I am a new driver of only 1 and 1/2 months, 17 years old. I passed my test on the first attempt, which surprised the hell out of me. Fortunately, my dad had already bought me a car for my birthday about 3 months before. This car was my very own Peugeot 205 GT (G reg). It's a sort of slivery blue, 5 door.
I have to say that I whole heartedly love this car, it is actually my favourite posession, so I thought I would write a review to reflect how it does from a first car point of view.
Firstly, safety: I have to admit that the fact that it doesn't have any airbags does bother me. I also get worried about the alarm, as it doesnt have one, but that could easily be fixed by getting one fitted. Because I am a woman, I do worry that I'll forget to lock one of the doors, and someone could get in ( all those women safety talks seem to have gotten to me) and so that is just an extra worry, but i do faithfully lock all the doors before I get out. (Another disadvantage= no central locking :( ) On a plus side, the car has fully working seatbelts to accomodate every person in the back and front, so i never need to worry about that. The door pillars are very thin, so they give the maximum possible vision, and the wing mirrors are large, as is the back window. So i feel really able to see everything when reversing.
Comfort: My GT has bucket seats, which are really deep, so that i sink into them when i get in. This is so comfy, and i find that i dont get a numb cocsyx as i did in my driving instructors car (Suzuki Swift). The seats are positioned high enough so that I dont have to strain my neck to see out the back. The air conditioning/heating in the car is pretty much standard, and I find that it works really well on both settings. Unlike my mum's 306, which i also drive, it doesnt take ages to heat up on a cold day. The seats in the back are spacious, and there is a lot of leg room for passengers. However, the specification radio does not work, and if it did, it would only be a tape player and radio, but i have checked how to do this, and I am able to change this myself.
Road Handling: The only thing that bothers me with the 205 is the choke :(. Too little and it wont start, too much and it wont start. If you keep the choke on for too long, it wants to drive itself at junctions. This is also a pain on cold days. However, once the car is started, it only needs a mile or so with the choke on until it can be taken back off again. I also think that this adds character to the car, and weirdly, my friends seem to be quite impressed by my ability to use it haha. It corners like a dream, and the brakes are really efficient. It is easy to control speed and the clutch is perfectly easy to use.
Looks: Possibly one of the best looking cars that either me or any of my friends drive. Everyone points out how "retro" and "Vintage" it is, and the colour is a gorgeous metallicy blue. It scrubs up really well and the paintwork is practically immaculate seeing as though I have bumped it a couple of times. It is so robust, and i feel like I can have any mishap in it, and still be safe.
All in all, I would whole heartedly recommend this car to anyone, especially a new or nervous driver.
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May 12th, 2009
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