The 80s gets a bad rap as the decade of excess. Big hair, big shoulders, big spoilers on your car. But there's one 80s icon we've discovered that proves that in the era of bigger is better, less meant more.We're talking about the Peugeot 205 GTI. Light and small with a minute 1600cc engine and pleasing lack of go-faster paraphernalia, we've just rediscovered how good the 205 GTI is. The Great Escape Classic Car Hire Peugeot has just returned from a few weeks of fettling that has returned the car to the B-road banzai it should be. Frankly, this is one heck of a car.
23 years since our 1988 car was built and we're not sure its combination of peppy, rev-happy acceleration and go-kart like handling precision have been bettered. Here is a front drive car that entertains along every inch of the road. The steering is super-direct, with plenty of feedback, and the handling is a delight. The 205 doesn't achieve handling greatness at the exclusion of driver input and skill, in the way that say a Mazda MX5 does. This is a car you have to drive, that has character and verve. And it will catch you out. The Peugeot's lift off oversteer is the stuff of legends - for good reason. Release the throttle mid-bend and chances are you're going to hit the greenery. But it's these flaws that make the MX5 great. There are plenty of faster cars that will get you from A to B more safely and with less effort, but that isn't the point of a driver's car.
Today the Peugeot 205 GTI has to be the ultimate classic car bargain. Good examples start at £1500. They're easy to fix, pretty reliable and economical too. And at that price, sacrilige it may be, but if it goes seriously wrong, scrap it. There are plenty about.
Having driven E Types, Jensens, Astons and Porsches that cost more to service than the Peugeot costs to buy, frankly I'm amazed more people haven't caught on to the Peugeot 205 GTI. We'd like to see more people hire this amazing little car - and at just £95 for 24 hours, including unlimited mileage, it must surely be the most enjoyable way for a classic fan to spend under £100.
The Peugeot5 205 GTI is available to hire from our Cotswolds site near Stratford Upon Avon. For more details call 01527 893733 or visit http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk/.