Peugeot 206 1.4

I am writing this opinion having owned a 206 1.4 LX for 6 months. 10 000 miles, 1 bump, and a service later, I feel I am in a position to write a useful and balanced analysis of my car.

VALUE
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The 1.4 retails at a fair price for what you get. I bought the car when it was almost 2 years old, and felt that the used price was competitive. For £6500, I managed to get the car from a Peugeot Dealership with full service history and 25 000 miles on the clock. This was comparable to the Renault Clio but I felt better value than the VW Polo.

COSTS
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The 1.4 is cheap to run, offering a solid 43 mpg. At the service I had (which was only an intermediate one, main service every 20 000 miles) everything was great and needed no changes. Peugeot parts are fairly priced, e.g. spark plugs at £7.68.

DRIVING & PERFORMANCE
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Each 206 needs to be assessed individually and here I’m only looking at my 1.4. This seemed to offer me a good balance – it is nippy around town in the low gears, confident at 85 mph on the motorway (and above!) and what I especially enjoy is the ease of steering. The lightness of the power steering makes the car effortlessly manoeuvrable, the downside being the steering does feel light when you’re cruising at high speeds, but a small cost to pay.
The pedals are quite close together and took a bit of getting used to – you need to drive one before you buy one! I drove most of the superminis in this class, and felt that I was instantly comfortable with the 206, something I can’t say about any other car.
Overall, the performance is adequate – it was a step up for me from my last car so I’m happy, but 0-60 in 14.4 seconds isn’t lightning by anyone’s standards. Importantly, the car is responsive and a pleasure to drive.

COMFORT
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The 206 is certainly comfortable, and roomy in the back compared to its peers. I have the 5-door version which I find useful, as do my passengers! The driver seat offers decent lumbar support. The interior trim is plasticky compared to the Clio and Polo, but not enough to sway me from buying the car. As it came with air-conditioning as standard (with the LX you choose between a/c and a sunroof), the drive is pleasant on sunny warm days. Furthermore, the air-con enhances the de-misting of the car, and the de-mister is weak without air-con, so I wouldn’t go without it.

IMAGE
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As a young driver, I felt the image of my car was crucial, and let’s face it, the 206 is a fantastic looking car. It’s sleek and modern, and although introduced a number of years ago, it still seems like a brand new entry on the automobile market. The windscreen is very slanted, and this gives the dashboard an incredibly spacious feel. The nose of the car is hidden when you are in the driver’s seat, as this contributes to its slenderness, but some drivers may find this frustrating when parking.

SAFETY
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The 206, despite driving like it only weighs half a ton, scored 4 stars in the NCAP safety tests (when they smash up the car with test dummies and measure impact). This is an extremely high score, and even out performs the solid Polo! After a small bump 2 weeks ago, when a careless driver hit me, I went to a garage for repairs. The mechanic repairing my car spoke extremely highly of it, saying that in a high speed crash, the bonnet and body work crumple up to absorb the force, but the shell containing the driver and passengers is extremely hardy and therefore safe. I have a driver’s airbag, and newer models have a passenger one too.

SECURITY
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Immobiliser is standard; alarm comes with the GLX version. Peugeots have a mechanism by which turning the steering wheel to one side once you’ve turned the ignition off locks it in place, a further form of security

CONCLUSION
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Overall I am extremely happy with my 1.4 206 – and this is largely due to what I use it for. Short journeys around the town are quick and effortless…parking in tight spaces manageable, and the motorway journeys I make are economical. I love the look of the car every time I see it, the remote central locking is convenient – and the car meets my performance requirements. Many people claim the audio system is weak, it isn’t great but it’s also not bad at all, better than I expected! Give one a drive and see what you think!