Two hundred and five

[Lacquer Peel]

Good Little Car.

I have been driving this a lot since buying it with @sdkrc 

It was quite a lot of money for a 205 diesel with bad paint and a short MOT test but it's the perkiest NA XUD I've driven and has had a lot of work done to it in recent years. Also only* 80k miles, not even run in etc.

It went straight through its test. 

It is ace to drive, driving it is similar to the feeling a new driver has when they are getting to know their first car. I have been mostly driving big Volvos recently and this is a revelation, you can throw it into corners and all it does is squirm a bit at the rear (tyres aren't amazing). The long travel suspension soaks up bumpy roads but it still handles very well. The ride quality puts some much bigger cars to shame. It has PAS which makes a 205 diesel much more pleasant to drive.

There's a lot of fun to be had in a basic, light, low power car, I had forgotten that.

 

[Wack]

It looks better than you're describing , where is that road , I'll be taxing the MX5 on the 1st may 

I had a 205Gti 1.6 in 1988 , prior to that I'd had saloons Cortina , Granada , it was a revelation , turned me into a boy racer overnight , that and the Impreza WRX were the 2 cars I enjoyed driving fast the most .

[Lacquer Peel]

1 hour ago, Wack said:

It looks better than you're describing , where is that road , I'll be taxing the MX5 on the 1st may 

I had a 205Gti 1.6 in 1988 , prior to that I'd had saloons Cortina , Granada , it was a revelation , turned me into a boy racer overnight , that and the Impreza WRX were the 2 cars I enjoyed driving fast the most .

A 205 with a bit of power would be amazing but there's some fun in working a low power engine hard. 

The road visible in the interior shot is the A939 Ballater-Cockbridge section. One of my favourite roads.

[Tickman]

3 hours ago, Wack said:

 I'll be taxing the MX5 on the 1st may 

It is already the 13th of May...

[loserone]

2 minutes ago, Tickman said:

It is already the 13th of May...

Don't tell him that, he's too immersed in TikTok to actually go outside now.

[barrett]

Nice! Really looking forward to having a proper go in my one (1.4 pez) later today. I honestly wouldn't have given a 205 a second look five years ago, but they've really thinned out recently and the shape looks better and better. I do think the 5-doors are nicer, though

[Supernaut]

4 hours ago, Lacquer Peel said:

There's a lot of fun to be had in a basic, light, low power car, I had forgotten that.

The reason I've kept my BMW 316i for so long!

I thought the road looked familiar. Last time I did that specific section of the A939 was five years ago in that bloody awful Vauxhall Omega I had. I should do it again someday in one of the current pair.

I'd like to try a 205 at some point. I really rated the 306s I had... about 10 years ago. Fucking hell, time flies!

[juular]

In the past I always championed old, small, simple and lightweight cars that you had to actually drive, as being actually way more fun than something powerful. Somehow our fleet has ended up full of barges with nothing weighing under a tonne and a half..

LPs (and Sdkrc's) 205 is most excellent, it sounds and smells brilliant and doesn't seem remotely underpowered. I'm seriously rethinking my next car choices.

 

[320touring]

I've had a shot of this steed. It's ACE!

[wuvvum]

Is that the AS bike 205?

The XUD is one of those engines (Ford DI is another) where there can be a massive difference in performance between different examples of ostensibly identical engines.

[loserone]

No, this is a new* green 205 XUD in Scotland.

[Wack]

9 hours ago, Tickman said:

It is already the 13th of May...

June I meant 

[Wack]

9 hours ago, loserone said:

Don't tell him that, he's too immersed in TikTok to actually go outside now.

There is that 

[Lacquer Peel]

10 hours ago, Supernaut said:

The reason I've kept my BMW 316i for so long!

I thought the road looked familiar. Last time I did that specific section of the A939 was five years ago in that bloody awful Vauxhall Omega I had. I should do it again someday in one of the current pair.

I'd like to try a 205 at some point. I really rated the 306s I had... about 10 years ago. Fucking hell, time flies!

Essence of motoring. If you rated your 306s you'll love a 205 I reckon. You are welcome to try this one if paths cross. 

[loserone]

21 minutes ago, Lacquer Peel said:

try

Or mine if you're in the NE of E some time.

[Jim Bell]

That looks fantastic. 

10 gold stars out of ten. 

[Lord Sterling]

17 hours ago, Lacquer Peel said:

 

Where is this road? It looks.like one of those semi-abandoned roads you see on the likes of sabre-roads.co.uk or whatever. Looks like it was a main road at one point.

Peugeot 205s are great in diesel form. I drove one up to Newcastle some years ago and it was an ace little thing.

[Lacquer Peel]

7 hours ago, Lord Sterling said:

Where is this road? It looks.like one of those semi-abandoned roads you see on the likes of sabre-roads.co.uk or whatever. Looks like it was a main road at one point.

Peugeot 205s are great in diesel form. I drove one up to Newcastle some years ago and it was an ace little thing.

It's a section of the A93 north of Blairgowrie that was bypassed due to landslides. Last time I was here the gate was locked but I seized the opportunity to drive down it this time. 

[garethj]

18 hours ago, wuvvum said:

Is that the AS bike 205?

The XUD is one of those engines (Ford DI is another) where there can be a massive difference in performance between different examples of ostensibly identical engines.

I had a N/A diesel 205 and it would barely break 70mph when I got it.  Some diesel injector cleaner and a few thrashes helped a lot.

The turbo diesel 205 is in another league though.  People point to the Mini as the reason why all the car manufacturers saw FWD as a way to make a compact car, I reckon the 205 turbo diesel is the reason most manufacturers went down that path of powertrain.  Everyone who drove it must have been agog and realised “We’ve got to make something like this”

[Lacquer Peel]

This baby does 70MPH uphill and accelerates (slowly) at the same time. Remarkable!

I've read magazine tests where they were impressed with the 205 TD's performance but not the hit on fuel consumption. I have been driving this spiritedly and the last brim to brim was 56MPG. 

[Lord Sterling]

4 hours ago, Lacquer Peel said:

It's a section of the A93 north of Blairgowrie that was bypassed due to landslides. Last time I was here the gate was locked but I seized the opportunity to drive down it this time. 

Nice! I've been to Blairgowrie a couple of times, it is a nice little town. 

[BL Bloke]

That looks like a nice example. I like the colour too. 

[HillmanImp]

8 hours ago, Lacquer Peel said:

It's a section of the A93 north of Blairgowrie that was bypassed due to landslides. Last time I was here the gate was locked but I seized the opportunity to drive down it this time. 

That 1st photo looks like something* out of 'The last chase' with Lee majors except in a much cooler car.

 

*I've only seen it once, probably close to 40yrs ago so my memory might be wrong but it looks like how I would expect to remember it.

[RoadworkUK]

On 5/13/2021 at 11:38 AM, barrett said:

 I do think the 5-doors are nicer, though

I increasingly concur with this. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I'd have whinged about the 3-door's C-pillar treatment at launch in the same way that I moan about the new Defender 90's "signature graphic" now.

[puddlethumper]

On 5/13/2021 at 1:02 PM, wuvvum said:

Is that the AS bike 205?

The XUD is one of those engines (Ford DI is another) where there can be a massive difference in performance between different examples of ostensibly identical engines.

Definitely agree about difference in XUD's. I've had three Pug 1.9's and they were all a bit shagged at 200 thou, that's kilometres not miles, drank oil, 70 about the limit. Anyway, due to a mechanics fuck up, changed cam belt but not tensioner with the obvious result, I acquired the same 1.9 from a one owner 65 thou Cit Xantia. The difference was way more get up and go and top end of about 90. Couldn't believe it. Even after 11 years and adding about 100 thou it's still as good as when I got it. Mind you it gets oil and filter every 6 months, no matter what mileage, which is probably over the top but it's a sweet lump and I want to keep it that way.