NO offence to Bulgaria, but for a car to be selected as its Car of the Year is hardly a ''haud-me-back'' accolade. But this is only one of the awards received by the Peugeot 206. Its success is more accurately measured by the fact that its builders are almost swamped by demand.
The 206 went on sale in September and immediately overwhelmed Peugeot's projected production figures. Something about this feline-looking ''supermini'' hit the spot with customers all over Europe, and a quarter of a million firm orders were received by the end of the year.
But you can only fend off interested buyers for so long, before they take their money elsewhere. One thing that has let Peugeot survive as the oldest established family-owned car manufacturer in Europe is its rapid response. So when orders for the 206 flooded in, it whistled up extra production.
The main factory at Mulhouse in France and the Ryton depot near Coventry went into overdrive. A few weeks ago, Ryton became the only car plant in Europe working a seven-day week. Production from Peugeot's Argentine factory is also being fed into the European market, and a Brazilian factory will contribute still more by the end of next year.
The 206's early sales success will have to be maintained to justify these production boosts. One way of doing that is to extend the model range, a process which is now well under way.
The Roland Garros model, named after the stadium where the French Open tennis tournament is held, is a slightly sporty, deluxe five-door intended as a permanent feature in the 206 catalogue. Colour coding and snazzy interior appointments are two of the main themes of this car, along with its ''panoramic'' glass sunroof.
Anybody who doesn't get the point of the model name will be puzzled by the only available exterior colour: Tie Break Green.
On sale this week is a hotter version of the 206, the GTi model. Peugeot likes to put it forward as the successor to the highly regarded 205 GTi, but there are limits to the comparison. The older car was lighter and more chuckable, but its lack of built-in safety features would not be acceptable today.
Priced at #13,995, the 206 GTi suits its slightly wider front wings, extended to take 15in alloy wheels. There are several other changes to the exterior detail, and more inside, including hip-hugging front seats, a leather-rimmed steering wheel, alloy pedals and an alloy gear lever top. Unlike some, the gear lever manages to avoid feeling icy after the car has spent a night in the open.
Rain-sensing wipers, twin front airbags, deadlocks, fully automatic air conditioning and a CD autochanger are all standard. The impression is that this is a very well-equipped car when compared with its direct opposition.
No Peugeot GTi is just a cosmetic job, and the 206 has a business-like technical specifications. The engine is a new twin cam two-litre, punching out 137bhp as well as 140lb/ft of torque at 4100rpm. Its free-revving characteristics come partly from reduced internal friction, and it is noticeably lighter than the engine it supersedes.
French engineers know that one of the keys to brisk performance over varied roads is to match gear ratios to the engine characteristics. The 206 GTi uses a brand new five-speed box developed from a previous design. While the gear changes are quick and sweep-through, the real point is that the gears come in a logical progression. If you keep it on the boil, this little car will really romp over mountain roads such as those on the test route near Geneva.
It can sprint to 60mph in just over eight seconds, and the maximum test track speed is around 130mph. The powerful, dependable brakes, with discs all round and ventilated units at the front, come into their own on the spirited descents of mountain passes.
Another thing French designers know is how to balance sports handling against reasonable ride quality. The 206 GTi is too short in the wheelbase to achieve the same poise as the liveliest types of 306, which is one size bigger, but the design team has done its best.
The firmed-up suspension includes front and rear anti-roll bars, which are more sensitive than many to changes in the car's attitude, and they control any tendency towards excessive body lean.
With really responsive steering borrowed from its 306 equivalent, the 206 GTi is very much at home on twisty roads. But this is no stripped-out racer. Peugeot's latest sports supermini is a well-equipped, well-built, polished performer.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article