@@olivierdk2 Wish I still had mine. It was a shagged out 10 owner 1.9GTI in black which I owned as a 19 year old in the late 90's. Couldn't afford to spend the money on it the car deserved back then, but I really wish I held on to that car now... I remember buying it but I have no recollection of selling it.
I had a black 1.6 GTi (1986) then a sorento green 1.9 GTi (1990). The latter was not only an amazing car, the colour was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Those cars were so great that I still buy Peugeots, even though they're not as good these days (my 208 GTi was pretty reasonable, to be fair, but my current car is a 308 GTi which is fairly average)
Absolutely! Great job! Self had a Golf Mk 2 GTi in 1986, a close friend a 205 GTi. His was quicker - and to my mind then more desirable (!). Cant remember if it was a 1.6 or a 1.9.
That was why I went for the 115bhp 1.6 - that and the £1k price premium at the time I bought it Did best part of 100k miles before I swapped it for a 306XSI. Just looked it up and it's on a SORN.
I'm 23 I live in France in the region where Peugeot was born. It's an institution here! I had a 206 as a first car and now I am the proud owner of a 205 generation and I love her so much. We now have three 205 in the family, my brother's is a 205 F and it's a lot of fun. Very well put together video, thank you for bringing the 205 to the spotlights ☺️
And there's a few Easter Eggs I put into the background. OK - not real Easter Eggs (I've eaten all of them by now) but hidden things you might not notice immediately.
Excellent video...I really enjoyed it! Thank you. I've had my 205 1.9 GTI for 15 years...It still looks like the day it was made...It's always been 100% reliable and pleasure to own and drive. I can't believe how much attention it gets now...It's like driving a cute puppy that everybody wants to stroke...haha!!!
The thing that mattered the most is the fact these cars lasted really really well, i can still find them in good running condition second hand, Unlike VAG cars of that time
I bought a year old 205 diesel in the mid 80s as I needed a small, cheap to run car. Always 50mpg however I drove it, even on the shortest journey. Great to drive although the engine a bit noisy. It was rock solid. Just ran and ran and ran with very minor problems - for 18 years!
I've watched a few of your Big Car video and have to say how engaging and interesting they are. Really gives you a feel of the original cars. Well done! Brilliant niche.
Buyers' wallets voted otherwise - Uno sold over 6 000 000 examples over its original Italian 12 year production run alone while Peugeot sold 5 300 000 205s in 15 years.
I will always regret turning down an opportunity to buy an almost mint and stock 1.9l 205GTI, I didn't really want to spend the savings I had the time and thought "there is always later on" but there never was "later on". They seemed to have disappeared all at once, vanished from the roads so quickly and many that where left around where modified. Usually with all the Max Poweresque body kits and features, I really wish I had owned one for a bit.
@@livc444111 .... a Girlfriend of mine had a 205 back in the days. Had more flaws than a Dog Fleas... *lol* - constantly broken, needed to fix stuff all the time. Was 3 Years old and actually pristine Condition. Still a POS cause French. They never made good Cars !!!
@@FRITZI999 lemon, every manufacturer has one car that comes out of the factory with issues, she was unlucky. Peugeot sold millions of 205, dont think they would have done if the car was a POS. Citroen Traction Avant, DS, SM. Peugeot 504, 505, 205, 106, 306, 405, 406. Renault 5, 8, 16, 19, 21, Clio Williams, Safrane BiTurbo, Megane RS. Bugatti, Matra, Alpine, to name a few, yeah all crap 🙄
Such a little gem. I always think a car is proven successful if the restyles are minimal. Paul Bracq is a genius. Never knew the 309 was originally to be a Talbot, or that the 206 eclipsed the 205's sales (again only one subtle restyle). Thank you for giving a historical run-up to the 205 by talking about the 105. I'm glad that Peugeot's current design language has returned to the aggressive front end treatment and razor sharp lines overall; the Tupperware looking Peugeots of the previous 15 or so years were really disappointing to look at. I do like how the 205 GTi stole the Golf GTi's crown.
Having owned 3 peugeots + one company 206 1.6 GTI, I can honestly say they were the most reliable cars of all the cars I had owned. I wondered why that was until I realised as a company Peugeot were 2nd only to Mercedes in the chronological history of automobiles. Experience counts.
@@sean640307 Its called the decade of hell. before PSA made reliable comfort durable cars. The citroens needed more maintenace because of the hydropneumatic suspension and avantgard controls. After the 206/406 and Xantia the decade of hell started and psa cars became unreliable rubish. The quality and reliabilty now is almost under control again. PSA cars have risen from the bottum to centre in the anual breakdown statistics from the AA/ ADAC . what took 1 decade to destroy takes 3 decades to repair!
They had Peugeot making gems like the 205 or the 504, Citroen with their wonderfully bizarre cars with hydropneumatic suspension, turning headlights, aerodynamic bodies and front wheel drive decades before it became a thing, but then the powers that be at PSA decided to call it a day and vowed never to produce a remotely original or interesting car again. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s they went from success to success in Rallye racing but you could never tell by looking at their production models, they never had the equivalent of Subaru's WRX or Lancia's Evo Integrale. Some of today's PSAs cars are pretty to look at, I'll give them that, but they are all as exciting as a Toyota Camry without the reliability or build quality :(
Jacob Zimmermann , the very first CITREON cars I ever saw,& rode in , was in the 1940s all LHD all manual, where the shifter was in the dashboard,,along with a hand operated clutch,,as with a motor cycle clutch, it was later in life at a repair shop,,where we lived that I has seen the FRONT DISK BRAKES WERE INBOARD, , ALSO the first AUDI CARS WERE THE SAME, but went away,,as were a bitch to work on, so AUDI, placed them @ the wheels , and so it goes. Cheers from NJ. USA
@@flybyairplane3528 Ah yes, the inboard disk brakes... :) Then there was the 2CV, designed in the 1940s to be a cheap car for the peasants (literally!) but at that time it already had disk brakes - inboard too, of course - and also a unique and very advanced suspension system. Whether true or not, the story goes that the engineers were instructed to develop the cheapest car possible so that a farmer could transport a basket full of eggs to the markets on the ehm, bumpy country roads of pre-WW2 France, without any eggs breaking. At the end the 2CV only went into production after the war, when it was already technologically outdated, but it still became a long standing icon.
A friend of mine has one. Not even a GTi but still very awesome. Love driving it. It's so simple without power anything and I could fix it with a Hammer. One of the best cars I've ever driven
Yeah, I can relate. I love the simplicity of old 70s/80s cars that are so simple you can fix them with a basic tool kit because everything is made of simple, mechanical steel and iron parts, without any plastic and electronic rubbish thrown in like on modern cars.
Julien Bee not sure, but PEUGEOT, , & Land ROVER PULLED OUT OF USA, lagging sales but NO AIRBAG, and they WOULD NOT YET DEVELOP AIRBAGS for the low volume sales, but the OLDER. LR can ONLY be cold here if it is w5 years old , or will. Be conviscated & DESTROYED, as it dis so few years ago,, just imagine a SWAT TEAM TO YOUR HOME 5AM TO YOUR HOME, taking your vehicle,.Cheers from NJ.... USA
Same with me. I had a red 1.9 GTI in the mid 90’s and loved it. I had the best car at uni. Every time I took it on the motorway I’d get people wanting to race me.
My wife once had this 205, not the GTI, but same 1.9 injection engine, but with 4 doors. that was fun to drive! could cruise along with 50 km/h in firth gear, then suddenly push down the accelerator - and gee, that car took off! while any other smaller car of the time with that speed in 5th gear would just have choked off. Marvellous engine, beautiful car.
Very rarely a car maker makes a car that sticks. VW Golf, Citroën DS, and, Peugeot 205, Saab 99, Triumph Spitfire etc.. The 205 is miles ahead in my taste of the 206, but sales prove my taste is not good. It was in my view a timeless design, a beautiful little car that did everything right. It did not even rust and was adequately reliable (because of old fashioned and tested engines). I think it was by a country mile the best compact car of its time in many ways.
I have to agree. I sat in a 206 once at a dealership, and with the clutch in the side of my foot was touching the steering column, that didn't seem too smart.
@@BigCar2 I love my 2004 Peugot 206 Quiksilver, a special edition with most options. It has the 1.6L TU5JP4 engine with 108hp which makes it quite fast (it is only 950kg) and it is the smoothest engine I ever had in a car, being able to run and pull up from stationary in 1st and 2nd gear without any tendency to buck as I had with all my previous cars. It makes driving in traffic jams much more comfortable. Of course its engine (16V DOHC EFI with servo-controlled gas valve) is a big development compared to previous century engines, and probably many other cars perform similarly today. Had it been released a decade earlier it would probably have qualified as a "hot hatch". As we have left hand drive here, the layout of the pedals is different and such problems are less likely. My Quiksilver also has the adjustable steering weel (height only). The only thing that could have been better: the seats. It is difficult to pinpoint what is wrong with them, but they just aren't comfortable to the butt. I have tried several things to put between the springs and the lining and it has become better over time, but it never was what I expected from a French car.
Fun fact: The 205 had an analog clock on the dash. This never worked. We had a lot of 205 company cars, in every one the clocks showed half past six as the hands had worked loose and dropped down. One of our 205s did just over 400,000km before it was withdrawn.
The mk1 Clios also had an analogue clock on the dash... And the handles always worked loose and displayed 6:30 as well... (I currently own 2 mk1 clios, none of the clocks work lol). Oh, and my friend's dad currently has a 205 (Turbo Diesel) with over 500 000 KMs on it. Yet despite the mileage, it's probably the tidiest 205 in Europe that's used as a daily driver xD. They are very reliable if taken care of.
The 205 looks a lot like my 1980 Renault 5 “Le Car”. The Renault was my computer field service car for many years. With the back seats down I had plenty of room for spare parts, test equipment and tools. And it was fun to drive. This episode was interesting and well presented. Thanks from Orlando.
Yep but I think the Renault 5 1st generation competes with the peugeot 104, whereas the second generation which never came to America competed against the 205
@@georgebamber6871 The Renault 5 was the equivalent of the Peugeot 205 in both generations but the first generation 5 had an inline engine, as did the Renault 4 which preceded it. The second generation went transverse as did pretty much all front drive cars from then on. The 104 was smaller like the Fiesta was a "super-mini", somewhere between a mini and a standard hatchback like the Golf, 205, 5, Escort etc.
Hmmm not sure about the Clio. In fact my list of all time favourite French cars would certainly include the Renault (really Matra) Espace. Love it or hate it, that's exactly what many people want from a large car: be able to load a family of five plus the dog, the luggage, the camping gear and the bicycles and go on a holiday. The Espace wasn't the first, but it was the best in that department.
My mum had a Citroen AX, which was a neat, quirky little car as well. These three, later joined by the Twingo, pioneered the new generation of more luxurious small cars that are not as boring as a Polo or Fiesta but are actually fun and comfortable while still being economical and affordable.
Thanks, another great video, especially for us in the North America, who never had the chance to buy a 205. From what i read in the motoring mags back then, it seemed like a really good car considering the size of engine and body itself. The 504 and 505 sold reasonably well for a French car here, and it seems like the 205 could have done well too. The downside was French cars, led by Renault, had a terrible reputation for rusting out, and parts availability was always an issue.
I grew up in Germany. My mom drove a 205 with 2 doors, the base model. I have fond memories of this car. Over time, my parents were the proud owners of Simcas, Talbots, and Peugeots, due to the demise of Chrysler Europe. All purchased from the same dealership.
I had TWO PEUGEOT'S! A '79 504 DIESEL naturally aspirated and a 505 TURBO DIESEL which rivaled any NERCEDES BENZ. Both were economical, comfortable, and the 505 amazingly powerful with tremendous torque. Sadly the older car simply rusted away while the younger one was rear ended TWICE within just a few months. The insurance company TOTALLED it. My wife and I both still weep for our magnificent burgandy colored, PEUGEOT! R.I.P. "CHARLOTTE ROUSE".
I enjoyed your Peugeot episode, brought back memories, not my favourite to work on but when that Diesel showed up, game changer is an understatement, great work keep the clips coming 🤗
Great video! I was looking forward to this, because my second car was a 1988 205 GTI 1.9 (in red). I loved that car so much! It was a huge upgrade from my knackered (but also beloved) Mark 1 Golf GTI. I noticed that one of the engine bay photos (at 03:15) showed an OMP strut brace, which was something I put in mine. It made a huge improvement to a car that already handled well. The 1.9 had a really distinctive engine/exhaust note, which I really loved. And by the way, the question about which is best - the 1.6 or the 1.9 - is a no-brainer. Of course it's the 1.9!
Had a 205gti back in the day- best car i ever had. Would be worth 30 grand if i’d kept it. One of many unfathomable and stupid mistakes I’ve made with cars!
Godfrey Poon WHEN I came to the US, A job I was on between semesters , had a job, where the owner had a 304 Eagan, LHD, manual, so that vehicle was used to get my NY drivers license , in 1960, Cheers from NJ.USA
Mike Dales I had a 205 XS too. Great little car. Mine was a F reg. If I remember correctly it was a 1360cc engine with a twin choke carb and about 80-85 bhp. I used to have an A reg Talbot Samba S with a 1360cc twin solex carb engine. That was great fun. Fond memories.
I remember it well, I bought a white brand new 205 GTI 1.6 C Registration from Chiswick Peugeot....What a great, great car with red carpets no less....Thank you for the memories.
The 1.6 GTi gearbox on either 1.6 or 1.9 GTi engines was the one to have. /end - Oh and the 1.3 Rallye you speak of, is the French version. That was 9.6Secs to 60 thanks to its 102bhp 1294CC LSD equipped drivetrain ;)
What a trip down memory lane ,thank you thank you 😊,I managed to squeeze nearly 120bhp out of a 205 1.9td back in the early 2000s with a few changes oh the glory days .
Brilliant Video Thank you. Dont know which was better the GTi 1.6 or 1.9 but the 1.9 was bloody scary to drive just raw power! Loved the STDT later models and the wonderful Limited edition Roland Garros. :)
Would love to see a video on the Suzuki Swift (Cultus / Geo Metro), just to see if you can work out the baffling number of names it had, how many markets it was sold in and for how long they were made for.
I think a history of Isuzu cars would be more interesting... actually you could probably do a history of all eastern car companies that GM partnered with or took ownership of. (Isuzu, Suzuki, Toyota, Daewoo)
It's a great small car to own. I've got two of them, a 1.4l manual and an 1.6l automatic. They drive really well, are easy to repair and maintain and especially the manual version is very economical. I'd rather have a GTI of course, but they've become quite costly to buy and maintain. It really is a perfect 'first car', a good one can be bought for €500-750 already. Great episode. cheers from the Netherlands
at 6'00 "Peugeot had an image of building big slow cars"..showing a 504 which won several rallyes, the 104 was competing in ice races and the 505 in superproduction circuits championships... source: fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peugeot_504
You forgot to mention how bad the 206 is compared to the 205. They benchmarked the 206 against a Ford Fiesta to develop it!! Epic fail. The 205 was genius. The 206 was a terrible car I'm sorry.
I love this channel. Old duffers like me who know for a fact that everything was better in the 70s, 80s & 90s finally have something to show their kids and shout “SEE - TOLD YOU!” Now get off my lawn and pass me the Werther’s.* *The apostrophe is legit.
I drove a few of them ranging from the anemic entry-level ones to the fire-breathing GTI 1.9. They were awesome cars. I remember a feeling of safety hitting the brakes at high speed. The car squated on all four and came to a halt. I would love to have one in my garage today. I also drove a GTD, the turbo diesel and it was a great highway car. I remember staying at around 175 kph between Lyon to Paris coming back from a ski trip. The car never minded that continuous high speed.
Had one and a 306 far better than the square head produced yuppie/Clarkson favourite. Puggys lost their way a bit in the 2000s but the latest 308 is very good.
Decent episode with a glaring error. The Rallye you showed was the LHD version which had a 0-60 of around 9 seconds. You quoted 11.5seconds which was for the less powerful UK RHD version, itself based upon the base model. Also, the 0-60of the 1.6GTi was around 8.6 second, not the 10.5 you quoted. Apart from that, thanks for the video 👍
When I was a kid in the 80s the 205 was an amazing car to have. I remember the Indiana, being my favourite but I remember growing up and driving some 205 (1.1 GL and 1.9 XAD) and... I didn't like it at all. It was ok to drive but when you had some side wind or crosswinds it was terrible! If I didn't hold the wheel tight, the car would steer into the wrong side of the road! Comparably, the same era Citröen AX was so much faster, nimble and incredibly more stable on cross winds.
My older brother had a 1.9 and it cornered like it was on rails. The acceleration was WOW for the time. Great drive but would've benefited with one more gear. Apart from me still wanting a play in a Renault 5gt turbo. The French made great go carts back then :)
@@beemail6983 I have to admit that in terms of rust it was terrible but in terms of engines they were excellent for reliability. And that used to be the main problem with Renault : very reliable but rusty.
Rain Revere hello, but that reminds me of FIAT , in EUROPE , were OK, but in the USA, the emissions crap, just KILLED THEM, but the rusted out too, Cheers from NJ, USA
My mates mom bought a 205 diesil new she still owns it with over 300000 miles on it and its kept in good condition along with her vw mk 1 golf 4 door wich is another one owner car My other mates had 205 gti versions and a 309gti but they where there first cars and got totaled doing boy racer stuff .
The 205 always looks like enormous fun, especially the CJ (convertible) and obviously the GTI. I don't think I've even heard of the 104, let alone seen one. Dad had an Uno, complete with Car Of The Year window sticker. Horrible, noisy little metal pig!
I can remember as a young driver, back in 1990 I was desperately looking for a 205 on the used market. Eventually I could never get one, every time I called the owner told me it was already sold or my call would end up on an answerphone and no reply.
Same! I learnt in a yellow junior. Then I went through a terrible fiat Uno and then a MK1 fiesta before I got my 1.6gti and then a 1.9gti. I loved those cars.
Good car,the 205,especially the sports versions. Excellent driveability,driver's position which is the best of the 80's small cars. Reliable car (I know diesel versions that have surpassed the 700,000 km without problems,but also GTI that have touched 300.000 km without having had the need for interventions. I currently have a 205 GT 1.4 85cv to sell The car is from 1990,grey metallic,full optionals ,2 owners,118.000 km. In very good conditions.....
What you dont mention, Is that in buying chrysler they had inherited the Simca1100, Horizon and Alpine platforms, With Peugeot struts and engines they cars became the 205 309 and 405 all to good effect.
I honestly don't understand the 3 thumbsdown... because I bet they didn't comment as to reasons?! - "herrrr derrrrr me click thumbs down fer reasons.....berŕrrrr" Anyway not that anyone cares but I owned an early 1.6 gti. Chewed gearboxes for fun. I then moved to a 200sx and came across a 205 gti on the dually....I lost....how? Well because mi-16 with weber 45s. Terrifying! Wheelspin in 5th....wonder how many gearboxes that munched?
I love very much upon this channel.. however could you please review and telling us the story of Peugeot 504 or 505 series? Thanks a million in advance
I would really like to see the full Peugeot 206 story - it was the car of my university years back in the early 2000s and I toured half of Europe with it. - I still think that next to the second generation Fiat 500 the 206 was the biggest hit in the small car segment the last 20 years - especially design-wise. Unfortunately the 207 and other successors didn`t come close, in my view.
Jacob Zimmermann they pulled out BECAUSE NO AIR BAG, were NOT going to develop it for aenemic sales here, Same for the LAND ROVER , somebody here also sold CITREON , V E R Y F E W . . PEUGEOT had a most wonderful suspension , much better than anything made in US . EG; Paris - Dakar , only things added were lights, & ROLLBAR. Suspension stayed the same. Cheers from NJ....USA
Zero Ninety I suppose I see the 205 GTi as the pinnacle of their desirable cars. One I wanted so much in the 80s and early 90s. Their newer stuff is trash. Bit like Vauxhall - 80s and 90s were awesome. But now? So dull!
Always liked the 205 but I had a Micra instead (given to me by an aunt who'd quit driving). Oddly enough, I still see a few 205s and Micras being driven around locally by pensioners who probably had them since new. Amazing longevity.
205 Peugeot looked stunning compared to its competition, and GTi models are legendary
Stunning is the blonde that appears at 8:39 of the video.
Especialy the 1.9, fantastic to drive.
The XS and the cti are great too
@@olivierdk2 Wish I still had mine. It was a shagged out 10 owner 1.9GTI in black which I owned as a 19 year old in the late 90's. Couldn't afford to spend the money on it the car deserved back then, but I really wish I held on to that car now... I remember buying it but I have no recollection of selling it.
I had a black 1.6 GTi (1986) then a sorento green 1.9 GTi (1990). The latter was not only an amazing car, the colour was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Those cars were so great that I still buy Peugeots, even though they're not as good these days (my 208 GTi was pretty reasonable, to be fair, but my current car is a 308 GTi which is fairly average)
Yet another superbly presented episode from this hugely enjoyable
channel.
Andy Lenton, agreed.
Couldn't agree more, Andy.
Absolutely! Great job! Self had a Golf Mk 2 GTi in 1986, a close friend a 205 GTi. His was quicker - and to my mind then more desirable (!). Cant remember if it was a 1.6 or a 1.9.
Ah, the great 205 1.9 GTI, I lost my license for a month with this car. 😄
Jan Fellstrom - Beta I ended up with 5 broken ribs and a punctured lung with my 1.9 gti. ☹️
Ouch!
That was why I went for the 115bhp 1.6 - that and the £1k price premium at the time I bought it Did best part of 100k miles before I swapped it for a 306XSI. Just looked it up and it's on a SORN.
Many a licence was lost with these. My cousin crashed his. Last thing he saw was the speedo reading 108mph. And he walked out of it!
Jan Fellstrom - Beta I had a red 305 gti 1.9
I'm 23 I live in France in the region where Peugeot was born. It's an institution here! I had a 206 as a first car and now I am the proud owner of a 205 generation and I love her so much. We now have three 205 in the family, my brother's is a 205 F and it's a lot of fun. Very well put together video, thank you for bringing the 205 to the spotlights ☺️
The design has aged so well. Great car, even now
Love how the Lego display changes every time..
And there's a few Easter Eggs I put into the background. OK - not real Easter Eggs (I've eaten all of them by now) but hidden things you might not notice immediately.
@@BigCar2 The crane should have been hoisting an Easter Egg - what's the red chassis?
@@dxutube 😃. Lego 8448 from 1999.
Missing the first technic kit though. The one with popup headlights.
Excellent video...I really enjoyed it! Thank you.
I've had my 205 1.9 GTI for 15 years...It still looks like the day it was made...It's always been 100% reliable and pleasure to own and drive. I can't believe how much attention it gets now...It's like driving a cute puppy that everybody wants to stroke...haha!!!
Cute puppy 😂😂...
... If only they knew
Agreed, the amount of people that stare is untrue!
The thing that mattered the most is the fact these cars lasted really really well, i can still find them in good running condition second hand, Unlike VAG cars of that time
For a foreigner your perfect diction is a plus. I just love your channel.
I bought a year old 205 diesel in the mid 80s as I needed a small, cheap to run car. Always 50mpg however I drove it, even on the shortest journey. Great to drive although the engine a bit noisy. It was rock solid. Just ran and ran and ran with very minor problems - for 18 years!
I've watched a few of your Big Car video and have to say how engaging and interesting they are. Really gives you a feel of the original cars. Well done! Brilliant niche.
It deserved Car of the Year!!! At least it got car of the decade. Wish it had made it to the US.
I would think that Car of the Decade is better than Car of the Year ;-)
You’re right, a much better honor for sure. With some cars it takes a little time for them to be appreciated like they should be.
@@CoryAtRandom For sure it's in good company. Another Car of the Decade (for a different decade, obviously) is the Bugatti Veyron...
Veyron is amazing. It earned that honor for sure. Recently did a video on a guy who turned his 2002 Mercury Cougar into a Veyron 😁
Buyers' wallets voted otherwise - Uno sold over 6 000 000 examples over its original Italian 12 year production run alone while Peugeot sold 5 300 000 205s in 15 years.
i still drive my 205 that my grandfather left me :'D
Keep it, they are worth so much these days and only going up in value. Wish I could get my hands on one
@@callumhern2387 brother im from serbia there are like 1m of them herw
I will always regret turning down an opportunity to buy an almost mint and stock 1.9l 205GTI, I didn't really want to spend the savings I had the time and thought "there is always later on" but there never was "later on". They seemed to have disappeared all at once, vanished from the roads so quickly and many that where left around where modified. Usually with all the Max Poweresque body kits and features, I really wish I had owned one for a bit.
To think of all the crap cars I owned in the early noughties when I could have bought a lovely 205 instead...😭
the 205 is a POS Car..... you did´t miss anything
@@FRITZI999 nah. An Audi A1 is a p.o.s, a VW Up is a p.o.s, a Mk Polo is a pos...The 205 is sound
@@livc444111 .... a Girlfriend of mine had a 205 back in the days. Had more flaws than a Dog Fleas... *lol* - constantly broken, needed to fix stuff all the time. Was 3 Years old and actually pristine Condition. Still a POS cause French. They never made good Cars !!!
@@FRITZI999 lemon, every manufacturer has one car that comes out of the factory with issues, she was unlucky. Peugeot sold millions of 205, dont think they would have done if the car was a POS.
Citroen Traction Avant, DS, SM. Peugeot 504, 505, 205, 106, 306, 405, 406. Renault 5, 8, 16, 19, 21, Clio Williams, Safrane BiTurbo, Megane RS. Bugatti, Matra, Alpine, to name a few, yeah all crap 🙄
@@FRITZI999 Dude I still drive a 92 205 and the thing only wants gas in it
Such a little gem. I always think a car is proven successful if the restyles are minimal. Paul Bracq is a genius. Never knew the 309 was originally to be a Talbot, or that the 206 eclipsed the 205's sales (again only one subtle restyle). Thank you for giving a historical run-up to the 205 by talking about the 105. I'm glad that Peugeot's current design language has returned to the aggressive front end treatment and razor sharp lines overall; the Tupperware looking Peugeots of the previous 15 or so years were really disappointing to look at. I do like how the 205 GTi stole the Golf GTi's crown.
Love 205's to death! Still looks amazing like when it was new
Having owned 3 peugeots + one company 206 1.6 GTI, I can honestly say they were the most reliable cars of all the cars I had owned. I wondered why that was until I realised as a company Peugeot were 2nd only to Mercedes in the chronological history of automobiles. Experience counts.
One of my friends had a 106 quicksilver as his first car. A little 1.1. It's was so reliable. It took alot of abuse
205 GTI was an aspirational hatch. What happend...why did Peugeot loose its way - a pitty. Love the quirkiness of the French...vive la différence
The company began to be run by bean counters and like a lot of other manufacturers, they lost their way, their soul, and their reason for being. :(
@@sean640307 Its called the decade of hell. before PSA made reliable comfort durable cars. The citroens needed more maintenace because of the hydropneumatic suspension and avantgard controls. After the 206/406 and Xantia the decade of hell started and psa cars became unreliable rubish. The quality and reliabilty now is almost under control again.
PSA cars have risen from the bottum to centre in the anual breakdown statistics from the AA/ ADAC . what took 1 decade to destroy takes 3 decades to repair!
They had Peugeot making gems like the 205 or the 504, Citroen with their wonderfully bizarre cars with hydropneumatic suspension, turning headlights, aerodynamic bodies and front wheel drive decades before it became a thing, but then the powers that be at PSA decided to call it a day and vowed never to produce a remotely original or interesting car again. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s they went from success to success in Rallye racing but you could never tell by looking at their production models, they never had the equivalent of Subaru's WRX or Lancia's Evo Integrale. Some of today's PSAs cars are pretty to look at, I'll give them that, but they are all as exciting as a Toyota Camry without the reliability or build quality :(
Jacob Zimmermann , the very first CITREON cars I ever saw,& rode in , was in the 1940s all LHD all manual, where the shifter was in the dashboard,,along with a hand operated clutch,,as with a motor cycle clutch, it was later in life at a repair shop,,where we lived that I has seen the FRONT DISK BRAKES WERE INBOARD, , ALSO the first AUDI CARS WERE THE SAME, but went away,,as were a bitch to work on, so AUDI, placed them @ the wheels , and so it goes. Cheers from NJ. USA
@@flybyairplane3528 Ah yes, the inboard disk brakes... :) Then there was the 2CV, designed in the 1940s to be a cheap car for the peasants (literally!) but at that time it already had disk brakes - inboard too, of course - and also a unique and very advanced suspension system. Whether true or not, the story goes that the engineers were instructed to develop the cheapest car possible so that a farmer could transport a basket full of eggs to the markets on the ehm, bumpy country roads of pre-WW2 France, without any eggs breaking. At the end the 2CV only went into production after the war, when it was already technologically outdated, but it still became a long standing icon.
A friend of mine has one. Not even a GTi but still very awesome. Love driving it. It's so simple without power anything and I could fix it with a Hammer. One of the best cars I've ever driven
Yeah, I can relate. I love the simplicity of old 70s/80s cars that are so simple you can fix them with a basic tool kit because everything is made of simple, mechanical steel and iron parts, without any plastic and electronic rubbish thrown in like on modern cars.
I love Peugeot’s, I owned 7 of them in the US, 504, 505, 604, thanks for the video
I owned a 504.. loved it
So the 604 was sold in the US ?
Julien Bee not sure, but PEUGEOT, , & Land ROVER PULLED OUT OF USA, lagging sales but NO AIRBAG, and they WOULD NOT YET DEVELOP AIRBAGS for the low volume sales, but the OLDER. LR can ONLY be cold here if it is w5 years old , or will. Be conviscated & DESTROYED, as it dis so few years ago,, just imagine a SWAT TEAM TO YOUR HOME 5AM TO YOUR HOME, taking your vehicle,.Cheers from NJ.... USA
Maybe a new 508 soon :)
@@dufonrafal I saw a red one today
Again a great episode ! And God I still miss my GTI 1.9 almost every day, for me the best hot hatch ever !!
Luines Harpuines i owned a 205 1.9
Same with me. I had a red 1.9 GTI in the mid 90’s and loved it. I had the best car at uni. Every time I took it on the motorway I’d get people wanting to race me.
My wife once had this 205, not the GTI, but same 1.9 injection engine, but with 4 doors. that was fun to drive! could cruise along with 50 km/h in firth gear, then suddenly push down the accelerator - and gee, that car took off! while any other smaller car of the time with that speed in 5th gear would just have choked off. Marvellous engine, beautiful car.
Very rarely a car maker makes a car that sticks. VW Golf, Citroën DS, and, Peugeot 205, Saab 99, Triumph Spitfire etc.. The 205 is miles ahead in my taste of the 206, but sales prove my taste is not good. It was in my view a timeless design, a beautiful little car that did everything right. It did not even rust and was adequately reliable (because of old fashioned and tested engines). I think it was by a country mile the best compact car of its time in many ways.
206 was simply cheap and also reliable but didn't have that exciting spark of 205
I have to agree. I sat in a 206 once at a dealership, and with the clutch in the side of my foot was touching the steering column, that didn't seem too smart.
@@BigCar2 I love my 2004 Peugot 206 Quiksilver, a special edition with most options.
It has the 1.6L TU5JP4 engine with 108hp which makes it quite fast (it is only 950kg) and it is the smoothest engine I ever had in a car, being able to run and pull up from stationary in 1st and 2nd gear without any tendency to buck as I had with all my previous cars. It makes driving in traffic jams much more comfortable.
Of course its engine (16V DOHC EFI with servo-controlled gas valve) is a big development compared to previous century engines, and probably many other cars perform similarly today.
Had it been released a decade earlier it would probably have qualified as a "hot hatch".
As we have left hand drive here, the layout of the pedals is different and such problems are less likely. My Quiksilver also has the adjustable steering weel (height only).
The only thing that could have been better: the seats. It is difficult to pinpoint what is wrong with them, but they just aren't comfortable to the butt. I have tried several things to put between the springs and the lining and it has become better over time, but it never was what I expected from a French car.
These vids are better than anything on TV. Many thanks.
Looking at this im sick i sold my 205 gti such a great car fun to drive
Loved my 1.8D style. Would happily have another 205.
Was it nice to drive ?
The stories of the people, companies and weird intrigue behind the designs is more interesting than the cars themselves - absolutely facinating!
I agree!
Good enough video and information quality to make Top Gear look down in shame. I keenly await your next uploads.
Fun fact: The 205 had an analog clock on the dash. This never worked. We had a lot of 205 company cars, in every one the clocks showed half past six as the hands had worked loose and dropped down. One of our 205s did just over 400,000km before it was withdrawn.
The mk1 Clios also had an analogue clock on the dash... And the handles always worked loose and displayed 6:30 as well... (I currently own 2 mk1 clios, none of the clocks work lol).
Oh, and my friend's dad currently has a 205 (Turbo Diesel) with over 500 000 KMs on it. Yet despite the mileage, it's probably the tidiest 205 in Europe that's used as a daily driver xD.
They are very reliable if taken care of.
Benny Attar - people who say 'fun fact' invariably next say something that is never fun and rarely a fact. You didn't buck the trend.
The 205 looks a lot like my 1980 Renault 5 “Le Car”. The Renault was my computer field service car for many years. With the back seats down I had plenty of room for spare parts, test equipment and tools. And it was fun to drive. This episode was interesting and well presented. Thanks from Orlando.
Well, the R5 pioneers that style for Supermini's
Yep but I think the Renault 5 1st generation competes with the peugeot 104, whereas the second generation which never came to America competed against the 205
@@georgebamber6871 The Renault 5 was the equivalent of the Peugeot 205 in both generations but the first generation 5 had an inline engine, as did the Renault 4 which preceded it. The second generation went transverse as did pretty much all front drive cars from then on. The 104 was smaller like the Fiesta was a "super-mini", somewhere between a mini and a standard hatchback like the Golf, 205, 5, Escort etc.
How many PDP-11's could you fit in the back? As single units (CPU) they were no more a beast than the PDP-8 - but with add ons they were beasts
@@Lightw81 no the 205 and Renault 5 were "superminis" and the 106 a "city car"
My old man had two 205's. His last was a GT (with carbs). It was brilliant.
I liked the 5 door Peugeot 205 GRD, practical, roomy, great for adults in the back and superb diesel economy too.
"205, le sacré numéro" actually means "holy/sacred number". But I can assure one feels very lucky indeed owning/driving one.
The 205 and the original Renault Clio are my two all time favourite French cars.
Hmmm not sure about the Clio. In fact my list of all time favourite French cars would certainly include the Renault (really Matra) Espace. Love it or hate it, that's exactly what many people want from a large car: be able to load a family of five plus the dog, the luggage, the camping gear and the bicycles and go on a holiday. The Espace wasn't the first, but it was the best in that department.
My mum had a Citroen AX, which was a neat, quirky little car as well. These three, later joined by the Twingo, pioneered the new generation of more luxurious small cars that are not as boring as a Polo or Fiesta but are actually fun and comfortable while still being economical and affordable.
Thanks, another great video, especially for us in the North America, who never had the chance to buy a 205. From what i read in the motoring mags back then, it seemed like a really good car considering the size of engine and body itself. The 504 and 505 sold reasonably well for a French car here, and it seems like the 205 could have done well too. The downside was French cars, led by Renault, had a terrible reputation for rusting out, and parts availability was always an issue.
I grew up in Germany. My mom drove a 205 with 2 doors, the base model. I have fond memories of this car. Over time, my parents were the proud owners of Simcas, Talbots, and Peugeots, due to the demise of Chrysler Europe. All purchased from the same dealership.
Great cars
I had TWO PEUGEOT'S! A '79 504 DIESEL naturally aspirated and a 505 TURBO DIESEL which rivaled any NERCEDES BENZ. Both were economical, comfortable, and the 505 amazingly powerful with tremendous torque. Sadly the older car simply rusted away while the younger one was rear ended TWICE within just a few months. The insurance company TOTALLED it. My wife and I both still weep for our magnificent burgandy colored, PEUGEOT! R.I.P. "CHARLOTTE ROUSE".
I enjoyed your Peugeot episode, brought back memories, not my favourite to work on but when that Diesel showed up, game changer is an understatement, great work keep the clips coming 🤗
Great video! I was looking forward to this, because my second car was a 1988 205 GTI 1.9 (in red). I loved that car so much! It was a huge upgrade from my knackered (but also beloved) Mark 1 Golf GTI. I noticed that one of the engine bay photos (at 03:15) showed an OMP strut brace, which was something I put in mine. It made a huge improvement to a car that already handled well.
The 1.9 had a really distinctive engine/exhaust note, which I really loved. And by the way, the question about which is best - the 1.6 or the 1.9 - is a no-brainer. Of course it's the 1.9!
I didn't realise the strut brace was aftermarket. Thanks for letting me know!
I had a 1.9 myself, but the 1.6 was a better engine
Thanks much for the video! I have a 205 D-turbo and i'm very happy with them.
Love the t-shirt
Wonderful! This definitely changed my outlook on the 205. BTW, love the t-shirts!
Had a 205gti back in the day- best car i ever had. Would be worth 30 grand if i’d kept it. One of many unfathomable and stupid mistakes I’ve made with cars!
My Dad had a 205 from 1986 until he died in 2004, a fantastic little car, very reliable and cheap to run.
I would like to buy a Peugeot 404...
but 404 Not Found.
Godfrey Poon WHEN I came to the US, A job I was on between semesters , had a job, where the owner had a 304 Eagan, LHD, manual, so that vehicle was used to get my NY drivers license , in 1960,
Cheers from NJ.USA
Well there was a 302... but they would tell you to buy another one instead :)
oh my, never fear your humor isn't lost on everybody!
I owned a 205XS and I adored it. My wife made me sell it when we were expecting our first child :-(
Mike Dales DIVORCE!!!!
Divorce
Mike Dales I had a 205 XS too. Great little car. Mine was a F reg. If I remember correctly it was a 1360cc engine with a twin choke carb and about 80-85 bhp. I used to have an A reg Talbot Samba S with a 1360cc twin solex carb engine. That was great fun. Fond memories.
:c
@@wilf18 was your 205 exciting to drive ?
The 205 Turbo & the Quasar concept are two of my all time favorites!
Michael Teret i didn’t know 205 ever had turbo
@@josephpeart4311 205 T16, it was a Group B homologation special
You are correct my man, even in 2019 the 1.6/1.9gti argument still rages on... my personal choice the 1.9...
You have good taste.
The 205 GTI is a classic whether in 1.6 guise or legendary 1.9...!!!
Yes the 604 was sold in the US but not for long, those cars are hard to come by right now and they could be considered collector cars
I remember it well, I bought a white brand new 205 GTI 1.6 C Registration from Chiswick Peugeot....What a great, great car with red carpets no less....Thank you for the memories.
Yay! 205! Love the vid, thanks for making them
The 1.6 GTi gearbox on either 1.6 or 1.9 GTi engines was the one to have. /end - Oh and the 1.3 Rallye you speak of, is the French version. That was 9.6Secs to 60 thanks to its 102bhp 1294CC LSD equipped drivetrain ;)
Brilliant informative channel. Have you done one on the Renault 5?
No, but that's the next logical car to do.
The diesel 205 was a really brillant car
Another great professional episode! Keep em coming
What a trip down memory lane ,thank you thank you 😊,I managed to squeeze nearly 120bhp out of a 205 1.9td back in the early 2000s with a few changes oh the glory days .
120bhp, what did you do to it to get that much.
Brilliant Video Thank you.
Dont know which was better the GTi 1.6 or 1.9 but the 1.9 was bloody scary to drive just raw power!
Loved the STDT later models and the wonderful Limited edition Roland Garros. :)
Would love to see a video on the Suzuki Swift (Cultus / Geo Metro), just to see if you can work out the baffling number of names it had, how many markets it was sold in and for how long they were made for.
That sounds less like an assignment and more like homework! Yes - that would be an interesting car to do. I'll add it to the list.
I think a history of Isuzu cars would be more interesting... actually you could probably do a history of all eastern car companies that GM partnered with or took ownership of. (Isuzu, Suzuki, Toyota, Daewoo)
The 205 is the best looking hatch ever crested , masterpiece
It's a great small car to own. I've got two of them, a 1.4l manual and an 1.6l automatic. They drive really well, are easy to repair and maintain and especially the manual version is very economical. I'd rather have a GTI of course, but they've become quite costly to buy and maintain. It really is a perfect 'first car', a good one can be bought for €500-750 already. Great episode. cheers from the Netherlands
400hp on a car that probably doesn't even weigh 1 metric ton sounds so good in my hears
at 6'00 "Peugeot had an image of building big slow cars"..showing a 504 which won several rallyes,
the 104 was competing in ice races and the 505 in superproduction circuits championships...
source: fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peugeot_504
You forgot to mention how bad the 206 is compared to the 205. They benchmarked the 206 against a Ford Fiesta to develop it!! Epic fail. The 205 was genius. The 206 was a terrible car I'm sorry.
I love this channel. Old duffers like me who know for a fact that everything was better in the 70s, 80s & 90s finally have something to show their kids and shout “SEE - TOLD YOU!”
Now get off my lawn and pass me the Werther’s.*
*The apostrophe is legit.
I drove a few of them ranging from the anemic entry-level ones to the fire-breathing GTI 1.9. They were awesome cars. I remember a feeling of safety hitting the brakes at high speed. The car squated on all four and came to a halt. I would love to have one in my garage today.
I also drove a GTD, the turbo diesel and it was a great highway car. I remember staying at around 175 kph between Lyon to Paris coming back from a ski trip. The car never minded that continuous high speed.
Had one and a 306 far better than the square head produced yuppie/Clarkson favourite. Puggys lost their way a bit in the 2000s but the latest 308 is very good.
Decent episode with a glaring error. The Rallye you showed was the LHD version which had a 0-60 of around 9 seconds. You quoted 11.5seconds which was for the less powerful UK RHD version, itself based upon the base model. Also, the 0-60of the 1.6GTi was around 8.6 second, not the 10.5 you quoted.
Apart from that, thanks for the video 👍
Spot on
I very much enjoy these videos - very informative and I always learn something new - well done and keep up the great work!
When I was a kid in the 80s the 205 was an amazing car to have. I remember the Indiana, being my favourite but I remember growing up and driving some 205 (1.1 GL and 1.9 XAD) and... I didn't like it at all.
It was ok to drive but when you had some side wind or crosswinds it was terrible! If I didn't hold the wheel tight, the car would steer into the wrong side of the road! Comparably, the same era Citröen AX was so much faster, nimble and incredibly more stable on cross winds.
Thanks for a brilliant video, used to love my 205 Open with green tartan seats back in the early 2000s! Wish I still had it today
My older brother had a 1.9 and it cornered like it was on rails. The acceleration was WOW for the time. Great drive but would've benefited with one more gear. Apart from me still wanting a play in a Renault 5gt turbo. The French made great go carts back then :)
My dad had a GTi but I was born so he traded it in for a Renault 19 that never worked right
It must have been a bad batch because the Renault 19 was a very reliable car.
@@xaviercurry8841 couldn't be more wrong they where all lemons
@@beemail6983 I have to admit that in terms of rust it was terrible but in terms of engines they were excellent for reliability. And that used to be the main problem with Renault : very reliable but rusty.
@@xaviercurry8841 Renault was never reliable wtf you on? My mum had a piece of shit Renault 11 back in the 90s so I remember.
Rain Revere hello, but that reminds me of FIAT , in EUROPE , were OK, but in the USA, the emissions crap, just KILLED THEM, but the rusted out too, Cheers from NJ, USA
Instalike. Can't wait for the Volvo 850 video.
What was the car you wanted again? 😃
@@BigCar2 Haha
My mates mom bought a 205 diesil new she still owns it with over 300000 miles on it and its kept in good condition along with her vw mk 1 golf 4 door wich is another one owner car
My other mates had 205 gti versions and a 309gti but they where there first cars and got totaled doing boy racer stuff .
The 205 always looks like enormous fun, especially the CJ (convertible) and obviously the GTI. I don't think I've even heard of the 104, let alone seen one. Dad had an Uno, complete with Car Of The Year window sticker. Horrible, noisy little metal pig!
Lovely Jubbly, best video to date, then again I am a big Citroen & Peugeot fan.
I can remember as a young driver, back in 1990 I was desperately looking for a 205 on the used market. Eventually I could never get one, every time I called the owner told me it was already sold or my call would end up on an answerphone and no reply.
great design, my heart & my vote goes to the 205 Gti 1.9!!
I learned to drive in a Junior 205, then got the BETTER 1.6GTi when I bought my first car in the late 90's!
Same! I learnt in a yellow junior. Then I went through a terrible fiat Uno and then a MK1 fiesta before I got my 1.6gti and then a 1.9gti. I loved those cars.
Another quality video. What about the limited run of Radio 1 205's, super rare, power steering, aircon. They are worth some money now.
I loved my old 205 GTi, had to sell it when moved abroad. It was a lot easier to drive fast than my previous hot hatch, a Chevette HSR.
THE one I was waiting for.
Great video. The 205 was my first car. I'd love to see 309 and 405 videos :)
I'll add them to the list!
I’ll second that 👍 am somewhat biased as I have a 309 Gti 😂
205 range, brilliant cars. Great video, thanks.
Good car,the 205,especially the sports versions. Excellent driveability,driver's position which is the best of the 80's small cars.
Reliable car (I know diesel versions that have surpassed the 700,000 km without problems,but also GTI that have touched 300.000 km without having had the need for interventions. I currently have a 205 GT 1.4 85cv to sell
The car is from 1990,grey metallic,full optionals ,2 owners,118.000 km. In very good conditions.....
What you dont mention, Is that in buying chrysler they had inherited the Simca1100, Horizon and Alpine platforms, With Peugeot struts and engines they cars became the 205 309 and 405 all to good effect.
Yes, the 309 story should be a good one.
I honestly don't understand the 3 thumbsdown... because I bet they didn't comment as to reasons?! - "herrrr derrrrr me click thumbs down fer reasons.....berŕrrrr"
Anyway not that anyone cares but I owned an early 1.6 gti. Chewed gearboxes for fun. I then moved to a 200sx and came across a 205 gti on the dually....I lost....how? Well because mi-16 with weber 45s. Terrifying! Wheelspin in 5th....wonder how many gearboxes that munched?
Never owned one but driven them all. Including the full blown T16. Awesome bit of kit.
FYI 1.6 gti I'd best .
I love very much upon this channel.. however could you please review and telling us the story of Peugeot 504 or 505 series? Thanks a million in advance
The Peugeot 309 is coming soon. Then we'll see!
Should have talked only about the 205 GTI
I would really like to see the full Peugeot 206 story - it was the car of my university years back in the early 2000s and I toured half of Europe with it. - I still think that next to the second generation Fiat 500 the 206 was the biggest hit in the small car segment the last 20 years - especially design-wise. Unfortunately the 207 and other successors didn`t come close, in my view.
I like the new 208, they're good looking cars imo
Hello,,my younge brother in JAMAICA BWI, had 505 MANUAL,
And the 205 was sold in Jamaica too ?
And the 205 was sold in Jamaica too ?
Julien Bee not that I ever knew of, I never knew of the model, cheers from NJ....USA
I wish Asian markets sell the 205 at least back in the '80s, especially with its rally image....
It is the 206 that got the big market here in Asia. They also gave the 206 sedan version in here.
One of our all time favourite cars
This is interesting to me as we don’t hear anything about Peugeot since they pulled out of the North American market in the ‘90’s
📻🙂
It's the other way around. They pulled out of North America because since the 1990s they have nothing to speak about.
Jacob Zimmermann they pulled out BECAUSE NO AIR BAG, were NOT going to develop it for aenemic sales here, Same for the LAND ROVER , somebody here also sold CITREON , V E R Y F E W . .
PEUGEOT had a most wonderful suspension , much better than anything made in US . EG; Paris - Dakar , only things added were lights, & ROLLBAR. Suspension stayed the same.
Cheers from NJ....USA
The last decent and desirable car Peugeot ever made!
Not so. The 406 was the smoothest most comfortable car I've ever driven.
306 was a decent car, their modern stuff is junk obviously.
Zero Ninety I suppose I see the 205 GTi as the pinnacle of their desirable cars. One I wanted so much in the 80s and early 90s. Their newer stuff is trash. Bit like Vauxhall - 80s and 90s were awesome. But now? So dull!
One of the greatest cars ever.
Always liked the 205 but I had a Micra instead (given to me by an aunt who'd quit driving). Oddly enough, I still see a few 205s and Micras being driven around locally by pensioners who probably had them since new. Amazing longevity.