Daily Driver: 205 Gti

[damien 22 1 Cars]

mine is a daily drive at the moment, well it has been for over a year. theres the odd rattle that bugs me but other than that she is ok

[rubyna 4 1 Cars]

Ive had a 205 as a daily driver for roughly 6yrs now, my current gti6d variant is great fun especially since i fitted the vts box last week, what a difference thats made as my old 1.9 box was shot i hadnt been able to use 3rd gear for 8mnths (shot synchro) just got used to changing from 2nd to 4th cant undestand how it lasted the time it did?, but upon removal for the vts box id blown a hole the size of a tennis ball through i, disintegrating my clutch with it( only done 400 miles) gutted!! Too lazy to get it sorted back end of last summer.. But on a very posotive note she passed her M.O.T on Monday sailed it just an advisory on the rear discs (excessive wear). Job jobd!! Sadly she wont be the daily driver no more as the misus put her foot down to get a family car so i got a boring but bullet proof toyota carina e was my nans she had it from new i dont think its ever been over 60mph! drives like new just had a new clutch, timimg belt, exhaust and Cat.. So the moral is either only have 1 Child (the other half put up with the Pug for the last 12mnth but shes ready to drop our 2nd child(1-girl,the 1 due is a Boy )or prepare the Pug to take a back seat, I shall just get her out on the weekends and snny days etc.

[zebedy101 0]

I'm 20 and use my 205 gti6 everyday it's great and if driven nicely can reward me with upto 39mpg which I am happy with, I do quite a few miles and it seems to love it it's also now pretty stripped out with no radio, rear seats or carpet. That's hardcore daily driving!!

[richsmells 2]

Drove mine as a daily for 6 years. I will have another, but probably as a second car. We'll see.

[Richie 32]

Well im convinced by your compelling arguments, so it looks like i'll be using it as a daily driver again. Probably enjoy it for the rest of the year and maybe garage it again for winter.

 

Just need the cambelt doing, only done 30k since the last change but that was 1996

[kyepan 291]

Mine gets used on week days for the short run to the station, and occasional blats in the evening weekend. It is NOT reliable, except insofar as you can rely on it being unreliable. I would stick with a boggo 1.6 standard car.

 

Topics like this have been up before, in summary, you need to make sure electrically it's sound, and does not have any problem with the cooling system. It basically needs to be a properly serviced and well maintained car.

 

Chances are electrical issues with the ignition system and or other electrical gremlins will be the most likely cause of trouble.

 

saying that parts are cheap for suspension components and brakes etc so running one is not going to break the bank.

 

cheers

J

[Ludi 2 2 Cars]

Well my 205 is my only car,and is normal to be my daily driver.

 

It's great for driving everywhere,I enjoy it take rides across the town without any reason,just driving and enjoying.

 

It's very hard to find car that is going to put a smile in your face and is not too expensive.

[dylbachgti 0]

Well my 205 is my only car,and is normal to be my daily driver.

 

It's great for driving everywhere,I enjoy it take rides across the town without any reason,just driving and enjoying.

 

It's very hard to find car that is going to put a smile in your face and is not too expensive.

 

i know drive mine everyday dont really want to but its addictive and to much fun !!! especially with the roads round here!!!ill need tyres soon

[EdCherry 34 1 Cars]

Back in september and october I was driving mine daily, I shouldn't have done as the fuel costs were huge but every time I drove it I couldn't get ride of the grin.

[lagonda 42]

My CTi has been my every day driver since I bought it in 2003....excepting off the road for first 3 months while I had to find the time to rebuild the rear axle, and another 18 months later on when I had to find the time to replace the head gasket, which turned into a total engine rebuild whilst it was all apart. Since then, apart from odd electrical problems, it's been fine. Due to my intention to live in France, we're covering big mileages driving to Italy (don't ask!) and back. Doing proper maintenance & replacing anything looking iffy seems key in keeping it happy!

[supersub14 1]

I only drive mine from April - September cos i want to keep the miles down and i dont want the grit eating away at her. Its kept as a "summer" car.

 

But in those 6 months i drive it daily to work (50 miles a day) 3 weeks outta 4

[CaptainK 11]

I used to use my 205 GTi as a daily driver for about 4 years. Then got the FTO as well and in the last 6ish years they have had the load spread between them. Sometimes its the 205 as the daily driver, then the turn of the FTO etc etc. The 205 is a joy for daily driving as it makes the trip to work that little bit more entertaining.

[Super Josh 4]

Up until about 6 months ago my 205 was my daily driver for 15 years(God has it really been that long ). And at the end I was commuting 75 miles a day.

 

I loved every moment of it and it made every journey feel special

 

 

Josh

[lemmingzappa 75 1 Cars]

I use mine daily

[dodsworth_gti 11]

im running mine york to barnsley everyday at the moment and she is doing fine,thats about 60 miles each way

[mr_exe 1]

Used to for about 3 years to commute in work, in the days before the company car. It was a total git to drive through town till it was warmed up, but after getting out of town and onto the A roads I'd forgive it, and it rarely failed to lift my mood after a bad day in the office.

 

Even now it gets a run out for work in the summer if its a nice day and I fancy a blast.

[Daviewonder 533 3 Cars]

I was wondering this the other day as I use my 1.9 sorrento on a daily basis, looks like quite a few of us then, which is good to see

[woodsy 0]

I use my 8v everyday to get to work and back but its not very far really.Keep the mi under a cover till better weather comes.

[davey205 7 1 Cars]

yeah i use mine everyday, (1.6 Gti) i've passed the point of no return spent so much on it i am bound to keep it till it dies then dies again .......

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

I use mine only when the sun is out. I am reluctant to use it over winter as that is when you let the grit and salt in and things start to corrode. I would be happyish using mine daily as I now don't have a jerky air flow meter, an erratic high - low idle, a sticky starter motor and a gear stick that feels like stirring porridge. The car is also built for fast road, not track (as the car spends more time on the road!) so no silly group A mounts or Challenge spec suspension for me. It also has wide torque an a gearbox to suit so not a high revver. It still has its cat and a 2 box exhaust so is not noisy. However I would like PAS if I did more town driving in it.

 

I would say a 1.9 is better than a 1.6 for reasonable mileage due to the torque and longer gears. A late motronic one would be the better of those. However I can see a S16/GTI6 engine being the best overall due to the modern management and probably better economy because of it.

 

Only other downside with a 205 is that you may as well be on a skateboard if you have an accident on the motorway and the more miles you do, the greater the risk.

 

307 HDI daily for me - it makes wheeling the CTI out of the garage an occasion to look forward to and usually ties in with the weather being nice I wouldn't like to use a stripped Mi16 on a 1.6 box with a group A exhaust on a daily basis, it would spoil my enjoyment of the car and turn it from being a toy into a tool.

[zebedy101 0]

The only problem I find is that there is always someone who wants to race you no matter what time of day it drives me crazy. Yesterday I overtook a car and noticed a little vtr saxo pop up behind me and sit on my tail trying to provoke a race, then later in the day a base model chavved up 106 did the same thing. I suppose it's to be expected really but how people driving a 1.1 can ever think they would win stand a chance against a car twice the power is beyond me......

[welshpug 1,651]

that's odd, I never get people wanting to "race" neither do I want to

[zebedy101 0]

You must get people trying too, it can't just be me... can it? Maybe I am a victim to the bully racing culture

[alphacharlie 0]

I use mine daily, 10 miles to and from work, it annoys me to hell but also puts a smile on my face at the same time, after 10 years or so driving high power Jap performance stuff it takes me back to my youth with rattles and noise's and a few spares knocking about in the car just in case.

If/when I have had enough of daily use I hope to be able to keep the pug and run another car instead, that will allow the bigger jobs to be done without the need to have it back together for Monday mornings.

 

Cheers

AC

[welshpug 1,651]

You must get people trying too, it can't just be me... can it? Maybe I am a victim to the bully racing culture

 

 

nope never!