Peugeot 106 1.1

...Pepe's. Who's Pepe? Why, my Peugeot 106 of course. He remained unnamed until I heard a male friend referring to his Ford Fiesta as Fifi. Only women eh? He's now nearly in his 15th year, and has seen many good times with me. I learnt to drive (officially), relatively late in life, and took my test in May 1999. By that time, I had just bought my first car (Pepe) and was spending most of my spare time driving around, with the aid of any friends or relatives, ...
...

The Peugeot 106's were originally manufactured as a more modern alternative to their outdated 205 model. When these were first launched in 1991, the nearest competitor was Renault's Clio, which had been launched just months earlier. Sadly, Peugeot stopped making the 106's in 2003, and they were soon replaced with the 107. This means, if you are in the market for one now, it would have to be second hand.

Anyone owning ... more

April is the month of two birthdays in my house. Mine and Pepe's. Who's Pepe? Why, my Peugeot 106 of course. He remained unnamed until I heard a male friend referring to his Ford Fiesta as Fifi. Only women eh? He's now nearly in his 15th year, and has seen many good times with me. I learnt to drive (officially), relatively late in life, and took my test in May 1999. By that time, I had just bought my first car (Pepe) and was spending most of my spare time driving around, with the aid of any friends or relatives, who frankly had to have thick skin to bear sitting with an irritable and sometimes irrational woman who just didn't like to be told what to do in her own car. I passed first time fortunately, and was fast running out of friends, when the joys of the open road greeted Pepe and I, and we haven't looked back since.

Why this particular one?

Well I was forbidden from driving the car of my partner at the time, somehow he didn't want me cramping his insurance premiums. It came as a surprise to both of us what a hothead I was once I got behind the wheel of a car.

When I came to buy this one, there were a few criteria I had in mind. I wanted a smallish, inexpensive car for lots of reasons.

This being my first car, I wanted an inexpensive one which be easy on my pocket, both in terms of the actual purchase price and also when it came to insuring the beast. Although I was in my late twenties at the time, premiums are still expensive for anyone who's just passed.

I also knew that I wanted a hatchback. They're small (most of the time I didn't and still don't have much occassion to carry passengers) and easy to park. I live in south London, and for those of you who happily never travel this way, parking and driving in general can be fraught. The amount of traffic on my local roads at any time of day beggars belief. Naturally these drivers all require somewhere to park their cars, and the smaller your car, the more chance of grabbing a space. Also, when I first started driving, the cars I learnt in were all compact (what they call superminis) and I found these easy to manoeuvre.

I bought Pepe privately from a lady owner who had owned him from new. When I went to view the car, his bodywork was in excellent condition, aside from the odd scratch at the front from debris being thrown up from the road. There was a full service history (very important) and it looked as though he was well maintained.

So what exactly is my pride and joy?

His specific model is: a 106 Graduate XN 1.2.

The Peugeot 106's were originally manufactured as a more modern alternative to their outdated 205 model. When these were first launched in 1991, the nearest competitor was Renault's Clio, which had been launched just months earlier. Sadly, Peugeot stopped making the 106's in 2003, and they were soon replaced with the 107. This means, if you are in the market for one now, it would have to be second hand.

Anyone owning a Citroen Saxo will also have what is essentially the same car, as although the Saxo was launched under the separate marque of Citroen it's the same company and many of both companies cars are made in the same factories.

Being at the lower end of the specs, Pepe has a 1.1 litre engine with 1124cc as new. But that was in 1994, and so now, possibly not so many cc's, but hey, in car terms he's a relative granddaddy so show him some respect!

The engine size of the range started at 1.1 and went up to a whopping 1.6, most of which were petrol, but with a few diesel options too. There was also the choice of automatic gearboxes in the range, although mine is a manual. I should also point out that the Graduate is only a four gear car, although the top of the range ones came with five. Laughable now really.

Running Costs

The good news is that this is a really economical car to run. It's cheap in terms of petrol costs (around 40 mpg in ideal circumstances.. Unfortunately, most of my driving is in built up areas, and it drops somewhat, but I can't be more precise). It's also just a class 3 insurance car (out of a total of 20 I think), which is nice when it comes to the annual premiums.

Surprisingly, the last time I got quotes, it was marginally cheaper to take a fully comprehensive deal than a third party, fire and theft policy.

The bad news is that it isn't too green, which is bad for the environment in the long run, and also on the annual Road Tax. Last year it cost £120 for the 12 months, this year I believe it's going to go up by another £5.

The exterior

The paintwork is starting to look a little tired lately. That's probably in part to normal wear and tear, and the fact that I don't wash it as often as I should. I also rarely finish by polishing it. I know it protects the paintwork, but it just seems like such hard work sometimes. And lets face it, we're talking about a 15 year old car here, not a brand new baby.

A pretty much standard car exterior, although Pepe wasn't fitted with front fog lights. A sunroof was factory fitted as standard to most models, mine included. One of my main gripes with the car is the fact that the sunroof seems to have been fitted for left hand drive vehicles, they didn't change the installation for their UK clients. To open the sunroof with one hand is almost impossible for me as the catch is fitted on the wrong side to get to when you're in the drivers seat. This makes opening or shutting it when I'm on the move impossible.

The interior

Pepe, being a Graduate edition, was really an entry level model (though don't tell him that). That means the interior is basic to say the least. There aren't any cupholders (where they around in 1994?) and you can see a lot of the paintwork on the inside of the doors, which must have been a cheaper option than to use fabric on the entire door.

Just about everything is manual in the car. The windows at the front wind up and down ( the back two don't open at all). The same applies to the wing mirrors. The entertainment system consists of a dual stereo/cassette player (remember them?) mounted on the dashboard which is only controlled by using the dashboard dials. Again, a no no if you're on the move and trying to change channel. The two steering wheel stalks control the lights on one and the wipers on the other. The horn is accessible on the end of each of them.

The cloth interior is a multi-check colour, not as bad as some of the other 106's I've seen, but rather dull all the same. Nothing in leather in this baby, more's the pity. I don't know what choices were available when bought new.

There's also an immobiliser fitted, which I believe was standard in all their models in this range.

The annual costs?

I take Pepe for a full service at the same time as he has the MOT and although I choose a local, reliable garage that I trust, not a franchised dealer, it's always expensive. The last service he needed part of the exhaust replacing together with a hose (don't ask me which one, aren't they all the same?). These two items came to a total of £130, which is quite steep. I'm also lazy inasmuch as all the fluids get replaced then, rather than when I take a look under the bonnet. As I say, the car's quite old, and larger service costs can only be expected as time goes on with any car.

Safety

One of the biggest drawbacks with this vehicle is in this area. For instance, there are no air bags fitted. All cars nowadays are fitted with at least two, if not a whole lot more. Pepe, likes to live on his wits though. As it's just me travelling alone usually, this isn't a big problem to me, (the average speed I seem to manage locally is 'crawling' speed anyhow). But seriously, for those with children travelling in their car, or any other loved ones, it's bound to be a big put-off.

What's it like to drive?

The main reason most people choose a car probably. I have to say that I don't think it's at all uncomfortable to drive in, although I have had passengers comment on the seats when we've been on relatively long motorway journeys who've found it to be quite uncomfortable to sit in for long periods. Perhaps it's just something that I've grown used to.

I also find the handling is good, and in most weather conditions it's still as perky and responsive as a newer vehicle would be. I should also say, that except on a few occasions since I've owned the car, it has always started first time.

The car isn't really quiet, and the engine in mine tends to run fast when I first start it up, which in turn makes it vibrate more than it should and makes it seem especially loud. It's probably the curse of the Close, but never mind. It does settle down once the engines warmed up, although it never exactly purrs.

The top speed of this is stated to be 99 mph and that's probably accurate, though from experience, once you get to over 70, you really don't want to test it out. It rattles and hums, just like Bono.

Having said that, for it's drawbacks at higher speeds, when I see a much newer (and sportier) car on the hard shoulder as I speed past, I can't help but smile. I've never had a breakdown as such in the ten years I've owned Pepe, although, twice now, to my consternation, I've found the immobiliser has worked loose when I've got in, to which I've had to call my breakdown people out to sort out. Once around six years ago, and again just a few months ago. That's not bad going for such an oldie like Pepe.

Other points

I find the visibility when driving to be first rate in Pepe. The front and rear pillars are all quite small, and don't obstruct my vision at all. The rear window is also nice and large, enabling me to see clearly when I'm reversing.

This car has a really large boot in comparison to similar sized vehicles. I keep my spare tyre in it, and it fits easily. There is room under the car, but I heard about tyres being stolen, so thought I'd move it to the boot. With that to one side, I can also fit in four full bags of grocery shopping as well.

The space in the boot offsets the disadvantage of anyone having to sit in the rear though. The space here is somewhat limited. I've occasionally driven two friends in the rear, and there really isn't much room at all. Luckily, at 5'4'', I tend to put my seat quite far forward, which gives the person behind me some more legroom, otherwise, they're really having to sit with their legs to one side. In the front is a different matter, and it really doesn't feel constricted at all. Having said that, it naturally depends on your height and weight.

So would I recommend it?

If you're looking to buy an inexpensive car, perhaps like me as a first time buyer, or as a smaller alternative to the main family car, then yes I would. However, whether you would choose a car that's got such a basic interior as this, or with the big safety drawback of having no airbags is a matter for you to decide.

Cars, even in the supermini ranges such as mine, have changed dramatically in recent years, and people now are expecting more for their money. More features are being demanded as standard rather than as optional extras. Power steering, electric sunroofs if not air con, and cd players if not mp3 compatible players are par for the course now.

You can buy a Pepe double for around £500 now. If I were looking to buy a car for the first time now, I would go for something around five years old (as Pepe was when I bought him) rather than the cheaper under £1000 range. This car would still appeal to teenagers though, who are happy to forsake a nicer interior for a more basic car, if it helps with expect huge insurance bills for the first few years.

I doubt I'll ever sell Pepe on though, I can see myself keeping him until the nice man at the Garage shakes his head and says enough is enough.  

...less