Peugeot 206 (1999-2007)

Great first car – The Peugeot 206 is great for any learner. With the car being cheap, the parts and servicing is also cheap. The car is very reliable with no major issues having driven it for a long time. The car is a very small car but it is quick, not too quick but still fun. The car is also a bit loud if you want a loud car. I have a new head unit so it is still… Read more

good. The AC is great and all the functionality such as cc and cruise control all are standard. The only bad thing is the brakes, these brakes are terrible and you really should upgrade to after market breaks if you every want to go faster or tune the car. I would even recommend it if you are not tuning the car. Still a great car.

I KNOW THESE CARS WELL FROM PERSONAL RALLY DRIVING ACROSS ALL ROADS IN AUSTRALIA – I found the best aspects nimble steering ,parking ,clear vision all round , best seats of all cars tested , suspension supreme torsion makes that , Peugeot 206 known for small outside big feel inside. They build with excellent materials that dont fade quick and dont crack . Great road grip , standout design looks , excellent in a crash , the only dissapointment nearly all 206 loose their remote locking , very fuel efficient  Show details

GtI 180, not good – Styling-wise it was a great car. The 180bhp motor in my GTI 180 was also fair enough. Handling wise though, its not up there with my other hot hatches sorry. it was also unreliable with electrical issues. The 206 is a good car, but the hotted ones aren't anything to remember. I dont miss it really. Sporty alacantara seats nice, but inhibit… Read more

access to the rear seats. The backing can peal away from the front seats if you are too rough with it. Alloy wheels easy to gutter rash. Driving pedals and steering wheel are offset to the centre of the car.

Good car if you get it cheap enough to not care. Very nice colour selection and paint quality though. Very nice looking thing.

Not worse but not Best either – Baught one for my wife. Good value for money if you can compromise a few things like... 1 Noice of engine and tyres inside 2 Vibration of stearing wheel and motor 3 Jolt while changing 2nd gear 4 Expensive spear parts and service 5 RPM over 2500 when on 100km. Noisy and vibration 6 Light body 7 Front wheel wear quickly then rear once … Read more

Overall i paid 1600 for 2004 model 206xt with 130k on meter. Cheap for that year and kms with everything automatic (windows, stearing, fog lights front and rear, auto wipers front and rear, cd changer, auto mirrors, sports mode etc. I give it 3 to 4 star.

When life gives you lemons- make a death trap! – Both a coworker and myself bought one of these. She was unable to cash hers into a car yard and had a beeping noise as if her door was open. I laughed at her, only to have the same issue happen to me two weeks later. No matter what.. beeping as if a door is open. The parts are so expensive to replace you are better off with a BMW or Saab. I… Read more

was in a minor car accident where I was pushed into the back of a 4wd, the front of my car was totalled! If my dog wasn't squeezed in the back she would have died, I had to be rushed to hospital and learn how to walk again.

If this was a ford or Holden... I'd just walk away.

For a piece of crap made from thin plastic that you will die I'm.. this is is for you.

Seriously, all these cars need to be taken off the market.

It's not even legal to squeeze people in the back like that. Some drunk midget with an eating disorder must have made this for a joke

Great little car – To be honest build quality let it down a bit, but for the price you pay, you cannot expect that much. Every other aspect was great, nippy, economical, great round the corner, spacious and fun to drive. Theres a reason this car won european car of the year. Only wish they would have refreshed the body every year.  Show details

Never ever a French car again – I've heard bad things about French cars in the past, but unfortunately had a first hand experience. My wife owns a 2006 Peugeot 206cc 1.6L Petrol Auto. The car was always maintained well but despite that many problems occurred quite often. As you already know (if you read some reviews about the 206) the car has some major issues about its… Read more

electrical system. First the catalytic converter had a problem (twice), the lighter it seems that is causing some sort of short circuit problem with specific devices which causing the fuse to blow every so often, then the MFD (Multifunction Display) and the A/C light gone dark, I tried to lookup for the problem taking off the whole front panel and still didn't manage to fix it. Mechanically didn't show up any problem apart from some typical wear of some components like the steering rack end and the transmission which is slowly dying but that's normal after 200K kms, I wasn't expected the lifespan of the specific car to be any longer anyway.

Let's go to a performance review.

The French engineering done its miracle here too. The Auto 1.6L performs like a 1.2L Manual. Is a bit gutless so don't try to change lane when there is a 20 tonne truck behind you. The short wheelbase gives you a good and sharp turn radius and the low CG (center of gravity) can make the car fun driving on some twisty road with the roof down. The auto transmission gear change is like you having hiccups after swallowed a balloon. They jerky and sometimes very bad timed, and the clutch lock-up in 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear can make it even worse especially in traffic jams where there a lot of stop-and-go's taking place. I usually set it to semi-auto when there is a traffic jam and the clutch lock-up some times it won't disengage in low RPM and the car will start rattle (The bad timing we said earlier).

Comfort Issues

The driver's and passengers space is relatively good for the size of the car, but that sacrifices all the rear space for any unlucky passengers at the back (yes there are seats at the back, probably made for smurfs). I like the front seat design, for me they work ergonomically without causing any pain in my back, in relations with some other seats which pushing my low back. The rear passenger space is very limited, the headroom is not enough if your are 180cm and over which makes your head almost touching the rear window, the leg room is simply not there, you have to squash your knees almost to your chest in order to sit at the back.

The car's suspension is too stiff which makes you really "feel" any imperfections or anomalies on the road like pot holes or speed bumps, that's reasonable since the car is a bit low, is not fun at all though. Speaking of low clearance, you have to be careful when going on steep angles and ramps since the approach angle of the car is too low and very often the front bumper meets the ground.

The interior is too noisy especially on a rough tarmac. Over 100km/h the aerodynamics causing some whistling/buzzing sound too occur, so that means every time there is a wind blowing against you on the freeway get ready to drive like you having a fly with you as a passenger.

Don't know what the fuss is about – If you own a manual one and maintain it well they are very dependable motors. No issues in my 2 years of ownership. Bucket loads of features for your money. I get my parts from an independent distributor and they're very cheap. Dealers really like to rip you off. Only issue are a few rattles, but for an 11 year old car its not too bad. Also sometimes the radio decides to reprogram itself, but its all part of the character.  Show details

Nightmare – Cosmetically it is a pretty and well styled car, comfortable with enough space. The hardtop convertible sacrifices some boot space for the folding steel roof, pretty cool and nice on the hot days although there is significant road noise when the roof is on. Mechanically however this care sums up "French engineering" initially there were a few… Read more

niggling issues such as the remote central locking only opening the doors and not locking them upon exit. The radio lasted less then 2 months on a car with less then 80,000K and although the car had a complete service history for the local Peugeot garage none of these faults seemed to be fixable for any length of time.

After about six months the real trouble started, the dreaded anti-pollutant fault flashes up and seems more or less impossible to fix long term, while in this case the car didn't shut down and crawl along it did cause issues with revving extremely high on start up and cutting out at a standstill.

Battery issues were soon to follow, if left for more then 3 days the battery would completely discharge and getting the car running again proved timely and problematic.

Battery changes failed to remedy the issue and apparently the alternator was not responsible, it may possibly have been the immobiliser, a link to the anti-pollutant fault or some other drain on the system, this issue was never resolved before we cut our losses and waved a long overdue goodbye to one of the most problematic cars ever to sit on the driveway.

When it did work the 2.0 litre engine was relatively entertaining although the manual 5 speed gear box wasn't well suited to longer trips, the car handles pretty well and can be thrown into tight corners with ease and never feels unsettled or lacks grip, brakes were sharp and effective. The Aircon is cold and the roof mechanism on the convertible never had a problem although the door seals quickly sprung a leak.

A fun an interesting car to drive for a few days but a strong mechanical knowledge or deeply ingrained masochistic urges are strongly advised if you wish to own one.

1999-2006 Peugeot 206 – Beware the "antipolution fault" which comes up on the display, the car goes into "Limp Mode" and this is very dangerous, especially if you are on a freeway in the right-hand lane or on a road without an emergency stopping lane. I have taken the car to a number of mechanics including Peugeot but no-one can fix it. They all say they can but after a… Read more

while it re-occurs. Don't be fooled by this cars appearance, it has given us many anxious moments. You've been warned! The look, the size and it is economical. See above review, door indicator faulty, fuel gauge faulty, directional indicator faulty, etc.

Terrible – My dad has one, had lots of problems regarding electrics, 3 new indicator stalks (indicators coming on themselves, very dangerous!), gear changer rod went, central locking went, TRY AND CHANGE THE HEADLIGHT BULBS! My friend has one, a 03 reg 1.4, done 15.000 miles and the cylinder head gasket went, 300pounds to fix, his also has electrics… Read more

problems, the HAZARDS automatically come on at 75mph! His ecu also went for reprogramming as it would not start when hot! EVERYBODY I know who has one of these has had problems with them. I have owned Vauxhall cars for over 12 years now, NOT A SINGLE PROBLEM! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't like anything about it. The gear change, the engine, horrible car. Overall build quality. I could build a better car out of a washing machine.

Good – If you're looking for a little car that's very practical, very well equipped, looks VERY stylish, and is terrific value for money (I mean, you can get a very nice 206GTi for 11 or 12 grand, probably less), go for it. My advice with any used car purchase though is to get an independent mechanical inspection. NB: mine's the GTi. Very fast, handles… Read more

excellently, reasonable fuel economy but demands premium unleaded. Extremely well equipped: great stereo/CD player, power windows (fast, which is good), rain sensing wipers, climate control, front and side airbags, 4 wheel discs with ABS. "Puntability" of this thing is great, change down a gear and sink the boot, and it just FLIES. Chuckability: roadholding/grip/handling just great. Many complain about quality, but mine's been totally reliable, never missed a beat, now has 96,000 k's on it. Expensive to service. City Peugeot in Melb are very expensive, and will tell you to do stuff you don't need to, watch out. Other than that, nothing really. My only gripe is that it lacks a bit of character. I used to have an Alfa Sprint that was certainly not lacking in that dept, and the Pug just feels a bit 'cold' in comparison...

OK – The best thing is the fuel efficiency and the stand-out looks. I really like the car, but next time I'd choose one that's less expensive to service. The 206 is fuel efficient and stylish. I love the little things like the inside light coming on when you remove the keys - great when you are exiting the car at night. I love the sensors that… Read more

automatically decide how fast the windscreen washers should go in rain. Brakes are excellent - very responsive. The accelerator pedal is too close to the brake - that's ok for my small feet but men have difficulty with not pressing both pedals at the same time. Services are expensive and the brakes need work more often than other cars. (Services are best done by Peugeot dealers with Peugeot specific equipment and knowledge).

Built by men who drink wine at lunch – ...that's the point about the 206. I still think it looks great and it handles well (remember, it's not a sports car) and it's economical but boy-oh-boy is it an unreliable machine. I bought one new and had to have the power steering system rebuilt twice inside the first 30K, a rocker cover had to be replaced at 45K (but that can happen anytime to… Read more

any car, in fairness) and the brake pads and discs had to be replaced at 50K which is poor for such a light car. Still looks good, handles well, good fuel economy. Unreliable, awful clunky gear change, expensive to service, Sydney dealers are a bunch of money-grabbing morons.

OK – Handles great. Very Luxurious. Has a lot of extra's. Would make an excellent city car, but wouldn't recommend for rough country roads. I had a lot of problems with the suspension! Very economical!!! Will run on the smell of an oily rag! Servicing and repairs are very Pricey!!! Show details

Excellent – A neat compact vehicle with euro luxury. I paid $12500 for 06 model with 11000km. Gets about 6.3L/100km. Have to think about overtaking uphill with 3 passengers! Love the electric everything but wonder how long the keyless battery will last. Fuel efficient, luxury interior, great audio Accelerator close to brake pedal Show details