Skip advert
Advertisement
In-depth reviews

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?
Customers got an average £1000 more vs part exchange quotes
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

More on 206 Hatchback

Used superminis
Used car tests
31 Oct 2006

Used superminis

Fiat’s Punto, Renault’s Clio and Peugeot’s 206 all represent great value now they’ve been superseded. Which is best?
Used Peugeot 206 (2005) review
Front view of Peugeot 206
Used car tests
2 Aug 2005

Used Peugeot 206 (2005) review

It's one of Britain's top-selling new cars, but is the Peugeot 206 such a good bet as a used buy?
Peugeot 206 HDi GTi 110
Road tests
9 Jun 2004

Peugeot 206 HDi GTi 110

Welcome to the world's most economical GTi! Auto Express is the first magazine to drive Peugeot's new oil-burning 206, which the French manufacturer h…
Skip advert
Advertisement
Peugeot 206 1.6 SE Tiptronic
Road tests
20 Jan 2004

Peugeot 206 1.6 SE Tiptronic

Peugeot has decided to improve its conventional automatic and launched the only car in its class with a Tiptronic function.