My French Valentine

Hold your horses! Before rumor-mongers start spreading marriage-threatening generalizations, let’s make one thing clear — we’re talking about a French car here. A very attractive little car that is both petite and pretty (but also quite fiesty).

The Peugeot 206’s reputation is acually nothing short of legendary, at least in its native Europe. It has shown its mettle in the field of motorsports by competing with the likes of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and the Subaru Impreza in the World Rally Championships. It has also made a killing in the retail side of things by snagging the title of best-selling Peugeot ever. Of course all this was achieved with minimal fanfare — at least for the average Filipino, who only got to get a glimpse of the 206 late last year with the entry of Autofrance Philippines into the local automotive scene. So when this writer took to the town in a Flamenco Red 206 right smack in the middle of the Valentine weekend, he was met with admiring stares from all kinds of people at just about every turn — with some faces clearly expressing admiration, and others showing utter confusion — no one, absolutely no one, was indifferent to it. Ivy Lee, marketing manager of Autofrance Philippines, actually warned us that we’d be met with stares from both the learned and the curious, but we never thought we’d get that much attention. Now we know.

To be honest (and with complete humility), the vehicles that this writer has driven throughout the course of his motoring-related career have never been lacking in head-turning abilities. We’ve spun around town in Porches, Bimmers, Volvos, Benzes — all top-of-the-line, mind you — in the pursuit of a good story. But we never thought we’d get as much attention while driving a 3,835 mm hatchback. There’s one simple reason, too — despite its size, the 206 is gorgeous. The feline features of the 206 clearly distinguish it from any of the Japanese and Korean compacts we regularly see on the road. Of course its fiery-red hue helped in making it more noticable, but the bottom line is that the little bugger looked good.

"I started off with the rear view of the car and the design of the hind quarters, and worked on the front section later. I wanted to create something that was feline and very fluid, but at the same time friendly. The windscreen is wide, low and it is brought well forward — in contrast to the bonnet. The car has a very generous, curvaceous look and the wings swell out to their widest point just above the wheels. The wing mirrors, which are totally integrated into the overall style, are also very rounded, very curvaceous," wrote Eric Berthet, the 206’s exterior stylist in a website dedicated strictly to the Peugeot 206.

Without a doubt, the 206’s looks are a strong point. But does it drive well? The car’s specs belie its actual prowess. We were leant a 206 manual — as entry level as one can get (as opposed to the automatic version and the more powerful 206cc, the dynamic 2+2 passenger car with a retractable roof). An in-line, SOHC, 4-cylinder, 8-valve engine powered the 1360 cc car — and though that doesn’t sound like much, you’d be surprised at how quick and responsive the car was to its driver’s whims. We have a multi-point petrol engine to thank for that. The car’s size is also a plus when it comes to handling, as its 2422 mm wheelbase allows it to stick to the road with relative ease.

Interior styling, however, though adequate at certain points, can be improved. The 206’s cuphoders, for example, are hidden in the very spacious glove compartment’s lid — which can be quite a bummer when you have someone seated beside you. Also, power windows are reserved for front seat passengers, leaving rear seat passengers with pawis window knobs that are quite frankly a bit passé — especially for European marquee brands. The backseats, however, are very cleverly built. They can be folded 2/3-1/3, making the car quite versatile. Smart styling also allows passengers on both rows to enjoy ample legroom (This writer had our close to 300-pound basketball team center sit on both the front passenger and rear passenger seats and he never uttered a word of complaint). Oh, and let’s not forget the multi-purpose stowage space cleverly built underneath the front passenger seat — very James Bond!

A very helpful and easily understandable onboard navigation system, automatic windscreen wipers, automatic headlamps, power door mirrors, a central locking system, and a highly responsive (up to 20 meters) high-frequency remote control unit round out the 206’s features. Alloy magwheels and Pirellis are also standard.

Now that we’ve established the Peugeot 206’s relative strengths and weaknesses, we get to the bottom line. Is the 206 worth its asking price? The manual model goes for P748,000 and for the nifty automatic you have to shell out an extra P90,000. We say not bad. Of course a more affordable asking price would be appreciated but like they say, beauty has a price. Here’s one way of looking at it, though, for a few extra thousand bucks, the average middle-class Filipino can actually take home a legitimate European brand that’s proven its worth not just in France, but in the rest of Europe as well. Sounds good.

For a closer look at the Peugeot 206, you can visit the Peugeot showrooms in Ortigas Center (Asia Premier Inc., 88 ADB Avenue corner Opal Road), Pampanga (Car City Inc., GSO Road, Dolores, San Fernando) and Cebu (Cebuano Motors Corp., 21 AS Fortuna St., Banilad, Mandaue City).