Peugeot 206 SW RANGE
The
Peugeot 206 Has An Often Overlooked Weapon In Its Armoury A Neat Compact Estate Version. Andy Enright Takes A Look At The 206 SW
How would you define Britains best selling car? The sales charts are swelled by company cars that distort the true picture. Simpkins from Field Sales may have been presented with a choice of either a Vectra LS saloon or estate but the private buyer gets free rein. Therefore the retail chart is a truer representation of what you really want. And judging from the figures available when we went to press, what you really want is a Peugeot 206, a car that beats the
Ford Focus, the
Vauxhall Astra and everything else into submission.
The 206 SW estate we look at here plays an important part in firming up the little Peugeots position quite nicely.
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It will need to continually match Fiesta sales incrementally if the 206 is to stay on the top step of the podium but the 206 SW joins the 206 Coupe Cabriolet in making this range the most versatile small car around. Thankfully,
Peugeot have resisted the temptation to squeeze a set of minuscule rear seats into the back of the 206 SW and label it a seven seater crossover vehicle, instead doing the sensible thing and offering a usefully practical compact estate that should do good business against the small estate that until recently has been taking care of business in this sector, the
Skoda Fabia.
"The 206 SWs load area measures a useful 76 litres more than the 206 hatch."
From the windscreen pillars forwards you wont notice any difference, the SW retaining the familiar feline face of the 206 hatch, but from the door pillar back, its completely restyled. With black pillars, side mouldings and roof rails, the 206 SW certainly stands out, the elongated shape giving the car an elegant line. Aping the Alfa 156, the rear door handles are incorporated into the rear door pillars helping to keep the profile clean. The styling at the back is equally adept with light clusters that wrap round the rearmost pair of windows and then stretch right up to roof height.
The tailgate sits indented between twin rubbing strips and youll spot a distinctly unusual curve to the rear window. A neat rooftop spoiler incorporates a central brake light. Built at Peugeots high-tech production facility at Ryton, near Coventry, the 206 SW is available with a choice of two petrol engines and two HDi turbodiesel units. All of the engines will be familiar to anybody reasonably well acquainted with the existing 206 line up.
The petrol engines open with the economical 75bhp 1.4-litre unit, plus theres a 110bhp 1.6-litre with an auto gearbox. Diesel customers are well catered for by a 90bhp 2.
0-litre HDi unit and a 68bhp 1.4-litre HDi engine which displays remarkable fuel economy. Prices start at £10,740 for the 1.4 petrol.
The 1.4-litre diesel engine is the result of a partnership between PSA Peugeot
Citroen and
Ford and is a state of the art common rail direct injection unit that uses a tiny turbocharger to help plump up the torque ad power figures. Its an incredibly compact powerplant that houses the air filter, air flow sensor, turbo silencer, air intake distributor, diesel filtration system and the cylinder head cover within the air intake. In the 206 SW its enough to propel the car to 60mph in 14.
4 seconds and on to a top speed of over 103mph. More importantly, the 64.2mpg average fuel return is exemplary, helped by the fact that at 70mph the engine is turning over at a mere 2700rpm. Peugeot have ignored the current trend for designing cars with a wheel at each corner in the development of the 206 SW, the designers grafting an additional 19.
3cm of length onto the overhang behind the rear wheels. This would seem to be a perfect recipe for creating a car with the biggest behind since the AMC Pacer but the 206 SW wears it well. If youd been pressed to identify where the changes had been made, most would point to the fact that the 206 SW is stretched in the wheelbase, but break out a tape measure and the 2442mm distance from front to rear hubs is identical to the 206 hatchback. Weird.
Designed with practicality in mind, the 206 SW incorporates a number of thoughtful features. The tailgate contains a rear window that can be independently opened and closed a boon in tight spots. It also comes into its own if you need to transport very long items, being a safer option than driving with the entire tailgate open. This window can be opened from the key fob while the interior of the tailgate itself features a moulded handle so you wont have to get your mitts dirty by grabbing hold of the paintwork.
Another trend that Peugeot have chosen to pass on is the creation of estates that carry less than their hatch or saloon progenitors. The 206 SWs load area measures 313 litres to the top of the load cover, which is a useful 76 litres more than the 206 hatch. To make things more convenient still, the loading lip is a full 106mm lower. If you really want to pile em high and stack the 206 SW to the roof level, youll get a massive 480 litres of loading capacity.
The load bay is well proportioned too, with minimal ingress from items like suspension turrets. A sturdy load cover, luggage nets and bag hooks ensure that your load arrives safe and sound. The SW was treated to a mild facelift recently which ran to the tune of a honeycomb grille, the obligatory clear headlight lenses and a bigger chromed Peugeot lion badge on the back. Uniform coloured rear light lenses were also introduced.
Whereas the Peugeot 307 SW muddied its message by offering an unappetising me-too seven-seater version, the 206 SWs purpose is clear. Its a small estate that makes sense. Heres a car that Peugeot hope will continue to strengthen the 206s position as the British publics favourite. You wouldnt bet against it.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Peugeot 206 SW range
PRICES: £10,740-£13,100 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 3-8
CO2 EMISSIONS: 117-159g/km
PERFORMANCE: [1.6] 0-60mph 10.7s / Max Speed 121mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [2.0 HDi] (urban) 40.9 / (extra urban) 64.2 / (combined) 53.3mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin airbags
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height mm 3835/1652/1432
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