The engines were continuously updated, with the new TU engines introduced in 1988. Indeed, Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson described the 1990 edition as "an instant modern Classic." Īt the beginning of 1993, Peugeot launched the 306, which officially replaced the 309 the arrival of this car also diminished the 205's role (and its sales figures) in the Peugeot range, as had the arrival of the smaller 106 in September 1991 – although the final demise of the 205 was still some years away. Still, the 205 was still widely regarded in the motoring press as the benchmark car in this sector by 1990. These updates came at a crucial time, as 1990 also saw the arrival of a completely new French competitor, the Renault Clio, while the Rover Metro and Volkswagen Polo were also heavily updated, and Ford had already replaced its Fiesta with a third generation model. There was a dashboard redesign for the 1988 model year, and in late 1990 the 205 received new door design and cards, clear front indicators, new 'smoked' rear light clusters, single point petrol injection and catalytic converters were introduced, to meet the new 1992 pollution limits. Such was the success of the 205, its exterior styling was never facelifted or significantly altered in its 15-year production run apart from details. The 205 was an instant hit, and its styling was echoed in every Peugeot model that was to follow, as well as markedly changing the company's perception with buyers - having long been regarded as the most conservative of France's major manufacturers, and had long been associated with large saloon and station wagon type cars. For instance, the 205 GRD (1.8 Diesel, 59 bhp (44 kW), 78 lb⋅ft (105.8 N⋅m)) was as fast as, yet smoother than, the 205 GR (1.4 Petrol, 59 bhp (44 kW), 78 lb⋅ft (105.8 N⋅m)), due to the engine developing peak torque at much lower rpm, while using much less fuel. The diesel engines were world-beating and so petrol-like that many buyers were won over by petrol car performance combined with diesel economy. These engines had a capacity of 1769 cc (XUD7) and 1905 cc (XUD9) and are closely related to the XU5 and XU9 petrol engines in the BX16 and BX19 of the time. The diesel models employed the PSA XUD engine, lifted from the Citroën BX which was introduced in September 1982. Engines ranged in displacement from 954 cc to 1905 cc, in carburettor or fuel injected versions. The rear suspension was very compact, designed to minimise suspension intrusion into the boot, giving a wide flat loadspace, while providing excellent ride and handling.Įarly 205s used the X petrol engine from the older Peugeot 104, although these were later (1987–1988) replaced with the newer XU and TU-series engines, which were of PSA design. A key ingredient of the success of the 205, it had MacPherson struts at the front and trailing arms with torsion bars at the rear. The fully independent suspension used the now standard PSA Peugeot Citroën layout that had debuted in the Peugeot 305 estate. It is often credited as the car that turned Peugeot's fortunes around. The styling of the 205 is often thought to be a Pininfarina design, although Gerard Welter claims that it is an in-house design Pininfarina only styled the Cabriolet. Its launch also closely followed that of the Austin Metro and Volkswagen Polo Mk2. It was one of five important small cars to be launched onto the European market within a year of each other: the other four were the Uno, the second generation Ford Fiesta, the original Opel Corsa (sold as the Vauxhall Nova on the British market) and the original Nissan Micra. Shortly after its launch, it was narrowly pipped to the European Car of the Year award by the similar sized Fiat Uno, but ultimately (according to the award organizers) it would enjoy a better image and a longer high market demand than its Italian competitor.
It was launched on 24 February 1983, and was launched in right-hand drive form for the UK market in September that year. It was around this time that Peugeot began to work on the development of a new supermini for the 1980s. The genesis of the 205 lay within Peugeot's takeover in 1978 of Chrysler's European divisions Simca and the former Rootes Group, which had the necessary expertise in making small cars including the Simca 1100 in France and Hillman Imp in Britain. Before the 205, Peugeot was considered the most conservative of France's "big three" car manufacturers, producing large saloons such as the 504 and 505, although it had entered the modern supermini market in 1973 with the Peugeot 104.
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