Hi , after reading the reveiws on the peugeot 205 all i can do is confirm what is already said , in my opinion it is THE finest small hatch ever made , i am 45 years old and have had many of the different models ,
i am a qualified mechanic and have taught mechanics in college. Ok right now i have 2 , one CTI 1.6 and a GRD. However i have had 1.9 GTI's other 1.6GTI's and various diesels. My girlfriend also has a 205 CTI (yes she listened to me , and is very happy with it!).
The most powerful to date was a Turbo Technics conversion on a 1.9 GTI sorrento green with a fith injector and upgraded ECU , sporting an uprated cam and gas flowed cylinder head, lowered compression pistons and bailey dump valve and a huge intercooler ( cossie style grill etc to cover !) This made 240 bhp , and an enteraining drive!
Probably the best in my opinion is the turbo deisel, giving you surprising performance especially from 40 miles per hour up and fantastic economy, and good pulling power in top gear for a relaxed drive.
Anyway in summary my advice would be get one , but first do some home work , there are issues that prospective buyers should be aware of , not in order of cost or difficulty , check the brake pipes , to do properly and route under the fuel tank is a pain ,
check rear beam for play ,
engines smoke ,
on petrols the exhaust manifold on the 1.6 and 1.9 (not a problem on the turbo )
heater controls ,
on some years check for rust , and cracking of the bodyshell,
the metal pipe running along the drivers inner wing (water pipe) these can and usually do rust , can loose water and cause overheating ,( i usually replace this with a stainless peice of hoover tube lol )
Ok i hope i have not put you off , just hope to have helped those considering a purchase avoid trouble and despair, if your about to buy , good luck and i hope you get the enjoyment that owners report with out the hassle.