Skip advert
Advertisement

Peugeot 206 review (1998-2009)

Ageing French supermini is off the pace and due for replacement, but has enough charm to ensure it remains popular to the end.

Peugeot 206
Overall Auto Express Rating

1.0 out of 5

Find your Peugeot 206
Offers from our trusted partners on this car and its predecessors...
Hassle-free way to a brand new car
Or are you looking to sell your car?
9/10 sellers got the price they expected
Advertisement

Driving:
The 206 is a traditional French hatchback; lolloping suspension gives a laid-back ride and pointy, involving handling - but noise suppression isn't the greatest. Add in the 206's vocal engines and high-speed wind rush, and you've a noisy companion at speed. The steering is also a little loose and the tail will ease out if you're snappy with the throttle in the wet. At least relative light weight means 1.4-litre engines offer decent shove, while 1.6-litre Sport versions are great warm hatches. But to drive the 206, you must put up with an appalling driving position - cramped pedals and distant, angled steering wheel - while non-sport seats aren't brilliant either. Throw in a distinct lack of space, particularly in the rear, and you've a car that is certainly feeling its age. Even before you've considered the hard, scratchy dash plastics and evidence of rattles.

Marketplace:
The 206 range has been slimmed with the arrival of the 207, but remains on sale as a 'budget' offering for those who find the 107 too compact. Urban, Verve and Sport trims have been honed to offer generous trim levels at sensible prices, though the engines that power them are ageing. You're best going for diesel - if you can afford it. The premium is rather high even for the 1.4-litre HDi. GTI models, meanwhile, are expensive compared to newer opposition, particularly the mad 180bhp version. As for bodystyles, three-and five-door models sit alongside SW 'estate' versions, while there may still be some of the groundbreaking CC coupe-cabriolet range left in the system.

Owning:
206s have long been massively popular with private buyers, keeping retained values high. This should continue as Peugeot cleverly manages the range now the 207 has arrived. Economy isn't bad for an 'oldie' (the newer 1.4-litre engine returns better mpg than the 1.1-litre) and long service intervals help keep annual costs down. But insurance ratings could be lower and mid-'90s design means it can't shrug off parking scrapes as cheaply as more modern designs.

Engines, performance and drive

0

MPG, CO2 and Running Costs

0

Interior, design and technology

0

Practicality, comfort and boot space

0

Reliability and Safety

0
Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Huge Audi new car blitz to bring us 9 models in 2 years
Upcoming Audi models - four-way image
News

Huge Audi new car blitz to bring us 9 models in 2 years

After a quiet few years, the German giant is gearing up for its biggest product onslaught to date
25 Mar 2024
Posh new trim level for Dacia Sandero while the Sandero Stepway gets more power
Dacia Sandero - front
News

Posh new trim level for Dacia Sandero while the Sandero Stepway gets more power

Both the Sandero and Sandero Stepway ranges have been tweaked, gaining more safety features to meet the latest regulations
26 Mar 2024
Road tax set to rise in April: here’s how much more you’ll pay
Road tax documentation
News

Road tax set to rise in April: here’s how much more you’ll pay

Drivers with newer cars can expect to be paying roughly £10 more per year, a although the biggest gas guzzlers will fare the worst
26 Mar 2024