- Joined
- Aug 2, 2000
- Messages
- 11,455
I'm no fan of 205 GTis but love the Sis. 306s ride extremely well but nothing else appeals to me that much.
You and I have very different experiences of 205's and GTI6's.
I owned a 205GTI S3 for 3 years from '96 to '99. Legendary was all I could agree on. Raw to me meant 'poor build quality'. In '99 my 205 had the plastics cracking around the sunroof and around the plenum under the windscreen. The body flexed so much the base of the 'B' pillar was pulling away from the sill. The seat bolsters were collapsing even with my knowledge of how brittle they were and how careful you had to be with them. The door seals were pealing off as they were only held on with double sided tape. The engine was as dull as a wet sponge. The air-con failed completely (the car was only 3 years old at the time) and it had the power of a victa without the character. The electrics left me stranded when a relay vibrated out of it's mount. Leaking battery acid took all the paint off the battery tray - which also contained the gearbox mount ( I removed that, had it media blasted and powder coated to prevent rust - all when it was 4 years old). I could go on and on - but yes I loved that 205 when I threw it at a corner. I'd never known lift off oversteer like that in the wet !
By contrast, the GTi6 was a gem. I owned that for 13 years from '99 to 2012. No plastics failed, the paint was mint even when I sold it, the air-con was still icy cold, and after warming at the start of a drive that xu10j4rs went to the redline on every drive, and again, and again....mmmmmm yum. Handling was a dream and so controllable it was ridiculous. First FWD car I've owned where you could drift it on a roundabout in the wet...lol. What finally made me sell it ultimately was the leaking heater matrix which seems to affect a great deal of 306's. I hear handy owners can change them in about 3 hours. Ah - the door linings came loose which I glued back on with contact cement - messy but not beyond most owners I'm sure.
So my vote would be for the GTi6 over a 205GTi.
Cheers
Justin