Faults:

Most things...

But nothing too serious.

Still on the original engine - they're v. strong. Gearboxes aren't though (mine lasted about 100k).

Considering it's age/mileage/ (ab) use, car is v reliable, but it's never long before you've got another job to attend to with it.

Main niggles are with keeping the engine in tune and general wear and tear with suspension - rear axle has been rebuilt; but the front suspension components seem to wear fairly quickly.

General Comments:

Brilliant car.

The enthusiast's magazines eulogise the car - and it really is that good.

There'll never be anything like it offered new again!

They're cheap to pick up, and, if you're reasonably careful, it's not difficult to find a good one.

Insurance is obviously an issue for some, but, otherwise, you just have to accept that it's going to require some maintenance. Parts are cheap though, and they're reasonably easy to work on. Plenty of decent specialists around as well.

To drive, it's just such a fun package. Torquey engine (3rd will pull all the way from 20mph to 90mph) ; so-so brakes; but the highlights are the (unassisted) steering and the handling.

Everyone says you'll be fired off the road backwards if you lift off whilst going too quickly - but you'd have to be an eejit to experience this.

For the most part, it's perfectly controllable and no where near as fearsome as some make out. You sometimes have to be quick when the roads are greasy, but, in the dry, it's just good fun.

I've had mine for 5 years and have covered 100k in it - it's unmodified (apart from a rude boy exhaust - I like a bit of noise!) and I use it for the daily commute, the occasional track day (the brakes fade v quickly), and also sprinting/hillclimbing.

I've tried the 206GTi180 and MiniCooperS (but not any of the Clios yet) - but the initial impressions were uninspiring.

If you're into cars and fancy some cheap fun, the 205 GTi has got to be one of the best ways of going about it.

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with this Car!

General Comments:

I would recommend a 205 TD to anyone.

The Engine is great. Very fast and pulls well. I know it's sad, but I often pull a 14ft caravan with it and it copes amazingly. Very economical engine as well with 50+ MPG. When I'm not pulling caravans I can do 0-60 in under 10 seconds easily.

The inside is attractive and well layed out. The seats are much more comfortable than my old VW Golk Mk III.

The design still looks fresh - although I would have preferred the 3dr to the 5dr.

No rust on the outside!! Which is quite surprising for a 13 year old car. Very solid underneath as well. Overall the build quality is excellent and again much better than my 5 year old VW which everyone says should be well built.

I love my 205 TD!!!

Faults:

No significant failures over and above general faults associated with any car ie: minor electrical faults, leak-off lines failing, replacement exhausts, brakes, etc.

Door locking mechanism sometimes jams, but can be freed with WD40 with the trim removed.

General Comments:

The drivers door needs rehung soon, but that might have something to do with the car approaching quarter of a million miles.

This car has its original clutch.

MPG drops beneath 60mpg only when the tyres need blowing up.

Faults:

Just about every piece of trim has either broken, worked loose, fallen off or rattling. You learn to accept this as it starts when the car is about 6 months old.

Build quality in general is appalling.

Rocker cover gasket sprung a leak at 60,000 miles.

Battery at 70,000 miles.

Rear suspension was rebuilt at 85,000 miles.

New (genuine Peugeot) dampers all round at 100,000 miles. Not cheap, but as Peugeot is one of the few companies to make its own, I didn't want to risk even a branded alternative in case it upset the awesome chassis.

Despite occasional fragility, she starts every time and doesn't let me down.

General Comments:

Old school hot hatch which shows the new pretenders the way home. Manages to keep up with the current 180 bhp hot hatch crowd with a mere 130 bhp thanks to light weight and the thumping midrange of an "old skool" 8 valve powerplant.

Handling is mindblowing. Turns like a startled rabbit, steering oozes feel and the seat of your pants tells you what the back end is up to. Yes it can bite, but if you're remotely awake and half skilled, it's not an issue. If you think you are entitled to shut the throttle mid bend in a car when "on it" and not have to make corrective inputs, you will break this car, and probably yourself (no crash bars or airbags here) within a few miles of driving it. Unlike newer hot hatches it forces YOU to drive it, and won't summon a handful of driver aids to compensate for your incompetence. If you screw up in a 205 GTi, you will leave the road. If you get it right, it is capable of things which no front wheel drive car has any right to do, and which no rival before or since can achieve. To say it will make you grin is an understatement, and it is precisely this driver dependence which makes it such an amazing machine. Driving a 205 GTi fast can be a frantic experience, but it's rewarding and it teaches you a heck of a lot about car control. It handles precisely as well as you drive it.

The rest of it is your typical 80's French hatch - read cute styling, crap trim and build quality, surprisingly tough mechanicals and dealers who either don't want to know, or don't have a clue. Have your 205 looked after by a good independent, and do the minor services yourself. Again the beauty of a "simple" 8 valve engine with primitive fuel injection is that you don't need an engineering or electronics degree to work on it.

Buy carefully, be prepared for the odd problem and lots of rattles, and you won't look back. Keep it standard though, particularly where the chassis is concerned. This is one car where the manufacturer definitely knew best.