Most Uncomfortable Ride of Your Life (Peugeot 206 LX 1.1 3dr)

Member Name: Ali72

Product:	Peugeot 206 LX 1.1 3dr
Date:	27/02/06 (1298 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Looks cute and sexy

Disadvantages: Almost everything else

I have been driving a courtesy car for the last week, while my car has been in the bodyshop following an unfortunate prang up the backside (not my fault I hasten to add). I was somewhat disappointed to find that the garage in question thought that it would be a good idea to swap my 7-seater VW Touran for a 3 door Peugeot 206. Nonetheless, I would have had to wait several more days for them to source a bigger courtesy car, and I admit that I was seduced by the shiny gold metallic paint and sleek, sporty profile. It looked quite nippy so I agreed to take it. How wrong could I be?

I would say that a “good” small car is one that pulls off the trick of feeling larger. Unfortunately, the Peugeot is not one of these. The dark plastic trim makes the interior space feel claustrophobic. The driving position is not too bad, although being around 5’10” tall I have to have the seat so far back that my four year old is very cramped in the rear seat behind me. My taller husband finds it hard to fit behind the wheel at all.

The visibility is reasonably good, which is just as well, as it takes about three hours to pull out of a junction. OK, that’s a slight exaggeration, but it definitely doesn’t feel “nippy”. In fact, it feels just like driving a go-kart; when I turn the steering wheel, I can feel something rotating under my left foot if it is on or just above the clutch pedal, which I find really disconcerting. It adds to the feel of “cheap build quality” and doesn’t make me feel very confident about my safety in the event of an accident. However, this may not be reflected in reality – when the 206 was subjected to the Euro NCAP safety tests, they concluded that, “For a car without side-impact airbags the 206 is well designed and has done well to give a low risk of injury for all the body regions”. The car is equipped with driver and passenger airbags, and apparently has an advanced ABS braking system too, although I have not had the occasion to test hard braking.

The electric window knobs’ positions annoy me, being situated between the front seats. And finally, the thing that really bugs me about this car is the door design. Yes, they look great. They give the car a great shape. It’s cute and sexy. But they are so wide that it is really, really hard to get out of them in a normal size parking space without banging the door of the car next to you. In addition, I knew that it would be tricky getting two youngsters in and out of a car that didn’t have rear doors; however, the width of the 206’s doors, and the fact that you can’t open them fully in most circumstances, severely restricts the amount of room for squeezing in and out of the back seats.

This is definitely not a car to recommend to parents. Or tall people. Or, well anyone really.

Summary: Give it a miss

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