiling oversteer. The standard lift off oversteer of the 205 is pleasant. This was something else altogether.

General odds and ends you'll find in any 13 year old car.

I got this as a company car in 1990 after owning a 1.6 version for three years, and bought it off the company at three years old. If you understand what these cars are about, they just grab you and refuse to let go.

Yes, they're quick, although VTEC Civics and Astra 16v's will just about see them off in a straight line. A good 1.9 kicks out 130 bhp which is pathetic by modern standards, but it's only pushing 800-odd kg along, instead of the 1200-odd of your modern hot hatch. 0-60 in the low 7's and enough top end to get you very seriously banned.

But the corners are the 205's ace. Nobody has ever built a hot hatch that handles or steers like this one. A flick of oversteer here, a little four wheel drift there. Nothing else has this kind of agility, least of all the current batch of hot hatches. You can steer this car as effectively with the throttle as you can with the steering. It is still capable of obliterating pretty much anything on a familiar twisty B-road and can be pushed way past its limits of adhesion and still remain controllable. It does bite, particularly if you lift carelessly when committed to a corner, but it's a small price to pay for this kind of handling performance.

It's a Pug so the build quality is crap, and it does suffer from odd faults now and again. But for a rush and for sticking a grin on your face, the two most important features in a hot hatch, it's still the daddy. Find one before the Max Power lot "improve" them all and destroy the fine balance of attributes that every motoring mag on the planet agree make this little car the most entertaining hot hatch ever built.

Hi!

Since you own the car for so many years - I coundn't find any information on fuel consumption. Some people wrote, that it drinks a lot, others say it doesn't...

Thanks!

To the originar reviewer: I couldn't agree more with you on the Pug's handling.

I have owned 2 1.6 and now have a 1.9,i love to see all these great reviews and people obviously enjoying there pugs like I do. in answer to the question regarding petrol consumption... i don't know mpg, but for a tenner in the 1.6 you can get 70 miles which is good and the 1.9 about 55 at a push. hope this helps a bit. would reccomend them to any1!all the best.

Great review there, especially the reference to 'pant-soiling over-steer'. I once ran out of tread at the back, and when it rained a quick trip down a lane felt like a ride at Alton Towers.

Economy-wise, a K&N air filter improves things greatly - I get 35-38 mpg from my 113k 1990 1.9, with a mix of motorway, urban and b-road driving. Previously I would only get around 30-32!

Totally agree!

It's a legend for a reason, and in my humble opinion the best hot-hatch ever made!

Fantastic cars, that have been abused by boy-racers, so try and get a good one before the price's soar through the roof!

If you don't believe me, I paid 850GBP for a low mileage one 4 years ago, and as I have kept it totally original (even has original stereo!) and looked after it, I've had 3 people offer over 2300GBP!

Never will sell it until I get a REALLY stupid offer, that I can't refuse!