Had an H reg 205GRD - I put 100,000 miles on it, then sold it to a friend who ran it to 320,000 miles, properly wearing it out. It's the only car i've owned that I wish i'd kept.
Had a L reg 205 1.8 diesel. Was epic on fuel. Was gutless when I drove it to Cornwall on the hills. Best part was when being tailgated by a BMW switching from 5th to 3rd and covering them in smoke
I’m pretty sure these later diesels had a taller final drive making them gutless as I took a box out of a Lreg & put it in a G reg & it slowed it up exactly the way the L reg was.
As a kid in the 90's, I used to sit in the boot in a red 205 when all the seats were filled. Often going on holiday to pontins in Wales, which at that time felt like visiting a foreign country (because Welsh).
@@peterw4338 You had it good, we had to sit on the roof while dad tried to throw us off on the sharp bends, and if we did fall of why he would reverse over us and murder us. You try telling the kids these days and they won't believe you. :)
@@PJBonoVox I had to crawl into the engine and make sure the valves kept in time as I was the musical one of the family. Always came out a bit oily, but life was tough when we were children.
I had a 205gti 1.6 in white back in the day. Great car! Cars were so much more interesting in the 80s and 90s, they just all got so complicated and similar after that.
I treated myself to a new 205 XLD in April 1989...to use for work. Super little car, in every way, and totally reliable. 55mpg too. Sold it on at 350,000 miles, still going strong.
Well done on keeping yours in such great condition! It doesn't even have the cracked dash that every 205 you see now has in the exact same place (inc mine). I'm still running my petrol 1.1 around after 18yrs. Love it.
Possibly the best supermini hatch, in the diesel versions anyway, with everything perfectly balanced and great toughness too. How I remember fierce Norfolk winters and warming/defrosting mine while eating breakfast. Then I was off in a warm car with clear glass and they never seemed to steam up. Peugeots lost their way after the 205 and became tacky and too reliant on bad electronics and I never went back to the brand.
The 205 is arguably the best looking, well styled cars ever - iconic really. Fabulous design and handling - I’ve driven a few. Funny how cars like these, 106, 306, 405 and 406 were all fine riding and class leading for handling and ride thanks to PROPER engineering and not computers and tech. Cars have definitely gone backwards. Great review Ian
Have some great memories traveling hundreds of miles to Cornwall in the blistering summer heat in our 1.4 GR as a kid. I remember thinking at the time how good the ride quality was and appreciating the soft seats. She did like to smoke though!
I reem to recall that the G in GR stands for five doors. The three doors got an X instead so the equivalent of this would be XR. I grew up in an early GL 1.1, 1984 I think. Very bare bones, you didn't even get proper vents for the side windows. Nor a glovebox lid.
Worked on loads of these. Ahh those were the days when you could change a headlight bulb in 30 secs and for a quid without having to remove the front wheel, wheel arch liner, front bumper, wing, bonnet, subframe, engine, transmission etc etc etc
3:46 Where the hell did usable rear windscreens go anyway? It seems like modern cars have a rear windscreen just for the sake of having it and not for any practical purpose.
Crash protection I imagine. It's ironic though that the high boot lines and lack of rear window on modern cars actually hinder your view of the road in front.
Same with the side windows TBH. Most modern cars have such tiny rear side windows that they make the rear feel cramped, whereas this little 205 is like sitting in a conservatory by comparison. Perhaps the worst modern offender for a cramped rear I can think of is the Toyota CHR. Might as well not have rear windows at all in that for all the good they are 🤮
Sadly prices are so inflated now on the GTI they are unobtainable. A chap I know has a fully restored example of a 1.9 in near mint condition but would you really pay £22,000 for it? Having had 2 I can say it won’t be me buying it for that money.
Very informative! Love the snippets of engineering trivia (diesel engines don’t produce intake vacuum like petrol engines do) Your background knowledge impressive, please do more!
Have owned a 91 1.9 gti for last 18years.Now in South West France going to classic meets and jollies out with a large group of car nuts.Registered with FFVE here so recognized as a classic. Will keep for a long time to come.
I must get around to reregistering my RHD 1991 1.6 automatic with the FFVE. Controle Technique less strict and only every five years 😉. I wish I could afford a GTI but prices have gone crazy! As for the stripped Rallye version...😳
Ian, I love the expression on your face when your driving a car that you are having a lot of fun in. You hide it quite well but having watch so many of your films it is something we Hubnut nuts spot. Great little cars, you really should have one on the fleet.
I learned to drive in a Peugeot 206, except for one lesson when it was in the garage for warranty work, for that lesson I had a red 3dr 205 Mardi Gras. The 205 was far better car to drive!
I've got a real soft spot for the 205, I used to lust after one years ago as a paperboy cycling past a 1990 black GTi every day. Ended up with a very un-Hubnut 208 GTi which is also a fantastic little car and I'm sure this is due to my childhood infatuation with the 205.
I had a diesel one and was blown away by how comfy and smooth it was, and good on fuel, oh and they don't seem to rust! Interiors are a let down because of weak plastic and the heater controls often seem to pack in but still better than most other cars of the age and size. I later bought a Roland Garros 1.4 one, and I was astonished at how quick it was. You can keep the GTI. That Garros was plenty quick enough, and had the cheaper tax.
These 205 diesels are great. I learnt to drive in one and it was such a forgiving little car to drive. All them years ago when reversing around corners was a thing that you learnt. Apparently not these days!!
I learned to drive in 2016 before they took away the reverse round a corner. Things have changed a lot since I passed my test actually, suppose I should be grateful!!
I had a pre-facelift 205 GLD from 1985 with gingercators and a different dashboard and stalks, bought in 1996 for little money because my Opel Kadett was stolen. When the Kadett was retrieved with a broken steering rack (the thief did that to break the lock) I decided to give that car to a friend and keep the 205, despite it was a very very tatty car. With this car I learned to change oil myself and do bodgy repairs, one day I used a jump start cable to connect the battery ground to chassis because the ground cable connector had split in half. The engine was so lovely and kept running, started even at -15, I've driven it everywhere and only once broke down (quite spectacularly, with a short and an electrical fire). Eventually sold the car for 50 when MOT ran out and cambelt needed replacing.
In my 30 years of driving I've never had a Peugeot,I've had Vauxhall's, Citroen's,Volvo's, Ford's,but all that is due to change,we are due to pick up a brand new 5008 GT,and I'm looking forward to it,can't wait...
Used to work for Peugeot back in the 90's, painted lots of these, GTI's usually, Rouge Vallelunga being the most often crashed! Lazer green and miami blue on the later ones looked great as did the rare Sorento green. Very flimsy panels though and like the 405, didn't crash well compared to 309/504.
Ian, just bought a 1991 Aussie Spec Peugeot 205 Si last week for Zacky our 12 year old whom you met here in Sydney. He is going to make it a rallye spec and use it to compete in Junior Motorkhana's here in Sydney. Have a post up on the AS forum. Great review, my sister had a 205 GRD back in the early 90's! Take care
Damn, that looks practically new…I would have love to have seen those in Canada, but Chrysler had taken over distribution and Peugeot, Renault disappeared fairly quickly there after….missed out on some good stuff..
Thanks Hub Nut this video brought back many memories as I learnt to drive in an 1986 GLD. A few years later I was looking for a diesel but bought a GTI instead, now i'm much older (and possibly wiser) I have a hankering for a 205 diesel again.
Yes my Peugeot 106 xnd i would say all round best car ever own. Nothing to get excited about, but could chuck around roundabouts, kept me dry, 69mpg. Run at times on veg oil. Drop the seats i got 10 traffic light heads in the cabin. Had it from 65 to 153 k miles. Bought for 1500 quid under sold it for 300. Wish i still had it as a knock about car.
@@andrewhaines8603 very true, cars are becoming disposable. Manufacturers only care about the first owner and them getting out of the warranty. Full of electrical gremlins and poor quality engineer and components.
@@classicshit2 gone are the days when Sunday morning the "man of the house" would wash the family car , then tinker under the bonnet, making sure all was good. Open the bonnet today and it's a sea of plastic covers hiding everything. Once you've broken half the lugs and fixings off these to get to the engine, you find you either can't get access to the part required, as Ian has demonstrated, or you need 'special tool 159-6/3' to extract said item!
One of Peugeot’s greatest hits. Pretty much the perfect all round car. I believe the Citroen Visa 17D had a 0-60 time of around 11 or 12 seconds so this 205 must be about the same. I had an early 1990s n/a diesel 205 in mind as a replacement when I wrote off my Fiat Tempra 20 years ago but I erroneously bought something else.
@@julienbee3467 Some time after my Diesel 205s I had a couple of decaying 17D Visas as runabouts. I'd confirm they were faster, likely due to less weight and one of them had a 'sports exhaust' made of large bore flexible conduit, bodged on after much of the silencing fell off ; that certainly made it sound like a racing machine .
If only Peugeot made cars as good as this now. I had one many years ago same spec as this one. 60 plus mpg very reliable and once you got the hang of it good fun to drive. I used it for courier work oil and filter every 2 weeks. Coolant flush every 3 months. Front pads 120k clutch well it was on the original one at 350k when it hit by a truck and written off. Had a 1.9 405 diesel estate after that.
6:30 : In the huge engines list for the 205, you can add the Simca/Talbot (Poissy) pushrods engines: the 1.1, 1.3 (205 XA, commercial type) and 1.6 (205 GTX). These are same engines found in the Talbot Horizon/Solara, earlier Peugeot 309 and some Citroen C15). The 1.9 XUD diesel has been mounted in the 205 in some countries like Germany, instead of the 1.8 XUD, because of emission norms. At the end, the 205 had 21 different engines, that's insane. 8:55 : The GR is the mid-specs. 3 doors / 5 doors versions : base trim : XE / GE, low trim : XL / GL, mid trim : XR / GR, high trim : - / SR, sport trim : XS / GT. Great video with very accurate information ! Please do a video with the Turbo-D version !
Speed bumps don’t exist in PSA cars of this era....the faster you go over them the less you notice them.....In the 205 the diesel was always the one to have.....complete reliability and enough torque to only use 1st gear for hill starts or when fully loaded.... motorway cruising and economy was off the scale for a small car.....need to do a test on CITROEN BX TZD the 1.7 turbo diesel and the BX suspension made the car fantastic for longer journeys......
I saw one of these driving by a couple of days ago use to see them all the time , however you hardly see them any more same with the old mk 4 and 5 fiesta and k11 micra they used to be every where , my first car was 98 micra 1.3 SI
Peugeot was always known for its supple, composed ride for decades, one reason you chose one. An amazing example, very well kept and looked after! Whilst driving, it didn't seem you were travelling at 60 mph at all! Glorious scenery; rolling green hills with some homes with an abundance of flowers 💐 that shows you summer is here, simply stunning! Also nice to see it also has good handling, a torqy diesel (we did have diesels in the 505, unfortunately not the 405, the final Peugeot to grave US 🇺🇸 soil) and a nice, comfortable interior! Another excellent review Sir HubNut!
Must be slow as piss and awful. My 1L petrol was slow enough. It also managed to have understeer and oversteer. Absolutely all the paint fell off too LOL.
I love these. My mum owned a petrol C plate one in the early 90s. It was the first car I drove solo after passing my test in 1992. It was a great little car. So easy to drive. I remember the sound of the engine. The styling still looks fresh. Will always be a great memory for me 👍
I had a 205 diesel 'junior' version for 10yrs. I loved it it was so simple to work on. The interior ended up falling apart but the engine had years more life in it. I believe there is a marinised version of the engine as well.
A BX diesel, just with less hydraulics and kilos: Must be good! Loved the torque in the BX. I owned an fuel injected 1360cc 205 cabrio a few years ago, wow it could drive!
These were everywhere when I was young!! The village publican had 2 in a row, a B reg GRD followed by a D reg GRD that he had for years!! The Vicars wife had one, a J reg GLD.....Blackshaws in Derby and Appleyard in Chesterfield couldn’t pump them out quick enough........
My dad bought a 1990 pre-facelift GLD as a second car soon after I passed my test. Brilliant little car, loads of torque, excellent handling and never seemed to get less than 50mpg no matter how you drove it. I still miss it 30-odd years later.
First diesel I ever drove after my driving test was one of these with a tuned engine and rally e body kit. Put it this way I got back in my N reg Ford escort and cried a little inside.
I had one in early 90s and it was very fast. Used to commute between Bournemouth and Basingstoke daily. Only issues i had were a fuel sender that didnt work, brake lights stopped working and the injector pump had a leak. Think my Skoda fabia VRS diesel was the only faster car i've had.
Loved my 205 trio.Ragging it down back roads at night was great fun, only drawback of these diesels is the high tax which makes it difficult to justify it as a second car.
"The original 206 was launched in the form of a hatchback in 1998 and had seen over 5.4 million global sales by December 2005. The car remains Peugeot's *best-selling vehicle to date* with 5.1 million sold in Europe and *8.3 million globally."* nortonway.com So, if appeal is measured by sales, it *did have the appeal* :)
I had a 206 GTi and loved it. Not as focused as the 205 GTi, but still a better handling road car than just about anything else. More civilised, too. You could get both air conditioning and power steering in the same car, rather than either/or as I understand in the 205. When the 206 was released here in Australia, there was a 3 month wait.
I had a 205 but definitely prefer the 309, the boot was massive compared to the 205 but drove the same if not better. Mine was the very Hub Nut Zest model with green/blue deck chair seats 👍
We had an A reg 205 GRD as a replacement for a Golf diesel - a huge improvement, comfortable, much quieter, faster it was altogether brilliant. Followed that with a 1.6 GTI - great to drive but frustrating in that I always seemed to get caught behind less capable machines! Another GRD followed that and finally the best of the lot, the 205 diesel turbo which we had for 100K miles. Nothing matched them.
One of your best vids to date. Worryingly good production quality 😉. Bordering 80's Top Gear without the Woolarding. Fond memories of the 205 Diesel in poverty spec.
First diesel car was a 205 GRD. Great car even had my own diesel tank and bought fuel in bulk. Later on oldest daughter had a 205 GLD ( wee Pete ) who remained in the family for years. Sadly missed
Great HubNut presentation with fun 'tidbits' of automotive history, the 205 still is a classy motorvehicle, from this 5 dr. family spec to the 1.9 GTI prefarably all black, red interior with those epic alloy wheels👍
Lovely stuff! I wondered when you'd do a video on a little XUD pugger, I still miss the L plate in the same colour I had as my first car. Drove the thing around Germany and Austria and never missed a beat. Even for a lanky so and so like me it was comfortable enough to drive all day. Only time anything went wrong was when the radiator inlet pipe rusted through during the cold Tirolean winter, and when I had a hard time sourcing a replacement windscreen when the poor thing was pelted with icy golf balls during a vicious hailstorm. In the end a bodged rust repair by a previous owner and a knackered suspension at 150k miles did for it. Performance was fairly weak, though it could accelerate to 40 comfortably, anything after that wasn't so quick. Which was perfectly fine for me, though it would have annoyed Mrs Lackadaisical if she'd driven it then. The handling and sharpness was so much better than cars these days.
Great video Ian, always had a love for the 205 since working at a Peugeot Talbot dealer in 1989 washing cars. I now own a 1.1 petrol and it is fantastic in all the ways you describe, even without power steering. Sacre numero!
"Some blanking plugs to remind you of what you haven't got". A splendid metaphor for life in general.
Had an H reg 205GRD - I put 100,000 miles on it, then sold it to a friend who ran it to 320,000 miles, properly wearing it out. It's the only car i've owned that I wish i'd kept.
Yep great engine. I have an Auncle that worked for Perkins and said that Peugeot diesel was the engine to have at the time.
An Auncle gives you an Aunt and an Uncle all in one. 😆
@@peterriggall8409 Funny you say that. Mum had the 1.6 GTi , we loved to floor it 🤫
@@peterriggall8409 yeah. Auncle is all inclusive 😅
@@kamrankhan-lj1ng Ahh, very politically correct in these modern enlightened times. Go to the top of the class.... :-)
Had a L reg 205 1.8 diesel. Was epic on fuel. Was gutless when I drove it to Cornwall on the hills. Best part was when being tailgated by a BMW switching from 5th to 3rd and covering them in smoke
I used to do that to a 1.9gti driver in my R800 VM diesel, every weekday morning. Magic.
I’m pretty sure these later diesels had a taller final drive making them gutless as I took a box out of a Lreg & put it in a G reg & it slowed it up exactly the way the L reg was.
Oh yeah,that smoke screen tactic is very useful,drop a gear,floor it "oh sorry,I was trying to speed up like you want me to do". 😂
I have an early 1990 GLD on a G-plate and it's relatively fine up hills.
@@davidfos84 It's all a matter of expectations.
Considering the age, that car is in lovely condition.
Used to own a 205 'Style' diesel. Can confirm, it was a fantastic little car.
Always thought the 205 was a near perfect piece of design, they have never managed to recapture that magic formula.
Suitcase engine? The mechanics at the Peugeot dealer I worked at had a different name for it, 'The w*nker on its back' being my favourite.
I drove one of these to the South of France and back a few times. Brilliant on the autoroute and did 50mpg no matter how you drove it.
As a kid in the 90's, I used to sit in the boot in a red 205 when all the seats were filled. Often going on holiday to pontins in Wales, which at that time felt like visiting a foreign country (because Welsh).
Sit in boot? You were lucky, we had to sit on t' bonnet and mop windscreen when it rained.
@@peterw4338 You had it good, we had to sit on the roof while dad tried to throw us off on the sharp bends, and if we did fall of why he would reverse over us and murder us. You try telling the kids these days and they won't believe you. :)
@@andycleary6209 Pathetic. We used to have to wrap ourselves round the moving tyres.
@@PJBonoVox I had to crawl into the engine and make sure the valves kept in time as I was the musical one of the family. Always came out a bit oily, but life was tough when we were children.
Hubnut at his absolute best. Informative, entertaining and passionate.
I had a 205gti 1.6 in white back in the day. Great car! Cars were so much more interesting in the 80s and 90s, they just all got so complicated and similar after that.
I agree. Modern cars especially suv's are over electronic designed and all look so boringly similar.
True, I had a 1.9 GTI, great fun. Many fond memories. I’ve had newer, faster cars, but they haven’t made me love them.
@@coldhell3580 and me. Also the once proud owner of a 1.9Gti. 130bhp in a small light car like that? No wonder they like the clappers🙂👍
I treated myself to a new 205 XLD in April 1989...to use for work. Super little car, in every way, and totally reliable. 55mpg too. Sold it on at 350,000 miles, still going strong.
Have always loved the 205. Such a smart, practical and thoroughly brilliant little car
Many thanks to Ian for showing an interest in my car, and for being so positive about it!
It's in absolutely gorgeous condition Jet, and as Ian says, they are just a joy to drive. You still see so many of them on the road in France
Well done on keeping yours in such great condition! It doesn't even have the cracked dash that every 205 you see now has in the exact same place (inc mine). I'm still running my petrol 1.1 around after 18yrs. Love it.
Do you still own it? It's a good one alright!
@@mattc1984 Indeed, it's my daily driver, which does seem something of a shame given the condition, but it brings a smile to my face most days.
As relaxing as a 3 year old on a sugar rush 🤣🤣
Obviously havent driven one
These are such superb cars,no matter what variant but my favourite is the diesel
Possibly the best supermini hatch, in the diesel versions anyway, with everything perfectly balanced and great toughness too. How I remember fierce Norfolk winters and warming/defrosting mine while eating breakfast. Then I was off in a warm car with clear glass and they never seemed to steam up.
Peugeots lost their way after the 205 and became tacky and too reliant on bad electronics and I never went back to the brand.
After the Alfa 164 I was beginning to worry we were beginning to lose you to the Clarkson fraternity, but I'm glad to see we're back on track 💪
No he just wanted to drive something that sounded so immense 😂
The 205 is arguably the best looking, well styled cars ever - iconic really. Fabulous design and handling - I’ve driven a few. Funny how cars like these, 106, 306, 405 and 406 were all fine riding and class leading for handling and ride thanks to PROPER engineering and not computers and tech. Cars have definitely gone backwards. Great review Ian
THERE IS A LOT TO BE SAID FOR BIG NAT ASP DIESELS
Yeah, my Renault 21 was so much better than my current Corsa diesel, bigger engine and better MPG. Progress?
I think so, still got one. Its not fast; but its simple & economical
Had a 405 back in the day, my mate had the 205 and 309.All brilliant diesels.Would have another 405 today if a decent come up.
A neat looking car. The finest diesel engine ever.
Have some great memories traveling hundreds of miles to Cornwall in the blistering summer heat in our 1.4 GR as a kid. I remember thinking at the time how good the ride quality was and appreciating the soft seats. She did like to smoke though!
I reem to recall that the G in GR stands for five doors. The three doors got an X instead so the equivalent of this would be XR.
I grew up in an early GL 1.1, 1984 I think. Very bare bones, you didn't even get proper vents for the side windows. Nor a glovebox lid.
Yep, indeed, XR was the same spec as the GR with fewer doors. I dread to think what you didn't get with the base XE!
G stood for "Grande" the R was trim level.
The lower spec diesel was indeed the GLD.
@@929V6 I believe the GLD stood for "Grande Luxurious Diesel"....
@@sleepingwarrior4618 Grand Luxe, in French. GR was Grande Routière.
Worked on loads of these. Ahh those were the days when you could change a headlight bulb in 30 secs and for a quid without having to remove the front wheel, wheel arch liner, front bumper, wing, bonnet, subframe, engine, transmission etc etc etc
The RHS bulb you can, but the LHS you've got to undo two bolts and move a electrical control box out of the way. That takes about five minutes.
3:46 Where the hell did usable rear windscreens go anyway? It seems like modern cars have a rear windscreen just for the sake of having it and not for any practical purpose.
Crash protection I imagine. It's ironic though that the high boot lines and lack of rear window on modern cars actually hinder your view of the road in front.
Rear wipers I find are pointless and normally the motors give out or the wiring loom breaks up .Every car I have had with one I’ve removed them
Same with the side windows TBH. Most modern cars have such tiny rear side windows that they make the rear feel cramped, whereas this little 205 is like sitting in a conservatory by comparison.
Perhaps the worst modern offender for a cramped rear I can think of is the Toyota CHR. Might as well not have rear windows at all in that for all the good they are 🤮
Sadly prices are so inflated now on the GTI they are unobtainable. A chap I know has a fully restored example of a 1.9 in near mint condition but would you really pay £22,000 for it? Having had 2 I can say it won’t be me buying it for that money.
Very informative! Love the snippets of engineering trivia (diesel engines don’t produce intake vacuum like petrol engines do) Your background knowledge impressive, please do more!
They do, but these old ones didn't usually have a throttle body.
Ian you've done it again i absolutely love these 205s what a great video cheers👍.
I used to get 35p per mile fuel allowance when I owned this car ( £17.50 per gallon ).
Have owned a 91 1.9 gti for last 18years.Now in South West France going to classic meets and jollies out with a large group of car nuts.Registered with FFVE here so recognized as a classic.
Will keep for a long time to come.
I must get around to reregistering my RHD 1991 1.6 automatic with the FFVE. Controle Technique less strict and only every five years 😉. I wish I could afford a GTI but prices have gone crazy!
As for the stripped Rallye version...😳
Ian, I love the expression on your face when your driving a car that you are having a lot of fun in. You hide it quite well but having watch so many of your films it is something we Hubnut nuts spot. Great little cars, you really should have one on the fleet.
I learned to drive in a Peugeot 206, except for one lesson when it was in the garage for warranty work, for that lesson I had a red 3dr 205 Mardi Gras. The 205 was far better car to drive!
You missed your calling Ian! Perhaps you should have worked for Citroen or Peugeot as a wiper stylist
LOL! I think Ian will at one time write a book about wipers and their wiping patterns.
@@airgead5391 I'd buy that for a quid!
Had exactly one of these super little GRD cars but with the factory sunroof. So smooth and economic. Can't remember why I ever parted with it..🤔
I've got a real soft spot for the 205, I used to lust after one years ago as a paperboy cycling past a 1990 black GTi every day. Ended up with a very un-Hubnut 208 GTi which is also a fantastic little car and I'm sure this is due to my childhood infatuation with the 205.
Yep, great cars. Probably one of the best superminis ever made.
Your the best car reviewer I have seen great knowledge and true passion
Giving out a strong Chris Goffey energy today, Mr. Nut.
Or he could do a Chris Gothy and only review really dark cars ;)
See Smith & Sniff Prelude 2.2 ua-cam.com/video/PVfe7BjqiLs/v-deo.html
Not the perfect impression. For that you would have to moan about the boot lip being too high ;)
@@pugmanick - And your trousers getting dirty from getting in and out of the car......
I had a 1995 106 1.5D
It had bags of character but the offset steering wheel and pedals drove me mad!
I had a diesel one and was blown away by how comfy and smooth it was, and good on fuel, oh and they don't seem to rust! Interiors are a let down because of weak plastic and the heater controls often seem to pack in but still better than most other cars of the age and size. I later bought a Roland Garros 1.4 one, and I was astonished at how quick it was. You can keep the GTI. That Garros was plenty quick enough, and had the cheaper tax.
These 205 diesels are great. I learnt to drive in one and it was such a forgiving little car to drive. All them years ago when reversing around corners was a thing that you learnt. Apparently not these days!!
My driving instructor had a few of these. Must have been easy to drive as I passed my test in one too.
I learned to drive in 2016 before they took away the reverse round a corner. Things have changed a lot since I passed my test actually, suppose I should be grateful!!
I had a pre-facelift 205 GLD from 1985 with gingercators and a different dashboard and stalks, bought in 1996 for little money because my Opel Kadett was stolen. When the Kadett was retrieved with a broken steering rack (the thief did that to break the lock) I decided to give that car to a friend and keep the 205, despite it was a very very tatty car. With this car I learned to change oil myself and do bodgy repairs, one day I used a jump start cable to connect the battery ground to chassis because the ground cable connector had split in half. The engine was so lovely and kept running, started even at -15, I've driven it everywhere and only once broke down (quite spectacularly, with a short and an electrical fire). Eventually sold the car for 50 when MOT ran out and cambelt needed replacing.
I keep saying it but try a berlingo, has all the qualities you like. Nothing rides like one
In my 30 years of driving I've never had a Peugeot,I've had Vauxhall's, Citroen's,Volvo's, Ford's,but all that is due to change,we are due to pick up a brand new 5008 GT,and I'm looking forward to it,can't wait...
Peugeot have really got their mojo back with styling.
@@HubNut Indeed! The latest 208 and 508 look amazing!
Will wave to you on the hard shoulder 😉
@@stepheng8779 brainwashed a bit. Nothing wrong with modern Peugeots.
Used to work for Peugeot back in the 90's, painted lots of these, GTI's usually, Rouge Vallelunga being the most often crashed! Lazer green and miami blue on the later ones looked great as did the rare Sorento green.
Very flimsy panels though and like the 405, didn't crash well compared to 309/504.
Goodness they were everywhere it seemed, now rarely seen - god I feel old.
its moments like that when you realise that you've been around a while (I know I do!)
The STDT was seen as the diesel GTI.
Shame it sounds like a nasty disease!
Thankfully, they soon changed it to Dturbo 🤣
Ian, just bought a 1991 Aussie Spec Peugeot 205 Si last week for Zacky our 12 year old whom you met here in Sydney. He is going to make it a rallye spec and use it to compete in Junior Motorkhana's here in Sydney. Have a post up on the AS forum. Great review, my sister had a 205 GRD back in the early 90's! Take care
Damn, that looks practically new…I would have love to have seen those in Canada, but Chrysler had taken over distribution and Peugeot, Renault disappeared fairly quickly there after….missed out on some good stuff..
Thanks Hub Nut this video brought back many memories as I learnt to drive in an 1986 GLD. A few years later I was looking for a diesel but bought a GTI instead, now i'm much older (and possibly wiser) I have a hankering for a 205 diesel again.
Why aren't modern French cars as good as the old ones... ☹️ We've gone backwards... Great car and fantastic video. 👍
Yes my Peugeot 106 xnd i would say all round best car ever own. Nothing to get excited about, but could chuck around roundabouts, kept me dry, 69mpg. Run at times on veg oil. Drop the seats i got 10 traffic light heads in the cabin. Had it from 65 to 153 k miles. Bought for 1500 quid under sold it for 300. Wish i still had it as a knock about car.
Like all modern cars. Style over substance. Even the new Landrover Defender is now just another Gucci handbag with wheels. Sad really.
@@andrewhaines8603 very true, cars are becoming disposable. Manufacturers only care about the first owner and them getting out of the warranty. Full of electrical gremlins and poor quality engineer and components.
@@classicshit2 gone are the days when Sunday morning the "man of the house" would wash the family car , then tinker under the bonnet, making sure all was good. Open the bonnet today and it's a sea of plastic covers hiding everything. Once you've broken half the lugs and fixings off these to get to the engine, you find you either can't get access to the part required, as Ian has demonstrated, or you need 'special tool 159-6/3' to extract said item!
Exactly Matt. These old Peugeot’s were bullet proof they’d run forever. Now their a crock of s#*t😏
Fantastic car! I've got the big old brother, 604 Diesel Turbo. Beautiful and super capable cars, these old Peugeots!
They are going up in value now. I drove them when they were new... went like the clappers and nothing else like them in their day
One of Peugeot’s greatest hits. Pretty much the perfect all round car. I believe the Citroen Visa 17D had a 0-60 time of around 11 or 12 seconds so this 205 must be about the same.
I had an early 1990s n/a diesel 205 in mind as a replacement when I wrote off my Fiat Tempra 20 years ago but I erroneously bought something else.
The Visa was much faster than the 205
@@julienbee3467 Some time after my Diesel 205s I had a couple of decaying 17D Visas as runabouts. I'd confirm they were faster, likely due to less weight and one of them had a 'sports exhaust' made of large bore flexible conduit, bodged on after much of the silencing fell off ; that certainly made it sound like a racing machine .
Careful. You're turning into Quentin Wilson.
If only Peugeot made cars as good as this now. I had one many years ago same spec as this one. 60 plus mpg very reliable and once you got the hang of it good fun to drive. I used it for courier work oil and filter every 2 weeks. Coolant flush every 3 months. Front pads 120k clutch well it was on the original one at 350k when it hit by a truck and written off. Had a 1.9 405 diesel estate after that.
6:30 : In the huge engines list for the 205, you can add the Simca/Talbot (Poissy) pushrods engines: the 1.1, 1.3 (205 XA, commercial type) and 1.6 (205 GTX). These are same engines found in the Talbot Horizon/Solara, earlier Peugeot 309 and some Citroen C15).
The 1.9 XUD diesel has been mounted in the 205 in some countries like Germany, instead of the 1.8 XUD, because of emission norms.
At the end, the 205 had 21 different engines, that's insane.
8:55 : The GR is the mid-specs.
3 doors / 5 doors versions :
base trim : XE / GE, low trim : XL / GL, mid trim : XR / GR, high trim : - / SR, sport trim : XS / GT.
Great video with very accurate information ! Please do a video with the Turbo-D version !
Fabulous was the 205. 206 was great looking cute but 205 hardy and loveable. 206 entirely forgettable
You must have a drive of the 1.9 GTI 205, You"ll really notice the difference in performance!! :) total mind blowing from a car without a turbo!!
Speed bumps don’t exist in PSA cars of this era....the faster you go over them the less you notice them.....In the 205 the diesel was always the one to have.....complete reliability and enough torque to only use 1st gear for hill starts or when fully loaded.... motorway cruising and economy was off the scale for a small car.....need to do a test on CITROEN BX TZD the 1.7 turbo diesel and the BX suspension made the car fantastic for longer journeys......
I did all my driving lessons and test in one with the 1.8 diesel. Such a super reliable car, the seats are so comfortable too.
Why anyone chose the garbage that was the mk3 Fiesta, the horrid tat that was the Metro, the chav Nova or even Granny's souless Micra over a 205?
I saw one of these driving by a couple of days ago use to see them all the time , however you hardly see them any more same with the old mk 4 and 5 fiesta and k11 micra they used to be every where , my first car was 98 micra 1.3 SI
Peugeot was always known for its supple, composed ride for decades, one reason you chose one.
An amazing example, very well kept and looked after!
Whilst driving, it didn't seem you were travelling at 60 mph at all! Glorious scenery; rolling green hills with some homes with an abundance of flowers 💐 that shows you summer is here, simply stunning!
Also nice to see it also has good handling, a torqy diesel (we did have diesels in the 505, unfortunately not the 405, the final Peugeot to grave US 🇺🇸 soil) and a nice, comfortable interior!
Another excellent review Sir HubNut!
Excellent car for its time. See this one has an Anglesey number plate.
Must be slow as piss and awful. My 1L petrol was slow enough. It also managed to have understeer and oversteer. Absolutely all the paint fell off too LOL.
I love these. My mum owned a petrol C plate one in the early 90s. It was the first car I drove solo after passing my test in 1992. It was a great little car. So easy to drive. I remember the sound of the engine. The styling still looks fresh. Will always be a great memory for me 👍
Hi Ian saw this In the car park at Newquay last week when I said hello it’s rob from London mentioned that you might do a hunter or avenger
Had 2 205's .. 1.9 GTI and 1.1GL both really good fun too drive
It still looks surprisingly modern, especially the interior
My Renault 5 would bounce on the handbrake :D
I owned a gun metal grey 205 on J plate. Great little car and unlike other small cars of the time ,didn't rust and was reliable.
Was it a 'Zest ' by any chance? Blue seats with green piping?
I had a 205 diesel 'junior' version for 10yrs. I loved it it was so simple to work on. The interior ended up falling apart but the engine had years more life in it.
I believe there is a marinised version of the engine as well.
My uncle had a 205 1.8d Mardi Gras - sadly long scrapped before I realised just how cool it was!
A BX diesel, just with less hydraulics and kilos: Must be good! Loved the torque in the BX.
I owned an fuel injected 1360cc 205 cabrio a few years ago, wow it could drive!
That sounded exactly like my BX Diesel, oh how I miss that car!
I always liked the look of the XS which is said to be great fun but often forgotten, overshadowed by the GTi versions.
This was the first car that demonstrated that diesel was not just as good as the petrol option but a better option.
These were everywhere when I was young!! The village publican had 2 in a row, a B reg GRD followed by a D reg GRD that he had for years!! The Vicars wife had one, a J reg GLD.....Blackshaws in Derby and Appleyard in Chesterfield couldn’t pump them out quick enough........
My dad bought a 1990 pre-facelift GLD as a second car soon after I passed my test. Brilliant little car, loads of torque, excellent handling and never seemed to get less than 50mpg no matter how you drove it. I still miss it 30-odd years later.
First diesel I ever drove after my driving test was one of these with a tuned engine and rally e body kit. Put it this way I got back in my N reg Ford escort and cried a little inside.
I had a 1995 escort... pure shite, it was 4years old and you couldn't give it away.
I had a 205GRD, 120K miles on the clock. It was far sweeter that the Escort diesel at work - that was a clunky, slow agricultural item in comparison.
I wish I'd kept my 205 GTI 1.6.
Great feet, great sandals and great car 🚘 🇬🇧🤘
I had one in early 90s and it was very fast. Used to commute between Bournemouth and Basingstoke daily. Only issues i had were a fuel sender that didnt work, brake lights stopped working and the injector pump had a leak. Think my Skoda fabia VRS diesel was the only faster car i've had.
I'm waiting for the day I see painted toe nails 😁👍
Loved my 205 trio.Ragging it down back roads at night was great fun, only drawback of these diesels is the high tax which makes it difficult to justify it as a second car.
"The original 206 was launched in the form of a hatchback in 1998 and had seen over 5.4 million global sales by December 2005. The car remains Peugeot's *best-selling vehicle to date* with 5.1 million sold in Europe and *8.3 million globally."*
nortonway.com
So, if appeal is measured by sales, it *did have the appeal* :)
Yes but this is the 205
@@georgebamber6871 This was my response to Ian saying that the 206 had less appeal.
I had a 206 GTi and loved it. Not as focused as the 205 GTi, but still a better handling road car than just about anything else. More civilised, too. You could get both air conditioning and power steering in the same car, rather than either/or as I understand in the 205. When the 206 was released here in Australia, there was a 3 month wait.
I had a 205 but definitely prefer the 309, the boot was massive compared to the 205 but drove the same if not better. Mine was the very Hub Nut Zest model with green/blue deck chair seats 👍
We had a c reg 309 1.3 GL
excellent family car,until the hatch widow exploded while my wife was closing it one day
We had an A reg 205 GRD as a replacement for a Golf diesel - a huge improvement, comfortable, much quieter, faster it was altogether brilliant. Followed that with a 1.6 GTI - great to drive but frustrating in that I always seemed to get caught behind less capable machines! Another GRD followed that and finally the best of the lot, the 205 diesel turbo which we had for 100K miles. Nothing matched them.
One of your best vids to date. Worryingly good production quality 😉. Bordering 80's Top Gear without the Woolarding. Fond memories of the 205 Diesel in poverty spec.
Learned to drive in the 205 Grd thought it was a great learning car. I have never owned one. But I did manage to own the 405 1.9 Td.
First diesel car was a 205 GRD. Great car even had my own diesel tank and bought fuel in bulk. Later on oldest daughter had a 205 GLD ( wee Pete ) who remained in the family for years. Sadly missed
1995 205 GRD is my daily drive ,great car , real retro now
Scholarly review--if that's not an insult--thanks HN. I'll have to check if you've done the 306 yet.
*Can any of the channel subscribers tell me the value of 205 1.8 diesel turbo today in 2022 is a very rare model. Greetings.*
Didn't have a diesel, but had an '83 petrol GR. Loved that car. Wish I still had it.
Brilliant video Ian 👍 great little car
Great HubNut presentation with fun 'tidbits' of automotive history, the 205 still is a classy motorvehicle,
from this 5 dr. family spec to the 1.9 GTI prefarably all black, red interior with those epic alloy wheels👍
Lovely stuff! I wondered when you'd do a video on a little XUD pugger, I still miss the L plate in the same colour I had as my first car. Drove the thing around Germany and Austria and never missed a beat. Even for a lanky so and so like me it was comfortable enough to drive all day. Only time anything went wrong was when the radiator inlet pipe rusted through during the cold Tirolean winter, and when I had a hard time sourcing a replacement windscreen when the poor thing was pelted with icy golf balls during a vicious hailstorm. In the end a bodged rust repair by a previous owner and a knackered suspension at 150k miles did for it. Performance was fairly weak, though it could accelerate to 40 comfortably, anything after that wasn't so quick. Which was perfectly fine for me, though it would have annoyed Mrs Lackadaisical if she'd driven it then. The handling and sharpness was so much better than cars these days.
Great video Ian, always had a love for the 205 since working at a Peugeot Talbot dealer in 1989 washing cars. I now own a 1.1 petrol and it is fantastic in all the ways you describe, even without power steering. Sacre numero!
That’s a lovely example. I really liked Peugeot’s of that era. I owned two 405’s and a 406 during the 90’s and found that very comfortable cars .