Peugeot 206 Warning Lights

About the 206

The 206 is a supermini car created by the French company Peugeot. Replacing the 205 in 1998, the 206 was initially a hatchback and then later a coupe cabriolet; with the lesser known station wagon & sedan variants joining the range also.

Peugeot's President Jacques Calvet approved the (futuristic for the time) design four years prior, in 1994. From here, the in-house design team (headed up by Murat Gunak) took the initial plans and spent the next 48 months developing and perfecting the little 206.

Producing and marketing the vehicle proved costly for Peugeot at 6.3 billion Francs (roughly $1 billion today), so the pressure was on for the car to perform and be a real competitor for other city cars. Four main engine variants made up the range, 1.1-liter, 1.4-liter and 1.6-liter, all petrol and one diesel sitting at 1.9-liter in displacement.

As it turned out, the Peugeot 206 was a huge hit, justifying the expensive initial costs and being named ‘The car of the year’ in the UK. Throughout the years 1998 – 2001, the Peugeot 206 was the best-selling car, and as of 2005, the 5-millionth vehicle rolled off the production line.

Aside from the core trim levels and standard variants, there were several limited edition vehicles released. The grand Tourisme was a road-legal version of the World Rally car GTi180 and RC. This was a high-performance car appealing to the more adventurous customer.

An off-road version, the Escapade had an interesting design. Whilst from the front it looks like the classic 206, the rear is boxed out with three windows running down the sides. Roof bars were added with four-wheel drive and the undeniable look of a station wagon.

In 2006, the newer 207 model was brought in to replace this one and was built on the Citroen C3 platform at the time.