1990 Peugeot 205 GTi from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

As many people have tried to explain already, different cars in different countries, require completely different set-ups!!

I'm not going to explain myself as other people have commented on the 205 Gti perfectly already!

Oh and the reason why the camaro is cheaper than the BMW M5 is because of the overall package, the bmw won't probably breakdown every 10 minutes!

Oh 1 more thing! Just watched Clarksons new dvd and it shows an Lotus Elise up against a big meaty Mustang around a track that HAS corners and guess what car takes the flag first?

The lotus, with its little 1.8 engine and probably the finest car set-up in the world!

Its strange really that us Europeans can achieve at least 400bhp from a big v8 that's 4 litre, but yet our friends across the pond need 6-8 litres!

Sorry for the long comment!

The 205 is a ledgend! The camaro = LOL gas guzzler with bad brakes and even worse handling!

I completely agree that different countries need different vehicle types. My problem is just that Europeans just pass off our cars as junk when really they're very good for our country. That's why I get annoyed with snooty, biased people like Clarkson.

And by the way, on average European cars are more unreliable then American ones! That's a commonly known fact, I'm surprised you didn't know that, not to mention they have outrageous maintence costs.

Actually I watched Clarkson's new movie too, and how can you possibly take it seriously? That's the one where they compare how fast an Ariel Atom goes around a track compared to a Dodge Ram Hemi! Come on, how stupid of a comparison is that?! They also race a Chrysler 300 against a V10 BMW that's twice as expensive! Give me a break!! Clarkson is a complete moron if he makes thinks anyone is going to take those comparisons seriously!

And as far as the 205 Poogot, I really have no idea about how good of a car it is, I'm sure it's great for England, but how can you say the Camaro has bad brakes and even worse handling, or is a worse gas guzzler then a M5? Have you ever driven one? I doubt it.

'And by the way, on average European cars are more unreliable then American ones!'

I doubt this, but even if were true, it's only because many American cars have the technology of a 1970's European car, and therefore have less that can go wrong with them.

As Clarkson said when reviewing the Ford GT, American engineers need to test their cars in a gorge in the south of France, then not only would they realise what a corner is, but also how poor their cars are.

American cars are more reliable, but the European brands are doing better then they were (which is good).

As far as American cars having technology from European cars from the '70's, I frankly find that comment laughable. You obviously don't know anything about our cars. First of all, they are advanced, maybe not overly complicated like european brands, but advanced enough. You've probably never heard of On Star and XM satellite radio and auto track and the stuff we use.

And you'd have to explain to me why automotive designers for American cars should test cars in France. Why would we do that?! We're not designing our cars for France! Did you consider that maybe America isn't like Europe? We have mostly straight wide interstate freeways and don't need a tight suspension with a jarring ride for going around corners in France! Our cars don't go to France! And we don't like their Perrier either!

To the american guy, if you have'nt driven a 205 GTi why comment on it?

There is no need in trashing other cars because of their engine size and so on, as bringing over your camaro to Englands shore's I can pretty much garuntee your car will be like a fish out of water!

As like the 205 GTi in the states!

All I can say is why don't you stop trashing the 205 GTi and join in the banter under Car Survey.org/camaro as I bet you can find some chums there!

Anyway just had my 1.9 re-tuned to its original spec (nearly) and all I can say is WOW! If you have'nt done it guys, please do it as when it went onto the rolling road it was only producing 85bhp!

Keep them standard and keep them away from the boy racer crowd pleae people!!

Other than that enjoy probably the best GTi ever made and probably its never going to be bettered!

Happy M3 and 205 GTi owner. :-)

<<American cars are more reliable, but the European brands are doing better then they were (which is good).

As far as American cars having technology from European cars from the '70's, I frankly find that comment laughable. You obviously don't know anything about our cars. First of all, they are advanced, maybe not overly complicated like european brands, but advanced enough. You've probably never heard of On Star and XM satellite radio and auto track and the stuff we use.

And you'd have to explain to me why automotive designers for American cars should test cars in France. Why would we do that?! We're not designing our cars for France! Did you consider that maybe America isn't like Europe? We have mostly straight wide interstate freeways and don't need a tight suspension with a jarring ride for going around corners in France! Our cars don't go to France! And we don't like their Perrier either!>>

HMMMM, if Americans don't want/need tight suspensions you'll have to explain why BMW makes most of its money here. And Porsche. And Ferrari.

American cars are advanced? Guess you'll have to explain why ABS is NOT standard on every GM car even though GM ran an ad campaign more than 10 years ago stating that every car had it. Guess ABS doesn't quality as "advanced" in your book. Then lets move on to American manufacturers continued push to DEFEAT safety advances such as one "piece" seatbelts, airbags, safety cells, and more. Guess those aren't "advances" either.

And OnStar is advanced? Everytime I've used it the operator is not only an idiot, but has directed me to the WRONG location, to places that did not even exist (like a restaurant that closed down seven years ago, but she kept insisting was there), and didn't even know what state I was in (I asked for a location in California and she gave me directions to a place in New Jersey because the towns had the same name).

And every restaurant I've been to has Perrier available. Guess you'll have to broaden your horizons beyond fast food.

First of all, I'm not the person that made the comment about the Camaro in 2004, frankly I think he went over the top and could have been more civil.

Second, I'm not bashing the Peugeot, I bet it's a really good car for Europe, but the only reason I commented at all was to point out that a lot of things that have been said here about American cars simply isn't true.

'HMMMM, if Americans don't want/need tight suspensions you'll have to explain why BMW makes most of its money here. And Porsche. And Ferrari.'

If that is true, then it's for several reasons, one is that America has 300 million of the worlds wealthiest people! So if there's status symbols to be bought, some Americans will, just because they're expensive. And as far as I know, most BMW's are either SUVs or huge sedans and the ones that I see aren't great at handling, the auto cross I go to is dominated by SRT-4's, Mitsubishi Evolutions and Corvettes not BMWs. As far as ABS goes, not everybody wants it! I think having it as an option is perfectly reasonable. I don't know what you are talking about with seat belts and airbags, all modern American cars have that, duh! The perrier thing was a joke, but I don't see it even at fancy restaurants anymore. But seriously, I think we should let people get back to their conversation about the Peugeot 205 tho, and stop wasting time with this American car bashing garbage.

To the guy who has an M3 and a 205 GTi, I just want to say you are a lucky git! :-)

I don't want to start this silly war of cars from different continents, but it was the guy from the states who made a joke of the 205 in the first place, so you should appreicate people getting a bit annoyed as he had no case to argue!

I don't have a 205 GTi (yet) but was considering buying one from JustGTi's as too many of them have now have been thrashed to within an inch off their live's.

If anyone has bought a car from their I would appreciate any feedback given before parting with 3k.

Thanks.

I'm a female and own a Peugeot 205 1.6 and I found it reliable and one of these most fun cars to drive. To say that European cars are no good is ridiculous, American cars just have to have different priorities. American cars tend to only be bigger because they have the space to do it. Us Europeans have a lot to conform to under EU legislation. Besides you can hardly compare the two as Americans don't pay anywhere near as much for fuel as Europe does so they can afford to drive around in massive gas guzzling cars, Europe probably just wishes it could. Myself excluded.

Just to fight the british corner, Clarkson denounces american cars as rubbish because of their cheap and dated engineering practices. For example their refusal to use anything other than leaf springs in their suspension setups. I am generalising and there are some very good cars out there (Corvette z06), but the reason the european cars are more expensive is due to the money they put into development. Also back on the subject of 205 gti, I would be interested in seeing the power to weight ratios of the 205 and 350bhp camaro, I bet there isn't too much in it!

So XM satellite radio is advanced? That isn't even really a feature of the car - it's just the radio. Doesn't everyone plug in their iPod or CD in these days anyway?

The american engines are not nearly as advanced as what car makers in Europe and Japan are producing, nor are they as economical. I live in New Zealand and have a 90 205gti 1.9, which does around mid 30s mpg. I'd like to know your fuel consumption of your Camaro.

Clarkson, just remember, really rates the GM owned Holden HSV (VXR) which borrows the 5.7 V8 LS3 engine straight out of the Corvette. So obviously the americans are not doing something right with your Camaro for him to not like them very much.

I suspect that our American cousin has yet to drive a European hatchback with a small (less that 4 litres) engine, but given oil is expected to to hit the $200 per barrel mark by the end of the year, he may well be experiencing it in the near future!

I was transferred to Houston year ago and had to leave my beloved 205 1.9 back at home (with my Subaru WRX). What a loss! I've tested quite a few cars in US (Evo 9 was closest to 205) and finally got BMW 330i and new Golf GTI. Each of them is good and probably faster then 205. But none of them even close to joy and ride of 205. Golf is very good in a corner, but 205 cornering is by itself. The Golf is good on torque and power. But the 205 is far away ahead with crisp engine response and overall balance. I missing it a lot, specifically in Texas where driving is such a boring thing. But the 205 is never boring. At least for me.

PS: I greatly respect all good cars - either European, Japanese or American. But still looking for something that is better than a 205.