Excellent video! Just pulled up on my drive in my 1990 White Peugeot 309 1.6 GLX...Sitting in it's ultra comfortable drivers seat watching this video with my phone on the steering wheel. I got the notification while driving...Couldn't wait to watch it 😍 Parked in front of me is my White 1990 309 1.3 Look, to the left of me is my Red 1992 205 1.9 GTI. They are all Awesome cars! I wouldn't have a new computer on wheels if it was given to me. This video has made my day! Thank You!
Glad to see you still have all of them. I think when you search up "Peugeot 309" there is so little content your cold starts are like the first or second result.
@@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge Thanks! They are all still great! They just don't seem to age. They do their job without any complaints...So much fun to drive! Life is too busy at the moment...But I will make a video when the world calms down a bit :)
@@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge If you are looking for 309 TU 1.4 complete driveshafts and you are in the UK, there are new left and right for £26 each on eBay with free shipping. I would post a link, but TH-cam would probably block it. 1.4 TU's are stupidly fast! :)
Ahhh, so gloriously square. I always wanted a GTi one of these when growing up, but of course when the time came 18 year old me didn't want to be seen driving something so "outdated"... 13 and a half years (and a shedding of teenage stupidity) later and I'd give a kidney for one bit they're so hard to find now! I'll always hanker for those fantastically razor-sharp lines though...
The American Horizon replacement, the Dodge Shadow/Plymouth Sundance, was designed in exactly the opposite way being a cut-down K car and ended up with a similar shape that would've been even more similar had Iacocca not nixed the planned bubble rear window at the last moment for a flatter one with a longer decklid so the car wasn't noticeably a hatchback at all unless the hatch was open. It was a little bit sleeker since at least it had its' own doors!
I had a 309 XR and this car drove me 55000 KM without a Problem....only in the End the rost took it...even thogh, the engine was good enough to be sold...1,4 liter engine 7 liter on 100 km never failed me!!!
This car is also the sole reason why the "08" generation of Peugeots wasn't followed by an "09" generation, instead the naming has now been seemingly permanently frozen on 308 etc... instead of being frozen a little later I guess. To be honest, I can't really think of any good name for 309 myself, it was quite a dilemma. 305 was bigger so making it a 305 hatch would've maybe disappointed customers. Other interesting issue with numeric names was with Renault around the same time. When you list all Renault's "number" cars, you get all numbers from 3 to 12 and 14 to 21, which means that they either had to keep using the same numbers like with the "Super 5", or move to a different naming scheme altogether. Imagine how confusing it would've been if the Clio would've been called Renault 22!
@@jannevaatainen Yeah, I am big fan of 05 and 06 Peugeots. 07 generation was let down for me but things seem to be coming back with current gen cars such as 208 and 508
Iranian here, I was born in 80s, in my childhood days a middle class family had 2 choice when buying a car, Paykan(hillman hunter) and renault 5. We had the Renault and I loved that nice car. I remember that city streets were crowded by Paykans until late 90s.
I worked for a Peugeot Dealer in the early 90s and caught the tail end of the 309 before the 306 took over. As i remember they were very light and a bit tinny to be honest but they were galvanized and did not rust, we would regularly have the diesel models coming in for routine servicing with over 200,000 miles on the clock . Another great Video thank you (: Ps Have a great Christmas and New year!
106, 205, 309 they were all run mechanicly into the ground. They kept on going and ended at the scrapheap because they were wrecked or worn out till the last bolt but no due to rust.
I absolutely love your documentaries. The level of knowledge, the old ads, and above all, YOU, turn every video into the most comprehensible video about a certain car worldwide-ever. PLEASE continue with your videos. They are inspiring, nostalgic, and just something special for me and many, many others. Every time I come across one of your videos, I end up watching three more or revisiting old ones. :) Thank you for all your hard work. PS: My 93 year old grandmother still has a more or less fully functional Peugeot 106 in her garage. That thing sounds like a tractor and occasionally the exhaust falls off. lol
@@juststuff8742 haha. Karl Hamilton is stupid enough to think his opinion is legally binding like that of a court magistrate. If he wasn't stupid he would have may have considered posting "I think this is false" in my opinion. Still it brings entertainment to think he thinks coz he said this he's correct 😂😂😂
Omg omg omg thank you so much for doing the 309 story!! An overlooked and under-rated car in my opinion! My 1992 diesel is still chugging along, barely run-in at 218,000 miles
Very interesting as always. My dad bought a Mk.1 version, poverty spec five door model with the 1.3 engine. The ride was superb in the old French way, leaned on corners but very compliant and comfortable. Whatever happened to that? It was a really good car, I don't recall any build or quality issues and the only thing that let it down was the rather wheezy underpowered engine.
We had a 309 diesel (XUD of course)... Yes the interior was cheap and rattily, and was poverty spec without power steering, but it was by far the most reliable car we ever owned, and never left us at the side of the road. The corrosion resistance was also well ahead of it's time, and still ahead of fords to this day. Not a spot of rust anywhere. This was the golden age of diesels, and for PSA.
i am from iran hunter was such affordable and loveable vehicle we called her PAYKAN which means arrow in english and it had alots of types but the best one was javanan
My Father had 2 English versions Hillman Hunter & Minx , I thought it was a lovely comfy car as a boy in the 80s ,even though was an old car by then , I'd Drive one now if there were any left!
Indeed.... These were everywhere on Iran. Paykan is one of the Farsi words for Arrow. The Hunter/Sceptre/Minx/Vogue ranges in question were known collectively as the Rootes Arrow, so the Paykan name makes perfect sense.
india got the 309 in 1996, first with the tu3 and then the tud5. it wouldve been quite successful but a ton of management issues led them to pull the plug in ‘98. lots of people even lost their booking money. ive got one and almost nobody knows what it is. truly an underappreciated car
Superb video! :D I always liked the look of the 309, the front light clusters seemed to give the car a happy appearance, as well as the fact it was a nicely proportioned machine. :)
Hello from Iran! 🖐 although we had interaction before but I wanted to say thank you for your awesome videos. Iran has a weird automotive industry and a tendency to keep cars in production for decades. Although we have cars called “national car” but they are not completely designed by Iranian firms. Well, there is a long history...
Yeah, it was a very great market for PSA. Bottom question: why arabe or whatever persian, never built there own cars? As civilisation you ”choose” camel
@@augure2589 Iranians speak persian and arab countries speak arabic, two different languages, simple. There are Iranian car brands here but their platforms are from foreign manufacturers. Examples are Samand, Dena, Shahin..
Ah, memories of my old D-reg 309GL. Cracking car until its old 1.3 blew the timing belt on the M1 going past Milton Keynes Parkway one Boxing Day many years ago. Engine destroyed. Huge shame, was really proud of that car. Very comfortable, looked great, and surprisingly quick even for the shopping trolley versions.
My 309 timing belt went on me as well on the M25. There was a crack sound, and the engine just died. I got a lot of strokey-chins from the mechanics but got it fixed (at great cost to me at that time) Despite this incident, I owned two 309s, and I always thought they were great cars.
The 1.3 didn't have a timing belt. It was a Simca derived engine from the 60s first used in the Simca 1000. Used a timing chain. That, and the tappets always going out of adjustment was why the engine was so rattley. Only the XU 1.6 & 1.9 had a belt.
@@nigelglover3220 Hi, perhaps incorrect terminology from the mechanic. Whatever it was, it was a big bang, complete loss of timing on the engine, likely valve/piston collision. Mechanic tried a rock test with it in gear and actually believed it had snapped the *crankshaft*. In that respect, failure my have been big end somewhere. Either way, major engine failure, couldn't afford to replace engine, got it towed home, and eventually was either towed away or stolen. Bah - sweet car.
@@chrisbardell Yea - Mine was a 1.6. I think it was the cambelt that went on mine but I used your terminology. But as you said, whatever went, it knocked out the timing with valves with the pistons and the whole engine was f*****d.
It was great to see the faith that Peugeot put in this car, despite it being something of a lame duck at the beginning. It really is a smart looking little 80s car, I think better looking than the Talbot Arizona proposal.
Great video! I know Dutch leading car magazine Autovisie was always in love with the 309 GTI. And the doors-story is totally new. Can't unsee it anymore. How did I miss that?
Finally, a proper explanation as to how the 309 was a Peugeot but also was a Talbot and also perhaps a Simca. When the car came out in 1985, I always thought the rear lights looked like tri-colour toothpaste
I love a car with character like that! You have to slap the dashboard on a certain spot in my Proton to make the rev counter work! (I'm hopefully going to fix that soon...)
Aaaah, best company car I ever had - my metallic grey 309 GTI was nippier and more flighty than my colleague's Golf GTI of the same vintage (but did feel much more tinny!). The boss took it home one day for a service at his local garage, clearly scared himself on the drive and named it The Flying Rollerskate. It was so good, I bought myself another one after I left the job.
Whoever designed the taillights on the 309 deserves recognition, they really stood out from all other cars. Personally i think they look cool and weird at the same time.
@@baronvonjo1929 Reminds me of the 1985 Honda Integra, Back then it was unusual for taillights and body to look as if they had been designed together rather than just slapped on as an afterthought.
I thought the 309 was a pretty little car. I hired one once in November 1991 in Helensborough Scotland where my brother & I saw the Aurora borealis while at Loch Lomond. I really liked it.
I remember the first day I drove it, I treated it to a full tank of fuel but someone had unscrewed the fuel pump in the tank and left it like that so £20 worth ended up on the forecourt floor! Also it had a lack of power and a misfire so I had the Peugeot main dealer mechanics where I worked to look at it and they diagnosed it as a faulty mass air flow sensor at about £350. I couldn't afford a new one so went to a local tuning garage who laughed out loud (years before lol) and fixed it with a 20p o-ring that was missing from the inlet manifold. It also sometimes wouldn't start due to a problem with the immobilizer and many a time I had to bump start it, even 2 minutes after I'd sold it! I got it started again and got away from it as soon as possible!! Still a fab car though!
Thanks, a very entertaining video as usual. Believe it or not, but in early 90's Russia you could meet both Simca and Plymouth Horizon. As well as US Escort mk1/european Escort mk3. Those were strange times. As for Peugeot 309 - it was as rare as Austin Maestro. French cars generally were seen as unreliable and rust buckets.
Brilliant video as always! Always loved the 309. So thank you so much for doing a video on it! Could you do a video on the Horizon and Alpine too please 🚘🚗🚙
Actually, the Hillman Hunter isn't even properly dead today; In Iran, much of the running gear can still be found under a local Peugeot 405 RWD variant (and the 405 Pickup), a true Frankenstein of a car.
@@AllonKirtchik I have seen a Samand even on Malta or in Greece when on holiday, I think they made it to several Southern European markets in small figures...
I always watch to the end, I have to see the out takes! Living in the U.S.A., we don't have many Euro cars other than the M-B, VW's and the like so it's nice to have some history on the other brands. Thanks for a job well done.
@@elbecko7969 Peugeot left the states in 89 the last car sold there being the 405 of all cars, although most Pugs you might find in older American movies will be a 305 or a 505.
@@Hipas_Account I'm sure that when Peugeot left in 89, they made it back to France, the diesel ones at least. Those engines were bulletproof. Another few years and the flair would take a serious nosedive.
That was very interesting! I always wondered about the number 309 but never knew about the Simca/Talbot origins. I never questioned it as a genuine Peugeot as it looked pretty much like a grown 205 - so the pre-launch makeover worked ...
I've got a mint cherry red phase 2 309gti, I love the way it looks, it's 80s 3 box simplicity and pinstripe details. Superb visibility and airy cabin with tiny a pillars. Like to be revved and driven hard. On modern michelin tyres the handling is sublime and suspension compliant. I love thrashing it around b roads, and at 975kg it can surprise most bloated modern cars at the lights and round the twisties
My mom had a hot red 205 GT, later followed by a 306 XT when I was a child ... always loved them. The local gas station owner had a dark red 309 though and even as a kid I sensed it was not really a proper match for the lineup - oh memory lane! Thank you so much for your videos!
I owned a 309 gr 1.6 in red and rate it as one of the best cars i have ever owned. Never let me down in 50,000 miles with loads of adventures along the way. Currently driving a Porsche and owned many cool cars too but always fond memories of the 309 going flat out down my favourite back roads to lugging fridge freezers with the seats folded down.
Ok, shock horror time, I preferred my 309 GTI to my wife's 205 GTI, mainly because of the width of the driver seating position. But no matter what anyone else says, they should have done more with the Sunbeam, that was a car that had so much more to offer, great bodystyle, left the mk 3 Escort for dead and kept the rwd fun
I have fond memories of my 1988 309 GTi which I owned in 1993 ish. Fast, brash, squeaky and fast fast. It was fast and no mistake. Handled like a dream and pre-ABS and traction control. Interior trim pieces would sometimes go on strike but.... oh, and the throttle stuck once, which was scary, but fixable.
Hey it's my first car :) It was relatively nice to drive but had such weird design decisions that maintenance was bitch and man those auto choke carbs were just pain in the ass.
The '78 Dodge Omni (Chrysler/Plymouth Horizon) used VW 1.7L(?) engines in US models until about 1980/81 when an in-house 2.2L engine was used. Chrysler continued the Omni/Horizon production until 1990 in the US. 1985-1987 saw a GLH (Goes Like Hell) and GLHS (Goes Like Hell S'more) models built by Shelby and were quite spirited.
Oh my god! I am in general very sensitive and attentive with shared parts in different cars specially bodywork parts as they all clearly visible to all. Example: doors, windshield, bumper, grill, lights, signal lights, rear view mirrors etc. How come I didn't (or couldn't) figure out 30 something years that the 309 had the 205's doors! Can't believe myself that i have never spotted that! But then congrats to designers, they were still able pull out a car with 4 common doors that wasn't really looking alike.................... or unlike the the Tempra/155 or the 9000/thema/croma where it's spot on to see the common 4 doors............ I still can't believe and accept that I completely missed that one!!!
I had a Peugeot 309GRi which was the 1990 facelift model. I gave it a few modifications inc a K&N induction kit. I had actually wanted a 309GTi but I wanted one with rear doors as I'd just had my second child. At the time I couldn't find what I wanted so got the GRi which had the same engine as the 1.6 205GTi and the same 'pepperpot' alloys. The 309 GRi was more of an executive spec than a sporty one. I absolutely loved the car and did a ridiculous amount of miles in it. After Afterwards I owned a 205 Junior, a 405 & a 406 estate which I loved too.
I would really like to see the Peugeot 206 story - it was the car of my university years back in the early 2000s and I toured half of Europe with it. - I still think that next to the second generation Fiat 500 the 206 was the biggest hit in the small car segment the last 20 years - especially design-wise. Unfortunately the 207 and other successors didn`t come close, in my view.
It is a pity Peugeot never improved the 309's styling to align it more with the 205 and 405, additionally even though it was replaced by the 306 would have still liked to have seen a facelifted 309 or 309+ version similar to how the 405 became the 406 (at least in certain markets).
We went on from the 309 to a Renault Megane. We got a call from the police about 3 months after we sold it to tell us that the car had been found burnt out after being used as a getaway car. Even though we weren’t the registered owners, they thought we should know just in case anything came our way. My mother was quite heartbroken as she really loved that car.
had this car in NZ in 1989 and sold it after 2 years (1991) when I left NZ. Good car with no issues in 50,000 miles then. I even remember the registration OB 4816.
My dad had a 1992 J reg GLD in Topaz Blue. Loved that car. Handled as if it was on rails, extremely comfortable ride and mechanically bomb proof. While the styling was out of line with other Peugeot cars of the era, it was a good looking car in its own right. The GTI actually has a better balanced chassis than the 205 GTI and that is saying something.
Had two Avengers: Hillman & Chrysler, also had two 309's the latter being face-lift model & loved them, albeit rear hatch windows leaked & interior dash was awful. P.S Alpine was a dreadful car..
great video as always!. Can you make one on the Hillman Avenger?, here in argentina it even got a "hot" version and later was sold under the VW brand till 1990
My taxi in the early 90 s 1.9 gld diesel five people in and it flew up hills in fifth gear .Had 405 after both ran for ever .Was the best diesel cars then every taxi used them .
Drove one of the first diesels of these about a week before then went on official sale. Belonged to car leasing firm and they had to let me have it as my new Sierra was late. hated oil burners from that moment on.
Exactly, they stopped at x08, presumably to avoid re-using the 309 name. Though Wikipedia’s page on the 301 claims x01 is for emerging markets and x08 is for ‘traditional’ markets.
i had a 309 GTI back in the day 😍 lovely car loved it to bits ❤ replaced it with a 306 d turbo yet another great car 😍 what on earth hapened to PEUGEOT i wuldnt touch any of thare shiteboxes today 😕 shame big shame 😢
Fun fact Talbot cars was founded in 1902 by Charles Talbot the 20 th Earl of Shrewsbury who owned and lived in Alton Towers , the now best theme park in the Uk 👌🏼🎢🎡🎠🏰🧱👍🏼
One of my early memories is of my dad signing over the paperwork for the family's new Talbot Horizon GLS. It wasn't without flaws but a pretty good car nonetheless. After a few years, it was traded for a used Simca 1510, larger sister to the Horizon, which we kept for two years. S.I.M.C.A. stands for Société Industrielle de Mécanique et de Carrosserie Automobile (Industrial Company of Automotive Mechanic and Bodywork, roughly translated), which I believe started off assembling Fiat cars in France before taking a life of its own, thus rounding the loop in the Group PSA Fiat Chrysler merger of 2019 (known as Stellantis in trading). The 309 was effectively the last Talbot, and the 205 the car that saved Peugeot, but that's another story. I remember reading somewhere the Tagora started life with Chrysler and was finished off by Peugeot, using, if memory serves, the rear drivetrain from the Peugeot 604 to save cost, but it was too narrow for the Tagora. Probably one of the reasons the Tagora flopped, not to mention internal competition by then against the 604. I'd be curious to see the Tagora Story, although I'm not sure many people would be interested. I've always had a soft spot for Chrysler and anything related, so maybe I'm a little biased. ;-)
Thanks, well researched as always. This car seemed to have a long and convoluted birth. Never driven one, but my company adopted later 405 turbo diesels, and these were very good.
Excellent video! Just pulled up on my drive in my 1990 White Peugeot 309 1.6 GLX...Sitting in it's ultra comfortable drivers seat watching this video with my phone on the steering wheel. I got the notification while driving...Couldn't wait to watch it 😍 Parked in front of me is my White 1990 309 1.3 Look, to the left of me is my Red 1992 205 1.9 GTI. They are all Awesome cars! I wouldn't have a new computer on wheels if it was given to me. This video has made my day! Thank You!
Glad to see you still have all of them. I think when you search up "Peugeot 309" there is so little content your cold starts are like the first or second result.
@@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge Thanks! They are all still great! They just don't seem to age. They do their job without any complaints...So much fun to drive! Life is too busy at the moment...But I will make a video when the world calms down a bit :)
@@88GTi I might make one on my own car eventually...if I ever get her fixed that is. Finding a 1.4 driveshaft is surprisingly difficult.
@@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge If you are looking for 309 TU 1.4 complete driveshafts and you are in the UK, there are new left and right for £26 each on eBay with free shipping. I would post a link, but TH-cam would probably block it.
1.4 TU's are stupidly fast! :)
Fun fact: the bonnet release of the first series 309 was a Simca 1000 door handle.
I had one 309 bought in 1997 or so. A light Blue one with plate SJ-43-YR, don’t think it’s among us anymore but I liked it a lot. 🙂
The RDW says the plate is unknown. So either exported or scrapped.
Very well put together......
I came here for the documentary and stayed for the bloopers 😜.
Keep the content coming 👍👍
No bloopers in the next video (I hope!).
Ahhh, so gloriously square. I always wanted a GTi one of these when growing up, but of course when the time came 18 year old me didn't want to be seen driving something so "outdated"... 13 and a half years (and a shedding of teenage stupidity) later and I'd give a kidney for one bit they're so hard to find now! I'll always hanker for those fantastically razor-sharp lines though...
Another well presented story.
The American Horizon replacement, the Dodge Shadow/Plymouth Sundance, was designed in exactly the opposite way being a cut-down K car and ended up with a similar shape that would've been even more similar had Iacocca not nixed the planned bubble rear window at the last moment for a flatter one with a longer decklid so the car wasn't noticeably a hatchback at all unless the hatch was open. It was a little bit sleeker since at least it had its' own doors!
Probably the Rose tinted spectacles talking but I always thought the 309 was just a gorgeous looking car.
I had a 309 XR and this car drove me 55000 KM without a Problem....only in the End the rost took it...even thogh, the engine was good enough to be sold...1,4 liter engine 7 liter on 100 km never failed me!!!
Great story, i had almost forgotten about the 309!
would love to see a Ford Fiesta or Citroen Ax story.
I'm sure I'll do both of these at some point.
The 309 was just the love child between the 205 and 405, to be honest.
Talking about the 405 would be insane (why) one word PIKES PEAK HILL CLIMB (well it's more than one but still)
Had a 309 Carribean - always wanted a gti .....
This car is also the sole reason why the "08" generation of Peugeots wasn't followed by an "09" generation, instead the naming has now been seemingly permanently frozen on 308 etc... instead of being frozen a little later I guess. To be honest, I can't really think of any good name for 309 myself, it was quite a dilemma. 305 was bigger so making it a 305 hatch would've maybe disappointed customers.
Other interesting issue with numeric names was with Renault around the same time. When you list all Renault's "number" cars, you get all numbers from 3 to 12 and 14 to 21, which means that they either had to keep using the same numbers like with the "Super 5", or move to a different naming scheme altogether. Imagine how confusing it would've been if the Clio would've been called Renault 22!
Always felt like 309 is underrated compared to 205, 405 and other cool Peugeots of the day
Poo sniffer
always delighted to learn about underrated things on yt!
@@RayEttler itchy poo snack
Peugeot made some nice cars back in the day.
@@jannevaatainen Yeah, I am big fan of 05 and 06 Peugeots. 07 generation was let down for me but things seem to be coming back with current gen cars such as 208 and 508
You know it's going to be a good day when there is a new Big Car story! :)
Edit: Thanks for the likes! :)
A video on Iranian cars would be cool! They have some interesting history
Yes
I was surprised in 1973 to see the taxis in Tehran were Hillman Hunters badged as Paykan.
@@CLUBIKLE i had no idea until watching this video! That’s super interesting
Iranian here, I was born in 80s, in my childhood days a middle class family had 2 choice when buying a car, Paykan(hillman hunter) and renault 5. We had the Renault and I loved that nice car. I remember that city streets were crowded by Paykans until late 90s.
@@Espakho What replaced them in the '90s?
I worked for a Peugeot Dealer in the early 90s and caught the tail end of the 309 before the 306 took over.
As i remember they were very light and a bit tinny to be honest but they were galvanized and did not rust, we would regularly have the diesel models coming in for routine servicing with over 200,000 miles on the clock .
Another great Video thank you (:
Ps Have a great Christmas and New year!
Peugeot’s of this era generally didn’t rust ,never seen a rot box 205/309/405 even the 305 seemed pretty robust to tin worm....👍
@@mudskipper0075 I daily drive 1993 205 1.1 Winner edition (pretty rare) and its nearly rustless except few bubbles in boot.
106, 205, 309 they were all run mechanicly into the ground.
They kept on going and ended at the scrapheap because they were wrecked or worn out till the last bolt but no due to rust.
That’s right, mine was petrol and expired at 144,000 but the non turbo diesels went on forever.
No rust on mine after 13 year's service. Very well galvanised and undersealed. Similar to my 106.
I absolutely love your documentaries. The level of knowledge, the old ads, and above all, YOU, turn every video into the most comprehensible video about a certain car worldwide-ever. PLEASE continue with your videos. They are inspiring, nostalgic, and just something special for me and many, many others. Every time I come across one of your videos, I end up watching three more or revisiting old ones. :) Thank you for all your hard work.
PS: My 93 year old grandmother still has a more or less fully functional Peugeot 106 in her garage. That thing sounds like a tractor and occasionally the exhaust falls off. lol
PSA's styling was on point in the 80s
I think they've got it back again with their current cars ie 2008 etc. I know what ur saying tho
False
@@KarlHamilton ok, but it's just an opinion
@@david-iandawson I think you are right. 508/208/5008/3008/2008 do actually look very very good.
@@juststuff8742 haha. Karl Hamilton is stupid enough to think his opinion is legally binding like that of a court magistrate. If he wasn't stupid he would have may have considered posting "I think this is false" in my opinion. Still it brings entertainment to think he thinks coz he said this he's correct 😂😂😂
Omg omg omg thank you so much for doing the 309 story!! An overlooked and under-rated car in my opinion! My 1992 diesel is still chugging along, barely run-in at 218,000 miles
Very interesting as always. My dad bought a Mk.1 version, poverty spec five door model with the 1.3 engine. The ride was superb in the old French way, leaned on corners but very compliant and comfortable. Whatever happened to that? It was a really good car, I don't recall any build or quality issues and the only thing that let it down was the rather wheezy underpowered engine.
I agree about the ride, my Talbot was the same.
We had a 309 diesel (XUD of course)... Yes the interior was cheap and rattily, and was poverty spec without power steering, but it was by far the most reliable car we ever owned, and never left us at the side of the road. The corrosion resistance was also well ahead of it's time, and still ahead of fords to this day. Not a spot of rust anywhere. This was the golden age of diesels, and for PSA.
i am from iran hunter was such affordable and loveable vehicle we called her PAYKAN which means arrow in english and it had alots of types but the best one was javanan
My Father had 2 English versions Hillman Hunter & Minx , I thought it was a lovely comfy car as a boy in the 80s ,even though was an old car by then , I'd Drive one now if there were any left!
@@fletch8d616 in tehran its price skyrocketed if you want a fully restored hunter deluxe which has manufactured in 70s or late 60s
Indeed.... These were everywhere on Iran.
Paykan is one of the Farsi words for Arrow. The Hunter/Sceptre/Minx/Vogue ranges in question were known collectively as the Rootes Arrow, so the Paykan name makes perfect sense.
india got the 309 in 1996, first with the tu3 and then the tud5. it wouldve been quite successful but a ton of management issues led them to pull the plug in ‘98. lots of people even lost their booking money. ive got one and almost nobody knows what it is. truly an underappreciated car
I lost the booking amount. Got a Honda later.
Can You Make Citroen Xsara story plsssss ❤️
Zx évolution
2.0 VTS :)
@@missionseven7972 Yes... Xsara story +1!
Included the Xsara Picasso
Superb video! :D
I always liked the look of the 309, the front light clusters seemed to give the car a happy appearance, as well as the fact it was a nicely proportioned machine. :)
Thanks Ruairidh. BTW, how the heck do you say your name (or is it Rory)?
Hello from Iran! 🖐 although we had interaction before but I wanted to say thank you for your awesome videos.
Iran has a weird automotive industry and a tendency to keep cars in production for decades. Although we have cars called “national car” but they are not completely designed by Iranian firms. Well, there is a long history...
Yeah, it was a very great market for PSA. Bottom question: why arabe or whatever persian, never built there own cars? As civilisation you ”choose” camel
@@augure2589 Iranians speak persian and arab countries speak arabic, two different languages, simple. There are Iranian car brands here but their platforms are from foreign manufacturers. Examples are Samand, Dena, Shahin..
Ah, memories of my old D-reg 309GL. Cracking car until its old 1.3 blew the timing belt on the M1 going past Milton Keynes Parkway one Boxing Day many years ago. Engine destroyed. Huge shame, was really proud of that car. Very comfortable, looked great, and surprisingly quick even for the shopping trolley versions.
My 309 timing belt went on me as well on the M25. There was a crack sound, and the engine just died. I got a lot of strokey-chins from the mechanics but got it fixed (at great cost to me at that time) Despite this incident, I owned two 309s, and I always thought they were great cars.
The 1.3 didn't have a timing belt. It was a Simca derived engine from the 60s first used in the Simca 1000. Used a timing chain. That, and the tappets always going out of adjustment was why the engine was so rattley. Only the XU 1.6 & 1.9 had a belt.
@@nigelglover3220 Hi, perhaps incorrect terminology from the mechanic. Whatever it was, it was a big bang, complete loss of timing on the engine, likely valve/piston collision. Mechanic tried a rock test with it in gear and actually believed it had snapped the *crankshaft*. In that respect, failure my have been big end somewhere. Either way, major engine failure, couldn't afford to replace engine, got it towed home, and eventually was either towed away or stolen. Bah - sweet car.
@@chrisbardell Yea - Mine was a 1.6. I think it was the cambelt that went on mine but I used your terminology. But as you said, whatever went, it knocked out the timing with valves with the pistons and the whole engine was f*****d.
Nice, except the fact 1.3 engine used timing chain, not belt. Your memories are hazy. You probably meant 1.4 PSA engine.
I always thought that 309 was just a liftback version of the 205. Turns out its story's a bit more complicated.
Same here!
Considering the close relation to the megahit 205, it is a bit weird that PSA did not try to sell the 309 as another version of the 205...
It was great to see the faith that Peugeot put in this car, despite it being something of a lame duck at the beginning. It really is a smart looking little 80s car, I think better looking than the Talbot Arizona proposal.
Great video! I know Dutch leading car magazine Autovisie was always in love with the 309 GTI. And the doors-story is totally new. Can't unsee it anymore. How did I miss that?
The Simca Horizon really did save Chrysler in more ways than one. Especially, since the K Car platform was derived from it.
Finally, a proper explanation as to how the 309 was a Peugeot but also was a Talbot and also perhaps a Simca. When the car came out in 1985, I always thought the rear lights looked like tri-colour toothpaste
PSA Groupe were going to make this car a Talbot Arizona, but canned the idea, because they already killed the marque before it was even thought of.
The original rear lights were hideous, although they didn't look so bad on the 505.
I loved my step dad's 309, and I've always wanted a 309 GTI
My first car was a Talbot Horizon. I had to kick the dashboard if I wanted heater to turn on.
I love a car with character like that! You have to slap the dashboard on a certain spot in my Proton to make the rev counter work! (I'm hopefully going to fix that soon...)
Kickstart
Mine was a Dodge Omni, it didn't have that problem but it did once leave me stranded with vapor lock. I don't miss carburetors!
@@Howlingd0g which Proton are you driving right now?
My first ever car!!!! Sold it to my sister when I joined the army and the thing fell apart when she bought it 😂😂🤦🏻♂️
Please make an episode for the Mercedes w124! We would really love it!
I had one of these, the diesel engine was amazing, never had one problem with it.
Aaaah, best company car I ever had - my metallic grey 309 GTI was nippier and more flighty than my colleague's Golf GTI of the same vintage (but did feel much more tinny!). The boss took it home one day for a service at his local garage, clearly scared himself on the drive and named it The Flying Rollerskate. It was so good, I bought myself another one after I left the job.
Whoever designed the taillights on the 309 deserves recognition, they really stood out from all other cars. Personally i think they look cool and weird at the same time.
Aye, both pre and post facelift too!
Here I am and I cant tell the difference between this and any other car from its era lol
@@baronvonjo1929 Reminds me of the 1985 Honda Integra, Back then it was unusual for taillights and body to look as if they had been designed together rather than just slapped on as an afterthought.
The runner in that Simca advert had balls of stainless steel on that shoot...
I thought the 309 was a pretty little car. I hired one once in November 1991 in Helensborough Scotland where my brother & I saw the Aurora borealis while at Loch Lomond. I really liked it.
I had a 205 1.6 GTi and my best mate said I had to have a 1.9 and he found a 1991 309 GTi for sale so I sold mine to get that 😎👍🏼
I remember the first day I drove it, I treated it to a full tank of fuel but someone had unscrewed the fuel pump in the tank and left it like that so £20 worth ended up on the forecourt floor!
Also it had a lack of power and a misfire so I had the Peugeot main dealer mechanics where I worked to look at it and they diagnosed it as a faulty mass air flow sensor at about £350. I couldn't afford a new one so went to a local tuning garage who laughed out loud (years before lol) and fixed it with a 20p o-ring that was missing from the inlet manifold.
It also sometimes wouldn't start due to a problem with the immobilizer and many a time I had to bump start it, even 2 minutes after I'd sold it! I got it started again and got away from it as soon as possible!!
Still a fab car though!
Thanks, a very entertaining video as usual.
Believe it or not, but in early 90's Russia you could meet both Simca and Plymouth Horizon. As well as US Escort mk1/european Escort mk3. Those were strange times. As for Peugeot 309 - it was as rare as Austin Maestro. French cars generally were seen as unreliable and rust buckets.
Brilliant video as always! Always loved the 309. So thank you so much for doing a video on it! Could you do a video on the Horizon and Alpine too please 🚘🚗🚙
Actually, the Hillman Hunter isn't even properly dead today; In Iran, much of the running gear can still be found under a local Peugeot 405 RWD variant (and the 405 Pickup), a true Frankenstein of a car.
And the 405 got both a 406-style facelift (Fars), and a whole new design (Samand)!
They were sold in Russia for a while too
@@AllonKirtchik I have seen a Samand even on Malta or in Greece when on holiday, I think they made it to several Southern European markets in small figures...
RELAUNCH THE 309.
I always watch to the end, I have to see the out takes! Living in the U.S.A., we don't have many Euro cars other than the M-B, VW's and the like so it's nice to have some history on the other brands. Thanks for a job well done.
Though Columbo drove a Peugeot!!
@@elbecko7969 Peugeot left the states in 89 the last car sold there being the 405 of all cars, although most Pugs you might find in older American movies will be a 305 or a 505.
@@Hipas_Account I'm sure that when Peugeot left in 89, they made it back to France, the diesel ones at least. Those engines were bulletproof.
Another few years and the flair would take a serious nosedive.
Please could you do a Fiat Strada story. I can never find any info on those.
You'll find a few videos if look for FIAT Ritmo.
That was very interesting! I always wondered about the number 309 but never knew about the Simca/Talbot origins.
I never questioned it as a genuine Peugeot as it looked pretty much like a grown 205 - so the pre-launch makeover worked ...
If I'm honest, neither did I at the time.
I've got a mint cherry red phase 2 309gti, I love the way it looks, it's 80s 3 box simplicity and pinstripe details. Superb visibility and airy cabin with tiny a pillars. Like to be revved and driven hard. On modern michelin tyres the handling is sublime and suspension compliant. I love thrashing it around b roads, and at 975kg it can surprise most bloated modern cars at the lights and round the twisties
My mom had a hot red 205 GT, later followed by a 306 XT when I was a child ... always loved them. The local gas station owner had a dark red 309 though and even as a kid I sensed it was not really a proper match for the lineup - oh memory lane! Thank you so much for your videos!
I owned a 309 gr 1.6 in red and rate it as one of the best cars i have ever owned. Never let me down in 50,000 miles with loads of adventures along the way. Currently driving a Porsche and owned many cool cars too but always fond memories of the 309 going flat out down my favourite back roads to lugging fridge freezers with the seats folded down.
Ok, shock horror time, I preferred my 309 GTI to my wife's 205 GTI, mainly because of the width of the driver seating position. But no matter what anyone else says, they should have done more with the Sunbeam, that was a car that had so much more to offer, great bodystyle, left the mk 3 Escort for dead and kept the rwd fun
I have fond memories of my 1988 309 GTi which I owned in 1993 ish. Fast, brash, squeaky and fast fast. It was fast and no mistake. Handled like a dream and pre-ABS and traction control. Interior trim pieces would sometimes go on strike but.... oh, and the throttle stuck once, which was scary, but fixable.
I used to own one for a couple of years in the late 80,s , with the 1.9 Diesel engine ,was one the best cars i ever had .
Hey it's my first car :) It was relatively nice to drive but had such weird design decisions that maintenance was bitch and man those auto choke carbs were just pain in the ass.
The '78 Dodge Omni (Chrysler/Plymouth Horizon) used VW 1.7L(?) engines in US models until about 1980/81 when an in-house 2.2L engine was used. Chrysler continued the Omni/Horizon production until 1990 in the US. 1985-1987 saw a GLH (Goes Like Hell) and GLHS (Goes Like Hell S'more) models built by Shelby and were quite spirited.
Oh my god! I am in general very sensitive and attentive with shared parts in different cars specially bodywork parts as they all clearly visible to all. Example: doors, windshield, bumper, grill, lights, signal lights, rear view mirrors etc.
How come I didn't (or couldn't) figure out 30 something years that the 309 had the 205's doors! Can't believe myself that i have never spotted that!
But then congrats to designers, they were still able pull out a car with 4 common doors that wasn't really looking alike.................... or unlike the the Tempra/155 or the 9000/thema/croma where it's spot on to see the common 4 doors............
I still can't believe and accept that I completely missed that one!!!
I had a Peugeot 309GRi which was the 1990 facelift model. I gave it a few modifications inc a K&N induction kit. I had actually wanted a 309GTi but I wanted one with rear doors as I'd just had my second child. At the time I couldn't find what I wanted so got the GRi which had the same engine as the 1.6 205GTi and the same 'pepperpot' alloys. The 309 GRi was more of an executive spec than a sporty one. I absolutely loved the car and did a ridiculous amount of miles in it.
After
Afterwards I owned a 205 Junior, a 405 & a 406 estate which I loved too.
I had a gti 16v, such a great car killed all VW’s and Opels !!!
Yup. And the Honda's too. Nice torque curve and light weight.
I would really like to see the Peugeot 206 story - it was the car of my university years back in the early 2000s and I toured half of Europe with it. - I still think that next to the second generation Fiat 500 the 206 was the biggest hit in the small car segment the last 20 years - especially design-wise. Unfortunately the 207 and other successors didn`t come close, in my view.
It is a pity Peugeot never improved the 309's styling to align it more with the 205 and 405, additionally even though it was replaced by the 306 would have still liked to have seen a facelifted 309 or 309+ version similar to how the 405 became the 406 (at least in certain markets).
The Peugeot 309 was our family car in the 90s. Good memories.
Same here. From there, we went on to the VW Passat (the one without a front grille), but I still remember the 309 distinctively.
We went on from the 309 to a Renault Megane. We got a call from the police about 3 months after we sold it to tell us that the car had been found burnt out after being used as a getaway car. Even though we weren’t the registered owners, they thought we should know just in case anything came our way. My mother was quite heartbroken as she really loved that car.
@@henrybalkwill3276 shame
We had two so my dad must have liked it. I do remember the first one having a rattling dashboard. Went to Volvo 440 after that
@@JesterEric my dads car has a rattling dashboard its fine when its warm it just happens when its cold i think a wire is against it
had this car in NZ in 1989 and sold it after 2 years (1991) when I left NZ. Good car with no issues in 50,000 miles then. I even remember the registration OB 4816.
My dad had a 1992 J reg GLD in Topaz Blue.
Loved that car.
Handled as if it was on rails, extremely comfortable ride and mechanically bomb proof.
While the styling was out of line with other Peugeot cars of the era, it was a good looking car in its own right.
The GTI actually has a better balanced chassis than the 205 GTI and that is saying something.
Had two Avengers: Hillman & Chrysler, also had two 309's the latter being face-lift model & loved them, albeit rear hatch windows leaked & interior dash was awful. P.S Alpine was a dreadful car..
great video as always!. Can you make one on the Hillman Avenger?, here in argentina it even got a "hot" version and later was sold under the VW brand till 1990
07:15 Peak 80s.
I got frosted tips just from listening to the synthesizer.
if your interested the track is called: Instant Crush by Corbyn Kites
I like these french cars from this era especially PSA cars ... nice and informative video as always
I would like a vauxhall carlton/omega video
My taxi in the early 90 s 1.9 gld diesel five people in and it flew up hills in fifth gear .Had 405 after both ran for ever .Was the best diesel cars then every taxi used them .
Drove one of the first diesels of these about a week before then went on official sale. Belonged to car leasing firm and they had to let me have it as my new Sierra was late. hated oil burners from that moment on.
my uncle has a 309 with 510k on the clock . original engine and only ever had two clutches and nothing else gone wrong !
The history of Peugeot would make for an interesting video.
Peugeot celebrated its 210th anniversary this year (2020).
For the next video, I suggest to talk about the Toyota Corolla since it is the most popular car in Toyota.
Well, that's a coincidence...
Good video, although not cool dusting off an inappropriate slavery ad footage
Loved to know the story behind this car. I thought you would comment on the impacts on the current peugeot nomenclature. Amazing video as always!
Exactly, they stopped at x08, presumably to avoid re-using the 309 name. Though Wikipedia’s page on the 301 claims x01 is for emerging markets and x08 is for ‘traditional’ markets.
i had a 309 GTI back in the day 😍 lovely car loved it to bits ❤ replaced it with a 306 d turbo yet another great car 😍 what on earth hapened to PEUGEOT i wuldnt touch any of thare shiteboxes today 😕 shame big shame 😢
Always liked these old Peugeots, how about a 306 video???
Now I own a 309. It is the combination between 205 and 305.
Peugeot 309 was a belter & I had one which was very reliable.
Great video! One sidenote though, the first car to come out in the x06 line up was the 106, not the 306.
Wow! I completely forgot about this model. My neighbors had one when I was a kid. It was their Rover from "Keeping up the appearances" :)
Fun fact Talbot cars was founded in 1902 by Charles Talbot the 20 th Earl of Shrewsbury who owned and lived in Alton Towers , the now best theme park in the Uk 👌🏼🎢🎡🎠🏰🧱👍🏼
If I remember correctly, the motoring press rated the 309GTi handling above the 205GTi.
Must have been the lack of lift-off oversteer.
The 309 is 20mm wider than the 205, probably why it handles better.
One of my early memories is of my dad signing over the paperwork for the family's new Talbot Horizon GLS. It wasn't without flaws but a pretty good car nonetheless. After a few years, it was traded for a used Simca 1510, larger sister to the Horizon, which we kept for two years. S.I.M.C.A. stands for Société Industrielle de Mécanique et de Carrosserie Automobile (Industrial Company of Automotive Mechanic and Bodywork, roughly translated), which I believe started off assembling Fiat cars in France before taking a life of its own, thus rounding the loop in the Group PSA Fiat Chrysler merger of 2019 (known as Stellantis in trading). The 309 was effectively the last Talbot, and the 205 the car that saved Peugeot, but that's another story.
I remember reading somewhere the Tagora started life with Chrysler and was finished off by Peugeot, using, if memory serves, the rear drivetrain from the Peugeot 604 to save cost, but it was too narrow for the Tagora. Probably one of the reasons the Tagora flopped, not to mention internal competition by then against the 604. I'd be curious to see the Tagora Story, although I'm not sure many people would be interested. I've always had a soft spot for Chrysler and anything related, so maybe I'm a little biased. ;-)
Chrysler and Fiat joining forces? The world awaits entirely new levels of automotive unreliability and depreciation.
Chrysler, Fiat, Peugeot and Citroen!
So...
Shitty trim, bodywork, engines, wiring, hydraulics, build quality and service?
Your French pronunciation is on point.
Citroen👌 Peugeot 🤔Renault 🤔
I think you'll find it's sur la pointe.
You look like you are from another planet in this video.
I always get so excited when. I see these videos of cars which I grew up with! 🤩
can you make a video on the valmet-saab-factory???
Thanks, well researched as always. This car seemed to have a long and convoluted birth. Never driven one, but my company adopted later 405 turbo diesels, and these were very good.
Cheers. Where would we be without your help. I had no idea 309 linked to old Talbot Chys lers
I hadn’t noticed how small the doors were for the rest of the car...I can’t unsee that now.
To be fair I can't unsee it now either!
Personal opinions and all that but I do think the 3 door model looked less obvious small door wise!
The Ford Fairlane is another example of this.
If THIS was the 309...how are the going to name the 308 upcoming successor??
308. It would be the third one. If you know what I mean.
thank you for this video. I still got mine (309graffic). thanks for so much awesome content :)
Fascinating. I always thought the 309 was a bit oddball looking, now i know why.
Great car ! Wish I had never sold my 309 GLD