The Suddenly Rare Peugeot 206 GTI 180 Is The £1k Bargain You Need Now

Earlier today we were browsing the classifieds over a hot chocolate. Our rough aim was to find an old Peugeot GTI to share for your inspection, given that the French brand just revealed the wild 308 TCR racing car. When we found a £43,000 Peugeot 205 GTI, and after we stopped laughing (then crying), we changed tack. We think you’ll like what we’ve found.

Here we have a 2004 206 GTI 180, and we don’t want to alarm you but it’s one of just nine for sale at the time of writing across all the usual sites we trawl. Where have they all gone?! It only seems like five minutes ago that the classifieds were as splattered with GTI 180s as a city centre statue is with pigeon poo.

On that note these are suddenly looking as rare as they always were pretty. Graceful, feline styling was complemented by slightly over-large five-spoke alloys and a twin-exit exhaust that, in this case, looks suspiciously aftermarket. This was undoubtedly the handsome prince of the 2000s hot hatch scene.

While the battle-hardened and scarred EP3 Civic Type R and Renault Sport Clio 172/182 were the ones to buy for outright talent, the Peugeot had the sort of aesthetics that meant you could actually use it to impress members of the opposite sex instead of making yourself look like a yob.

What we really like about this one, of the few that remain, is what’s in the description. It had a brand new cambelt and water pump less than 1000 miles ago, and frankly they should last until the car eventually gets scrapped. That’s a big box ticked, there. It also wears Pirelli P-Zero Nero tyres with 5-6mm of tread left.

That, dear CTzens, doesn’t just mean it should stick like baby sick to a car seat. It also means someone has given a damn about it; a feeling reinforced by the recent important work carried out. The MOT history mileage suggests it hasn’t really moved since its test in August, and has run just 3000 miles or so in the last year.

As for negatives, there’s an MOT present and correct until the end of July but the current one shows advisories for an engine management light and a slightly corroded front outer brake pipe. Apparently there’s also some superficial front wing damage, the wheel finish is bubbling badly, and we’re not too keen on those smoked rear light clusters.

The seats look in good nick if you’re willing to give them a serious deep clean. The side bolsters look like they’ve been wiped around a pub floor. But the price for all this? Just £999 or a close offer. If you’re looking for a cheap to buy, cheap to own, mechanically sound supermini with enough power to be fun and enough style to still look great today, you really can’t do better for three figures.