Peugeot 206 (1998 - 2009) 1.4 Verve 3d Owner Review

I love the car. It's definitely the no.1 choice of first car. I am completely clued up on all of the cars in the supermini segment and overall to me the 206 came out to be the best of the lot (Clio, Fiesta, Corsa, Punto, Yaris, C2). I'm a very proud owner knowing it's a British built car from Coventry. The engines are better compared to rivals especially the HDI units. The later 1.6 HDI is the one to go for in Sport or SE spec. The downside to owning the 206 is you have to get used to the typical 206 and Peugeot stereotypes people throw at you. They aren't true!! The electrics are fine, same used in any other cars. I do recommend Multiplex (MUX) wired ones 2002 - onwards as these are the best to diagnose if a problem does occur. Build quality can be a bit iffy in some areas but nowhere near as bad as the rest of the rivals. It's these cars nature of the time and size. They were all built cheaply so people could afford them and to keep manufacturing costs low. I'd check the T30 bolts in the seat adjusters as these do come loose over time. I assume they didn't tighten them to a high enough torque at the Ryton plant. I never see the issue with Mulhouse or Poissy manufactured models. The interior has kept with the time and can be respected as a modern car still in face-lift models. Pre face-lift models do feel dated as equipment is more sparse. The exterior too has also stood the test of time with it's curvaceous and sporty looks. Equipment is far ahead of rivals. The Clio comes second after the 206. My spec has the rare RT3 Satellite Navigation, JBL Sound System which sounds spot on, electric folding mirrors, auto lights and wipers, leather wrapped steering wheel, 5 disk CD changer and the usual 206 spec. I presume mine is a former Peugeot Press car as the car came with original Peugeot Press registration plates and registered to Coventry. You won't find another Verve with this much spec. This spec can be found rarely on the GTI 180, GTI HDI and Sport spec. So, do I recommend the 206? Definitely, yep, they have there flaws but so do other cars. As long as you take extra time to choose what spec and engine you want these cars will make you smile and will go on for 100 thousands of miles! The 1.4 HDI and 1.6 HDI are the diesels to go for whereas where a diesel isn't needed the 1.4 8v and 1.6 16v are the petrol options. Automatics are only available as a 1.4 8v and 1.6 16v.