best french make

GERMAN ROCKS

what do you think is the best french make for everything s -peugeot/citroen/renault
personally its the peugeot for me.

Mr. Presentable

Peugeot/Citroen are the same company, no?

Biro

Bugatti or Airbus...

Gatster

Citroen for me...lots of (probably rose-tinted) fun had in my old 1.1 AX, still the best small car I have ever driven, although I like all French cars. Not so much Peugeot since they decided to start making lard laden lumps (ie. with the demise of the 405 MI16 and 205 GTI). Saying that my Mum's 107 is very funky and good to drive.

Nearly bought a Clio 197 last year, probably best I didn't...:rolleyes:

Venturi are/were good as well, until they went electric mad.

Max_Damage

Peugeot 505. Best of the lot.

My friend's family had an '85 Peugeot 505 estate for years, it just kept going and going. From what I saw it nearly never broke down. And it was built like a tank.

What happened to Peugeot? I think when the 206 came along, it all went downhill from there.

HungryJoey

Peugeot for me. But maybe I am biased, because I drive one

Biro

Max_Damage wrote: »

Peugeot 505. Best of the lot.

My friend's family had an '85 Peugeot 505 estate for years, it just kept going and going. From what I saw it nearly never broke down. And it was built like a tank.

What happened to Peugeot? I think when the 206 came along, it all went downhill from there.

I disagree... the 206 is a great handling little hatch. It's the 307 that killed Peugeot.

JHMEG

Max_Damage wrote: »

Peugeot 505. Best of the lot.

I've driven several 2.8 V6s, a GTI and a regular 2 litre, all in the last 4 or 5 years. I actually technically owned one of the V6s for a few months. They were all really bad. I can maybe see how they might have been great in their day tho. But not now.

Back to the poll. The French do some things really really well: Sexy women with French accents, wine, some food, and some parts of France are really nice. There are some things the French don't do so well, like war and building cars. So I'll decline to vote.

leincar

JHMEG wrote: »

I've driven several 2.8 V6s, a GTI and a regular 2 litre, all in the last 4 or 5 years. I actually technically owned one of the V6s for a few months. They were all really bad. I can maybe see how they might have been great in their day tho. But not now.

Back to the poll. The French do some things really really well: Sexy women with French accents, wine, some food, and some parts of France are really nice. There are some things the French don't do so well, like war and building cars. So I'll decline to vote.

I agree entirely with the above. However Citroen designer's down through the years have gone from the quirky to absolute Leonardos so, on that basis Citroen gets a vote.

Run_to_da_hills

Max_Damage wrote: »

Peugeot 505. Best of the lot.
What happened to Peugeot? I think when the 206 came along, it all went downhill from there.

Peugeot 404 was nice. My old man had one for a while. Only prob with them is they had a phosphor bronze rear dif which would turn to pulp if EP 90 gearbox oil was used. Saw heaps of them still being used as taxis in Cairo a few years ago.

kill-joy

Peugeot is defo the best of the 3, I have an 1987 205 cti (cabrio gti) for those who dont know, I havent got her started since november and dont know whats going wrong with her, it was the last great peugeot with exception to the 306? and it all went wrong with the 206, must get some pics up

coolbeans

I suppose Peugeot. My first car was a 205 XRAD van. Probably the best diesel engine of the eighties. Easy 50mpg, flexible and relatively refined compared to what was coming out of Japan and Germany at the time. It didn't even blow black smoke under hard acceleration which can't be said for normally aspirated Corolla engines of the same vintage. Don't believe me? Ask any independent mechanic. Grip was good too and you really got a sense of it's limits handling wise which made it a hoot to drive. I'd regularly do the M7 from Dublin to Portlaoise in great time. I'd just keep the Pug at a steady ninety all the way and never had any problems.
Mine had 200,000 miles on it when I sold it to a friend for a nominal sum. He's driving it from Tipp to Dublin weekly. Stready ninety on the motorways for him too. Still going strong. Loved that car.
307 is a ball of ****e though I'm sorry to say. Not impressed by the 308 either.
306, especially the D-Turbos were great motors too. Ditto the 406 although I'm not sure about the 407.

groupb

I had a 205 too. An unbreakable car.
It saved peugeot in the 80s' .
I think its strange that so many people on boards slag off French cars and yet they have probably come up with far more innovations than any other car making country.
BTW Renault who are extremely sucessful at the moment , are about to become the worlds third biggest car maker. Their taking over lada.
The best selling car in Europe at the moment is the 207.
Anyway back to the origonal post , As I look at the model DS & light 15 beside my pc , I'm with citroen ,Ah hold on 205 GTI (the real gti) ,205t16 ,the climb dance video ................I can't make up my mind.

coolbeans

If I'm to put my 205 bias aside I'd say the best French maker is Citroen. I love the C6. It's a proper modern Citroen. Looks great in a quirky kind of way. In retrospect my vote goes to Citroen overall cos some modern Pugs have disappointed:o

GERMAN ROCKS

im surprised renaults gone any votes at all with ye bunch

colm_mcm

It's a bit like asking "What's your favourite Westlife song"
the answer's the same

they're all sh*te!

groupb

I have'nt voted because as I said before so many diverse cars have come from these three. Renault built the GTA , Peugeot the 205 GTI, Citroen the stunning DS , but none of these wash with the majority of people here who can't wait to see the latest white goods release from the likes of Audi. Maybe if we don't look back but look at the current ranges , I would have to vote for Renault purely because it builds the scenic(mk2) which at 5 years old has yet to be bettered in my opinion.

CrowdedHouse

colm_mcm wrote: »

It's a bit like asking "What's your favourite Westlife song"
the answer's the same

they're all sh*te!

.......and the award for 'Post of the Day' goes to Colm_mcm

groupb

colm_mcm wrote: »

It's a bit like asking "What's your favourite Westlife song"
the answer's the same

they're all sh*te!

That explains why the 207 is europes best selling car.

meathstevie

Peugeot...bicycles.

colm_mcm

groupb wrote: »

That explains why the 207 is europes best selling car.

And why Westlife have had something like 14 number 1's?

groupb

Let me guess. You would prefer an Audi or a VW?

ChowChow

@colm_mcm I drive a 207 GT and there's an awful lot to like about it - I frankly don't know of any other new car that offers the same spec for the money (25K). It handles well, has bucket loads of torque (same engine used in new Cooper S but less horsepower in Pug) and gives 40mpg as well. It's my first Pug and one year on no problems to report - I would definitely buy another.

Max_Damage

What I really dislike with all French cars it seems is that the pedals are far too close together.

Cionád

Max_Damage wrote: »

What I really dislike with all French cars it seems is that the pedals are far too close together.

I've only driven a Peugeot but found that was the case, very cramped at the pedals.

blackbox

I used to have a BX 16V. Fantastic car . Not many cars could be driven as fast on bad Irish back roads because of great suspension. I have a theoretically faster car now, but in practice I have to slow up for bumps.

Unfortunately it wasn't very well built. Should have been provided with bag and net to collect fluids and parts as it shed them. Got to hairy when the power steering started to work intermittently - had to go.

crosstownk

Citroën - A little more innovation than the other French brands.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMQnPWjK5pE

groupb

Do'nt think the word "innovation" is going to strike a chord with people on this forum. They prefer the comfort zone where there new audi A4 has better quality vents than the last one. Sure everyone knows that cars like the DS , Clio16v , CX , 505 ,alpine 205gti etc were crap where'as the 80,90, A4,A6 zzzzzzzzzz............................

E92

groupb wrote: »

That explains why the 207 is europes best selling car.

It deserves to be too. It has BMW petrol engines in it:D!

unkel

coolbeans wrote: »

I suppose Peugeot. My first car was a 205 XRAD van. Probably the best diesel engine of the eighties. Easy 50mpg, flexible and relatively refined compared to what was coming out of Japan and Germany at the time

Had one of them for a while as a shared company car in the early 90s. Mine had about 700,000km on it and it still had plenty of poke for such a small car. Wheelspin in second gear

groupb

They were the motoring equivelant of a cockroach - you just could'nt kill them.
Btw a friend in Finland had a bx diesel with over a million kms and still going strong.
Anyway what would I know. I'm sure that colm mcm is happy in the knowledge that millions of peugeot, citroen & renault bought the wrong cars.

Cookie_Monster

colm_mcm wrote: »

It's a bit like asking "What's your favourite Westlife song"
the answer's the same

they're all sh*te!

CrowdedHouse wrote: »

.......and the award for 'Post of the Day' goes to Colm_mcm

+1 :D

Made me laugh a lot

pburns

Peugeot went through a real purple period in the late '80s-late '90s. It started with the 205 in early 80s I suppose but 306, 405 & - to a lesser extent - 406 were all pretty much the best handling/best looking in class (this is back when Fords were crap). The 309 deserves an honourable mention also.

They've really fallen backwards though. Every other manufacturer has improved quality & reliability I think but not Peugeot. And the ergonomics of the 407 is a disaster - lots of buttons. According to the motoring hacks they don't lead the field on handling any more either, prefering a more middle-of-the-road policy. Their mantle has been taken over by Ford and Mazda IMO.

Citroen is a marque I'd love to love... They have a lot of rebuilding to do however and are saddled with PSA platforms. I luv the looks of the C4, new C5 and C6 but none are anywhere near top-of-class in their respective sectors and reliability/residual worries remain.

Renault? To their credit the Megane II and Laguna II were innovative designs but everything else about 'em these days is a bit crap.

Favorite French maker? Well one of my favorite cars of all time is the 504 coupe:

http://www.trulinesteering.com.au/Images/Gallery/images/Peugeot%20504%20Coupe.jpg

...but it's really hard to justify any of 'em at the moment...

crosstownk

colm_mcm wrote: »

And why Westlife have had something like 14 number 1's?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. They sold songs and they made money - end game.

colm_mcm

I wouldn't buy their albums,
not my thing.
Nor are French cars,
people still buy them though!

crosstownk

colm_mcm wrote: »

people still buy them though!

And that's what counts.

colm_mcm

so on that basis, the best French (or any) car is the one which sells the most!

galwaytt

pburns wrote: »

They've really fallen backwards though. Every other manufacturer has improved quality & reliability I think but not Peugeot.

I don't know about that - I think the general trend in car reliability is downwards. Too many new cars are being put on sale before being fully de-bugged, and the consumer has turned into the R & D department....

Audi's, Merc's, Ford's - all have some atrocious issues. Case in point - the entire VAG group uses complete ****e for both coilpacks and MAF's. BMW give them a close run for 2nd on the MAF front. VAG score again on the A6's and A4's, suspension joints made of.........poo.

Ditto, Renault and their petrol coils, and EGR's on their diesels.

GM and coil packs. Volvo on electronics, generally. BMW, i-drive - should be renamed i-dunno-drive.

Ford and ECU's.

Anything with a Dual Mass Flywheel (DMF). Should be renamed DNF.

pburns

galwaytt wrote: »

I don't know about that - I think the general trend in car reliability is downwards. Too many new cars are being put on sale before being fully de-bugged, and the consumer has turned into the R & D department....

Audi's, Merc's, Ford's - all have some atrocious issues. Case in point - the entire VAG group uses complete ****e for both coilpacks and MAF's. BMW give them a close run for 2nd on the MAF front. VAG score again on the A6's and A4's, suspension joints made of.........poo.

Ditto, Renault and their petrol coils, and EGR's on their diesels.

GM and coil packs. Volvo on electronics, generally. BMW, i-drive - should be renamed i-dunno-drive.

Ford and ECU's.

Anything with a Dual Mass Flywheel (DMF). Should be renamed DNF.

I bow, sir, to your superior knowledge...
(...and I'm not being sarcastic!:))

You probably have a point. Leaving that aside though, last time i rode in a 206 (not a particularly old one) I was shocked at how tinny, rattly and cheap it felt. Haven't experienced that with other marques...

Drexl Spivey

Renault for me.

I had a crash. My Clio '92 was OK and I was able to drive away. The Seat Ibizawas destroyed and had to be towed.
There was an over 10m skid mark behind the seat , it was going so fast. It hit me on the side.


I heard about Peugeots 505 that had 500 000k on the clock. And after you hear French car aren't reliable .. :O)

Hagar

You need to see the specs on the versions on sale here in France. They are totally different cars. You're making judgements on seriously cut-down versions. Not really fair.

LolaDub

colm_mcm wrote: »

It's a bit like asking "What's your favourite Westlife song"
the answer's the same

they're all sh*te!

Got to agree! PSA and renault produce crap. They're all awful so i'll decline to vote, you really need an atari jaguar option!

towel401

Peugeot. i'm the biggest peugeot fanboy here

Renaults tend to be ugly as sin. especially that Nissan Primastar thing that Renault makes under a different name

towel401

LolaDub wrote: »

Got to agree! PSA and renault produce crap. They're all awful so i'll decline to vote, you really need an atari jaguar option!

jaguar is french now?

Hagar

towel401 wrote: »

jaguar is french now?

No, it's Indian just like Land Rover. :pac:

crosstownk

LolaDub wrote: »

Got to agree! PSA and renault produce crap. They're all awful so i'll decline to vote, you really need an atari jaguar option!

Everyone has their own viewpoint - but how can you slate the new C5 as crap? Have you driven one?

Guy:Incognito

towel401 wrote: »

Renaults tend to be ugly as sin. especially that Nissan Primastar thing that Renault makes under a different name

As vans go, it's hardly any more or less ugly than any others. Renault have their own one of that van too, its not just Renault made for Nissan, its the Trafic, Primastar and Vivaro.

LolaDub

Hagar wrote: »

No, it's Indian just like Land Rover. :pac:

Hagar shouldn't you be raking in the booze for the weekend


Towel an atari option as a default option, never heard of it?

LolaDub

crosstownk wrote: »

Everyone has their own viewpoint - but how can you slate the new C5 as crap? Have you driven one?

The french are alright at making small engined city cars, they tend to lose it when they try to move onto bigger things. Their problem with smaller cars is they overprice them for what they are and they're not as reliable as their japanese competitors. I drove the c5 for about 15 mins, there were a number of things i didn't like about but they were mostly my personal preference. I would be concerned about reliability if i had one on my drive tomorrow (although i'd trade it in the second i saw it for something better different but i suppose we'll see whether it is or isn't soon enough!

crosstownk

LolaDub wrote: »

I drove the c5 for about 15 mins

A whole 15 mins - wow. I've managed 10,000 km without issue. 35,000 in a C4 Picasso before that without any problems.

Reliabilty - no issues so far with the C5. A lot more than the VW Passat can boast given it's the AA's most recovered car.

The 1.6HDI bulletproof - nobody in the motor industry will argue with that.

Guy:Incognito

LolaDub wrote: »

e and they're not as reliable as their japanese competitors.

Either are any other non-japanese makes. Audi came below one or two (renault anyway iirc) of the French makes for warranty claims last year.