206 GTi 180

[illuminati]

i need some advice.

i went in to purchase a stivo on sat. but i noticed that the quality looked kinda cheap. (btw the price i got was 28800 with sports grille, rear kit, mats, and paint protection, o4 built)

so i decided to have a look around. i stoped in at peugeot and fell in love with the interior of the 206 GTi 180. i love suede. the price i got there was 39000 with tint, protection(int and ext), mats, tyre/wheel insurance, and extended warantee.

it comes with 17s which look quite nice and pirreli tyres(205/40), the suspension is awsome!, its got leather/suede BUCKET seats, really tanky gearbox, climate control(like rollas), stereo abit better then rollas, has a trip computer(like the vectra).

its specs are similar to rollas, it has a 2ltr engine which revs to 7.3k.

what are your opinons?

i would prefer to own the 206 but i dont kno if i should spend so much. <_<

[NIKICH]

They have alot of problems with their computers. I know a guy that bought a 307, he would leave his car off with no windows open, he would come back and found that his windows would be opened. He also had 3 flat batteries, no lights were left on, just the battery would drain. Hes had his car for almost a year now, 8 of those months have been in the repairers workshop for fixes. He has had his ECU changed as well all the wires in the car and im not sure if its working now.

And from what he told me, we got a friendlier service department than what he has

My 2c

[Danthuyer]

I have personally not looked at the new 206 but I did look at the Ford Focus ST170 before I bought the Stivo. Its in the price range that you are looking at. Its a great drive, loverly handling and a good amount of torque. If you are not put off by the shape then I recommend you take one for a spin.

it is screaming for a turbo though

[dakota]

The Melbourne Herald-Sun did a test on it a couple of fridays ago in the motoring section, and they reckoned its a ripper of a drive.

Very hard to find anything wrong with it, and bags of character and grunt...

Why dont u test drive and tell us yerself ??

p.s $39k !!!...U win Tatts or summit..only jealous ?? :D :D

[influx]

they are one the best small cars i think - my opinion, bit pricey but. Haven't heard of those comp problems but peugot used to have a real bad name, cept for the 205 gti 1.9. i think the main difference is the price in servicing but if you can afford it ill, i would go for it.

[illuminati]

thanx for being honest.

i did drive it on sat. couldnt push hard cos the sales chick was already ****ting herself abit. hahaha. it went damn hard, heaps of torque at 2k and above. seats were very nice! the gearbox felt very nice and strong. first gear goes to above 70km/h. the suspension is really nice and stiff but u can go over speed bumps at 30+ and it performs like softer springs.

the only thing i found to be a problem is the pedals are way too close and are wierd. It would suc to get your foot stuck under the brake pedal after heavy acceleration, hehehe.

another thing im thinking isnt too good is that its a 2 door and a four seater(but at least now i wont need a shoe horn to jam 5 ppl into it) :D

i will test a focus before i buy it but nice interior is sumthing that i find important(its what im looking at 90% of the time) and i tihkn the focus has a crappy small car interior(like the echo).

i thought of another thing ill b losing is i dont get a rolla: unquestioned access to this forum. ill miss yas if i get kiked off. :(

[illuminati]

i think the main difference is the price in servicing but if you can afford it ill, i would go for it.

i was told the engine comes worn in. the book says after picking up the car i dont have to get it serviced for 20,000kms, and at 20000km intervals. im gonna get it done once a year at least.

it does cost alot more, but when i goto sell her in a few years ill get more for her compared to the resale value of the rolla. so it makes the price i payed on top of the rolla smaller(hard to explain what i mean)

[NIKICH]

I took the Peugeot GTI (not the 180) for a test drive last year. I liked it, although it has half leather half cloth seats. What i didnt like was how close the pedals were, i stalled it twice because i have large feet and i was hitting the clutch and brake at the same time. This did not make me feel safe. Also the indicators and windscreen wipers are reversed and that ticks me off.

I had the same problem with the mini.

[Blade Hunter]

They are very nice but when I looked they did seem a tad small inside, not quite Renault Clio Sport type small but small none the less and the 2 door thing was a big no no for me. Other than that they are a fantastic vehicle.

[shaohaok]

i know a GTi owner who had endless electrical problems, too. had his ecu replaced and lots of electronic bits. might have been a Friday afternoon special. but yeah, he's had to bring it back a few times now.

[lucio_libre]

I think they are a great little car, look really nice, i was planning to buy one but getting the staff discount from toyota was too much, besides i took one on a few weeks ago and got him by a couple of car lengths, topping out 4th. Nothing compares to lift :D even if it's a 2 liter

[illuminati]

im thinking of getting it, even tho i may have some probs with electrics, its better then having probs with gearbox...

but i will be taking focus out and mayb astra turbo, neone kno how much they r on road?

[lucio_libre]

Youre looking at 40+ on road, way too much, only 4 bangers, youre getting into the xr6 territory with those prices, but thats up to you. About the gearbox? not everyone has problems. By the time you make up your mind, they might have a new model out :P :P just kidding.

[GZE_Bandit]

Astra turbos are sweet little machines. Would buy one in a snap if i had the cash.

[Blade Hunter]

im thinking of getting it, even tho i may have some probs with electrics, its better then having probs with gearbox...

but i will be taking focus out and mayb astra turbo, neone kno how much they r on road?

Dude, listen to yourself. Whatever you do, don't make an emotional purchase, you are considering purchasing a car for almost $40,000 and you are FULLY AWARE that you may have major electrical issues with it.

If I were you I would test all the hot hatches, rank them in order of how you like the feel of driving it because ultimately thats what driving is about, awseome looks inside will be a novelty for only so long.

Once ranked, do research on forums like this on what all the known issues are.

Then make an informed decision on what is best for your driving style, your lifestyle and your budget.

Seriously mate I would not look at a car where I know there is issues such as electrics. Think about it, the %age of people on this forum against all of Aus is rather low. the %age of them that know people with a peugot VERY low and TWO of them have reported the same issue. I would take this as quite a warning.

Hope that helps a little. Whatever you end up deciding, best of luck to you, I hope you are happy with what you decide on :).

[E-Gene]

Well, my opinion (cos everyone's got one) is that the 206 GTI is a little small. I'm an Asian and I've got problems fitting in one, let alone an average sized Aussie. I've sat in one before and I felt really uncomfortable due to it's size. But the ride was really good...could really feel the torque as compared to the Stivo.

I really think that it comes down to budget though. If you've got the dough and want to spend it...well, I would say go for it. I find that the Stivo is a good car for it's price, but I don't think that I can say the same for the 206 GTI. Personally, I always like to know that I've got a good bargain. :P With $40k as a budget, you've got heaps of choices...take you time to make an informed decision, that I agree with Blade Hunter.

[shaohaok]

im thinking of getting it, even tho i may have some probs with electrics, its better then having probs with gearbox...

but i will be taking focus out and mayb astra turbo, neone kno how much they r on road?

holden has stopped importing astra turbos since early this year. opel has stopped making the AstraG as they have to start re-tooling the factory for the new AstraH.

I think they might hold their value better in the long run coz there are only about 1000 or less of them that holden has imported. Anyway, the astra's interior rattles heaps, too. Aftermarket parts are hard to find. And if u do wanna mod them adding a bleed valve to up the boost doesn't work coz the ECU will go into limp mode. Breathing mods will be useless after a few weeks as the ECU will re-learn everything. Steering isn't also the greatest as it's a bit numb compared with lots of cars. Overall they are a nice car with the european feel. Great for cruising and the interior ergonomics are good.

[dakota]

OK here's the big decider, and I mean no disrespect dude but my gf reckons all her friends think the 206 is a best CHICKS car of all time...

Anyone driven the new Mazda 3 yet ? the 2.3 looks pretty cool, plus the new BMW 1 series is out soon at a cheap $36k'ish...

[Blade Hunter]

OK here's the big decider, and I mean no disrespect dude but my gf reckons all her friends think the 206 is a best CHICKS car of all time...

Anyone driven the new Mazda 3 yet ? the 2.3 looks pretty cool, plus the new BMW 1 series is out soon at a cheap $36k'ish...

Looked at the SP23, the rolla beats it and they have an extra 500CC. They look sweet as but are pretty underpowered for the spec.

[xTiGeRx]

illuminati: are you actually going to buy a car? Or are you just saying you 'will'. You've been saying the same thing for months now and still...last time i read, you said you were going to buy a Stivo the other weekend.

Or are you just dribbling...as usual...?

[Pecker]

Bro you cant say the rolla isnt a bit of a chicks car either...

Ok here are my 5 cents worth.

ASTRA: Sweet car but outdated technology. I think it shares the same block from the calibra which had the same basic block design of the camira! well thats what my mechanic told me anyway. They feel solid but the interiors look old. Like an E36 Beemer. Big gaps were plastics join. But fast, my boss has one. You get that strong mid range turbo urge.

206GTI: Hands down better ride, looks great but the money is putting it up against some serious competition. WRX, Slightly used 200SX or even an XR6T, especially if your looking at the new higher powered model.

For 30K i have no complaints about the Rolla even if it takes a little while to master a 1-2 change at a sweet 8200rpm. Its got a great interior and the engine sounds wonderful on song.

[black455]

We should only compare apples with apples of course there are so many better cars than the stivo but is there anything better in that price range? and is any other car is practical than our stivos I mean luxury, space, durability blah blah... and last not least that little bit extra power when you need it. If I can go closer to 40k I would seriously consider WRX instead of GTi 180 (it’s a matter of raising your bar). Well that's my tc worth and ultimately the decision is up to you.

[illuminati]

i kno i could get a rex, but even tho they go hard, they look so cheap. all the bugdet went into the engine and the quality in other areas suffered. plus rexs have very weak gear boxes/clutchs.

plus the amount of GTi 180s coming into the counrty is so small that it will have less depreciation then other cars.

xTiGeRx: i am buying a car, i kno i have been saying this for ages. but everytime it time to go get one some sh!t comes up and i have to wait longer. it a very complicated personal matter as to why i couldnt purchase the car earlier, and i cbf explaining it. if this topic is ****** you off and u find no value in reading what is written here then dont enter.

[illuminati]

OK here's the big decider, and I mean no disrespect dude but my gf reckons all her friends think the 206 is a best CHICKS car of all time...

got their numbers??

ill take them for a spin.

its only a four seater but if their hot ill take 4 of em in one go

[shaohaok]

the Z20LET on the asta is an old iron block with a new alloy head. its actually also the same block as the 120+kw previous OPC astra which does the century sprint in about mid 8s just with a higher compression. it has the same bodykit as the NA SRi.

the sp23 imo is much more refined than the sportivo. the overall feel is a bit better and more solid. power-wise, i wouldn't call it sparkling. sensible power, i believe. i can give up a bit of refinement just for that awesome sound the 2ZZGE makes.

anyway illuminati, if space is important to u, then i dun think the 206 would help.