Refuses to start all the time, back suspension, electric windows, rear brakes.
Only drive a little seeing as I don't have a licence. Has plenty grip but tends to oversteer on off throttle movements. Kicks the ass of Escort RS Turbos.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 17th January, 1999
Clutch.
The following were replaced as a preventative measure: HT leads, sparks, brake discs.
This is possibly the best supermini you could ever own. Not only is it blisteringly fast (especially with K+N Filter, boost valve, and performance exhaust), but this little car thinks it's on rails. If you try hard enough, you can get it to oversteer (with Spax suspension, anyway), which is great fun on roundabouts. It's very good for upsetting ponces in their fleet Vectra 2.5 V6 SRi's, because they don't like to be beaten off the lights by a 10 year old Pug. Still looks immaculate but for some small car park blemishes. It's done 110,000 miles and still going strong.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 21st December, 1998
Not much: exhaust, alternator, electric window. Leaks from overhead light. I've owned a couple and they both did this.
Be careful when buying. Get a good one with full service history and you'll get
a car that's cheap to run, reliable and can out perform nearly anything. Buy a bad one and you'd better get to know your bank manager on first name terms. Never miss an oil change and don't save money on cheap oil.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 3rd December, 1998
I bought it 18 months ago and it needed a respray due to a dodgy paint job after a previous owner had it keyed.
205 GTi engines are naturally tappety - all Pug specialists tell me this is nothing to worry about.
The clutch is on its way out (55k genuine?? miles on the clock) and it's just developed a hole in the top of the radiator.
Electrical problem following stereo install - battery keeps going flat.
Sunroof (inflating type) leaks, but only since it was taken out and re-fitted for the respray.
The 205 is a great drivers' car.
Oversteer was pretty bad on the standard suspension, but a Spax PSX kit sorted it.
The standard brakes faded badly, so I had those upgraded to AP four-pot calipers. It's like throwing an anchor out the back!
This car has been heavily featured in Max Power and has had over £16,000 spent on it. Here's what I've learnt:
Don't fit 17in wheels, they scrape like you wouldn't believe.
Nitrous injection gives a whopping 70bhp incease for about £10,000. The engine's become more tappety since it was fitted. Could be coincidence.
Fitted Megaleads (plug leads) but they cause major interference on MW stations.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 26th September, 1998
Nothing unexpected. New clutch at 111,000 miles, a couple of exhausts in 120K, three new sets of tyres in 120K, one new set of glow-plugs, one new battery. That's it!
Exceptional driver's car: fun, very reliable and stable.... a bit heavy on the steering but a guy's car....
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 15th April, 1998
Inlet manifold, clutch, cambelt, valves, oil leak, airflow meter..
Satisfyingly quick to drive but there are a lot of dodgy secondhand Gti's about, as I've found out!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 22nd March, 1998
14th May 2006, 05:08
I'm a small independent engine tuner, and it really does make me laugh what some people fall for.
The standard exhaust on the 205 GTi 1.9 is better than any aftermarket "race" system in terms of flow. I've tested five different popular aftermarket systems and not one of them flowed any better than the standard system. Three were actually worse. Noise does not equal power.
The standard induction system can only be improved by switching to Weber DCOE carbs or even better, throttle bodies. The induction kits are marketing nonsense. The resulting induction noise is cool, but it doesn't improve power.
This is an "old school" engine which responds to mechanical mods rather than bolt on crap. To get more power out of it you have to remove the head and smooth out or enlarge the ports. If you have big bucks to spend, a set of bigger valves will give you a decent increase.
I have a customer running a 1.9 with 155 bhp on the standard induction system, exhaust and cam. It's been tested on three dynos and shows within 2bhp on each. When he brought the car into me it was making 125 bhp. It involved £600 worth of work which isn't cheap, but then compared to £300 for bolt on stuff that makes no real difference, he thinks he got a bargain.