Peugeot 205 GTI, the original hot hatch - hero car by www. autocar. co. uk
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Date: 2022-04-17
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Comments and reviews: 10
Cut
Not true, in 87 Honda released the civic 1. 6 ivt with 150bhp from a 1. 6, this was the hot hatch, light, 'luxurious', more powerful than anything without a turbo. The 205 ate dust every time. Still, it still amazes me how good this look, mainly on the country side, it's like a candy, you see it and you want to drive it, I find it ugly or at least not that attractive on paper/images, but in person it's a so seductive car, I still remember seeing a neighbours 1. 6 GTI in the weekend country house of my grandparents, it's was my definition of idyllic for a long time.
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Not true, in 87 Honda released the civic 1. 6 ivt with 150bhp from a 1. 6, this was the hot hatch, light, 'luxurious', more powerful than anything without a turbo. The 205 ate dust every time. Still, it still amazes me how good this look, mainly on the country side, it's like a candy, you see it and you want to drive it, I find it ugly or at least not that attractive on paper/images, but in person it's a so seductive car, I still remember seeing a neighbours 1. 6 GTI in the weekend country house of my grandparents, it's was my definition of idyllic for a long time.
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simon
i had two mk1 golf gti's and two 1. 9's back in the day. The golf's were much more solidly built, but their electrics were crap, the brakes were crap and they looked a bit dull by 1986. The 205 was a creaky, rattly hell. the seat wobbled and rocked and the metal was so thin you could stare a hole into it, but it was so much fun to drive, and the interior and exterior styling were bang on for their time. great car. i'd love a go in another one for old time's sake.
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i had two mk1 golf gti's and two 1. 9's back in the day. The golf's were much more solidly built, but their electrics were crap, the brakes were crap and they looked a bit dull by 1986. The 205 was a creaky, rattly hell. the seat wobbled and rocked and the metal was so thin you could stare a hole into it, but it was so much fun to drive, and the interior and exterior styling were bang on for their time. great car. i'd love a go in another one for old time's sake.
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DazzaSport
A lot of dewy eyed people reminiscing over the fabled 205 GTI. Unless you really need to have a 205 GTI for that old school hot hatch experience. Just buy a new Suzuki Swift Sport instead. The SSS is like a 205 GTI only slightly faster and with an even sharper chassis. No need to settle for over powered and overweight like most hot hatches these days. The SSS sticks to the tried and tested 80's formula. Lightweight and normally aspirated.
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A lot of dewy eyed people reminiscing over the fabled 205 GTI. Unless you really need to have a 205 GTI for that old school hot hatch experience. Just buy a new Suzuki Swift Sport instead. The SSS is like a 205 GTI only slightly faster and with an even sharper chassis. No need to settle for over powered and overweight like most hot hatches these days. The SSS sticks to the tried and tested 80's formula. Lightweight and normally aspirated.
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Michael
130bhp in a car of that size and weight is a lot. I drove the 206 sporty version, it was a nice
driving car with reasonable handling, quite good performance. The bad was, thirsty
no matter how you drove it. Also, it did lose it on the corners a bit, where the Astra mk4
did not, but the handling as I said was reasonable.
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130bhp in a car of that size and weight is a lot. I drove the 206 sporty version, it was a nice
driving car with reasonable handling, quite good performance. The bad was, thirsty
no matter how you drove it. Also, it did lose it on the corners a bit, where the Astra mk4
did not, but the handling as I said was reasonable.
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jonntischnabel
Owned a 1. 9 silver phase 1 when I was 22, absolutely loved it, also had a 5 GT turbo, but preferred the torqier characteristics of the pug. Now, 20 years on, I've purchased a tidy 93, 3 door base model in red, I'm half way through converting to a lookalike, with vts engine. Even in base form, it's so much fun to drive.
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Owned a 1. 9 silver phase 1 when I was 22, absolutely loved it, also had a 5 GT turbo, but preferred the torqier characteristics of the pug. Now, 20 years on, I've purchased a tidy 93, 3 door base model in red, I'm half way through converting to a lookalike, with vts engine. Even in base form, it's so much fun to drive.
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MDDeGrande1994
Isn't actually the Volkswagen Golf Mk1 GTI the original hot hatch? I mean, it's a hatchback and all the final/top versions of hatchbacks are called -hot hatches- (and that's what the Golf GTI is, along with the Golf R and R32, right? Plus it came out a few years before the 205 GTI. Correct me if I'm wrong.
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Isn't actually the Volkswagen Golf Mk1 GTI the original hot hatch? I mean, it's a hatchback and all the final/top versions of hatchbacks are called -hot hatches- (and that's what the Golf GTI is, along with the Golf R and R32, right? Plus it came out a few years before the 205 GTI. Correct me if I'm wrong.
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Club
Its interesting how cars can become iconic with the passage of time. In its day motoring journalists usually thought there were better rival cars than the 205 GTi. (Yes, I'm old enough to remember. Let a few decades pass and then we are told it was the benchmark. Very odd.
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Its interesting how cars can become iconic with the passage of time. In its day motoring journalists usually thought there were better rival cars than the 205 GTi. (Yes, I'm old enough to remember. Let a few decades pass and then we are told it was the benchmark. Very odd.
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autos
I own one of these now. New hot hatches are far better all round, but you cannot beat the physics of a sub ton car for fun. The rattles and shakes are a trade up for the amazing steering and direction changes. Great upper body workout when trying to park also (non Pas)
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I own one of these now. New hot hatches are far better all round, but you cannot beat the physics of a sub ton car for fun. The rattles and shakes are a trade up for the amazing steering and direction changes. Great upper body workout when trying to park also (non Pas)
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wils35
if only they remade that car.
They still make mk2 golf's in Africa, they are probably terrible but if the Africans remade the 205 gti surely it would still be better than all the bent chassis ones that are left.
very very hard to find a good one.
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if only they remade that car.
They still make mk2 golf's in Africa, they are probably terrible but if the Africans remade the 205 gti surely it would still be better than all the bent chassis ones that are left.
very very hard to find a good one.
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Caygill's
One can't compensate for weight. My 205 Gti 1. 9 was 907kg on scale, with a 2/3 tank of petrol and an additional roll-bar from stele. Compare that to modern cars in this segment, where +1400kg would be comparable figure.
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One can't compensate for weight. My 205 Gti 1. 9 was 907kg on scale, with a 2/3 tank of petrol and an additional roll-bar from stele. Compare that to modern cars in this segment, where +1400kg would be comparable figure.
reply
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