Peugeot 206. A stylish but useless hairdressers car or a very very good first car?

It all started 2 years ago. I started studying at the University (which is on different city than my parents, with which I lived up to that date) and found out that the campus, is a few kilometres outside of the city, and with inadequate public transport to and from it. So it came down to the conclusion that it would be better for me to get my 1st car at age 18 (very unusual in my country!) with my parents helping me out financially, because I just finished school and have to job (obviously). The starting budget was 5.000 euros. With that in mind we started searching. And I kinda knew what I wanted, but with no driving experience, I didn’t knew about driving dynamics. It all were the same back then.

A few days later, we stumbled upon a dark grey 3-door Peugeot 206, 2006 model with 128.000 km at 4000 euros. The car was in very very good condition considering its age and use. At first I has not very pleased about getting a Peugeot. I though they were stylish unreliable cars that are pretty much useless. With one notable exception the 106 with ricers really love… And boy I was so wrong…

2 years and 23.000 km later, and having a bit of driving experience on hand I firmly believe on the moto “You don’t need too much power to have fun”. More in the review below…

Lets start with the aesthetic point of view. Its the 1st thing you notice at a car, and the 1st impression you make about it. It is a quite small 3-door 5-seat (!!!) hatchback with most of its surfaces being rounded, because FRANCE !. On the front it might look like its laughing, but because there are so many on the road, it goes unnoticed. On the plus side, you can leave it anywhere, even unlocked, and none will try to steal it, because it is so common and cheap.

On the inside, its pretty good for a car made in the last decade. A reasonably sided boot for its size, a space saver spare under it, 2 door bins and a glove box. Also has a pretty basic -all you need- dash with speed / rev counter / fuel / temperature and odometer, hydraulic power steering, A/C, RCD and electric front windows. Basically all you need to have a reasonably comfy life in there without cursing.

And now we go to the fun part. Handling, Performance and Fuel Economy. Due to taxation reasons, I the car had to be up to 1400cc (less than that preferable…). And the 206 has a 1,4L N/A petrol engine (TU3JP model… for more info google it…). And yes I know, 74hp (claimed) for a 1,4L is quite few. But it has very good fuel economy, even better that most people expect. Very regularly over the 2 years I own it, I average ~8L/100km on very heavy city traffic, ~6,5-7L/100km on mixed conditions. And here comes the apocalypse. 5-6L/100km on highways. Just 3 days ago I did 275km burning only 14,5L and paying 20 euros on it… And we are talking for a 8 year old gasoline engine without forced induction, without variable valve timing, with only 8 valves and 1 overhead cam. But where this car really excels, and was the point of this whole review is its handling. This simple car that you might see on the supermarkets parking lot driven by almost anyone, is a damn sleeper when it come to handling, and can shame cars from classes above that cost double and triple its price. It all starts with the basics. Lightweight, with the center of gravity being pretty low, simple sock absorbers and springs on all 4 corners and 175/65R14 yes on steelies. They might not seem too fat to provide any sufficient grip, but because the 206 is light and has a small overall size, you don’t need much more. Its is a go cart disguised as a regular A-to-B vehicle. Have a good set of tires, take it to a twisty mountain road and it transforms into a go-cart that grips like there is no tommorow. And you might think I am exaggerating a bit. But every single person that has seen or even better driven it has commented the same thing. Its handling is just very good. And the fact that you find it on this car, come as a surprise that makes it even more intense. When you see a 45.000 euro AWD Audi, you expect it to handle and grip when. You are prepared. But on the 206, you are not. And that makes it even more enjoyable. Knowing that you have a capability that almost none knows is what makes you smile. Seeing that triple price than you sedan behind you on the lights and smiling knowing that on the twisty road ahead has now chance to keep up. And that is intoxicating…

Finishing off, I ‘d like to let you know that I am not a professional reviewer or racing driver. I’m just a 20 year old petrolhead, with 2 years of experience that wanted to share his thoughts.