Peugeot 205 GT

Owned Since January 2018 // MiLeAGe OVeR PAST 12 MOnTHS 19,664 // TOTAL MiLeAGe 118,234 AnnUAL cOST £1340 (tyres, clutch, head unit, suspension bushes, wheel bearing, alternator and smaller parts)

Following the accident that saw me lose my Scirocco right at the end of 2017, I was in need of something quick come January, and found this 205. I went into it with a fairly blasé attitude, given that it cost me only half of the payout I received for the VW – it’s the cheapest car I’ve ever owned.

However, I also bought it thinking that I might not keep it for a long time, and so it has proved – the car is now for sale.

The one thing that I thought might irritate me when I bought the car has done exactly that – its sporty gearing is just too short for someone with an 80-mile motorway commute. I’m just not driving it enough on the winding country roads it deserves – those moments have been so few and far between that CCW’s trip to the Derbyshire Dales sticks out as a highlight to me, because that’s one of the few times when I’ve really driven the car how it should be driven.

You might look at my annual spend and think it high, especially considering that I’m about to sell it, but this is my only car and I’ve done by far the most mileage you’ll see on these pages. After a first few dreadful months (it had just come out of two years of standing) it’s been pretty dependable. Sure, there have always been niggling issues, but it’s nearly always got me home.

When all’s said and done, I have to be sensible and you’ll soon see me in what will likely be a Peugeot 306, but that’s saying something – I didn’t think much of old Peugeots before owning this car, but I now consider the Sochaux outfit to be among my favourites. Should I ever be able to afford it, I’ll definitely return to a 205 via a GTI, too.

PLANS FOR NEXT YEAR I’ll be driving something new. It may well be a Peugeot 306, though another Scirocco does tempt me. As does an E36 3 Series, for that matter... I wished I’d brought the MGF when a frustrated Charlie blasted past me on an open straight’