The Search For A 1.6 Begins!

[Guest sharkman07]

I'm new here so cant post up in the Wanted bit yet but now I have joined I am looking to get back in a 1.6. I had a 1.6 back in 1991 and now the time has come to get back in a 205 again. My mates keep telling me to get a 1.9 but I noticed that 1.9s seem a fair bit dearer and honestly I have such great memories of the balance of my 1.6 I would be more than happy with that.

 

Had a look in the for sale section and looks like I just missed one .

 

Thanks for reading

[MiniGibbo 142]

When I was at the bodyshop today picking my car up we was talking as you do being petrol heads and the guy actually prefers the 1600 to the 1900's I just assumed everyone would prefer the later 1900's....

 

He even went as far as to say hed rather a 309 over the 205 :/

 

Sorry to say I've never seen the 309 appeal...

 

[Guest sharkman07]

Oh and budget is really bang on £1300 tops to be honest.

[Guest sharkman07]

I think the balance of the 1.6 was perfect. I do remember driving a 1.9 all those years ago as a possible upgrade from the 1.6 but even though it was definitely quicker, it definitely needed more concentration and the clutch etc seemed much sharper to me. Being a youngster with not much experience at the time I thought it might be pretty dangerous in my hands, whereas the 1.6 never felt uncontrollable to me, I got the sense the 1.9 was much more of a beast. Anyway, I bought a Honda CRX instead, which was also great back then but lacked the character of the Pug.

[sensualt101 31 1 Cars]

many people assume the 1.9 to be the superior of the 2 gti models especially if they have never driven a gti before.

 

i have owned both and have found they both have their merits and different personalities.

 

the 1.6 has a brilliant smooth revvy engine and short gearing that makes for a great sporting drive on a/b roads

 

the 1.9 has a lazier engine with more torque and longer gearing for a more relaxed cruise

 

and though the 1.6 seems to have a performance disadvantage when you drive the 2 back to back the 1.9's advantages are not that noticable and certainly not as much as the figures quoted suggest.

 

whichever you own drive or favour the common things that shine through are a great big grins that no other car seems to be able to provide every time you drive your 205 gti!

Edited April 5, 2012 by sensualt101

[MiniGibbo 142]

What about the 205 vs 309, that mythed me a bit but he compared them to the golf/jetta debate..

 

Ive never even passengerd in a 309 lol.

Edited April 5, 2012 by MiniGibbo

[Guest sharkman07]

many people assume the 1.9 to be the superior of the 2 gti models especially if they have never driven a gti before.

 

i have owned both and have found they both have their merits and different personalities.

 

the 1.6 has a brilliant smooth revvy engine and short gearing that makes for a great sporting drive on a/b roads

 

the 1.9 has a lazier engine with more torque and longer gearing for a more relaxed cruise

 

and though the 1.6 seems to have a performance disadvantage when you drive the 2 back to back the 1.9's advantages are not that noticable and certainly not as much as the figures quoted suggest.

 

whichever you own drive or favour the common things that shine through are a great big grins that no other car seems to be able to provide every time you drive your 205 gti!

 

Very good post, yes you just reminded me the gearing was fantastic on the 1.6 - really allowed me to keep the engine on the boil.

[erbs 42 1 Cars]

I had a 1.9 and sold that and bought a 1.6 out of the both i prefer the 1.6

 

neither has power steering but on the 1.9 it was much heavier due to the wider tyres,my 1.6 now is a doddle to steer i hardly notice that it

[Guest sharkman07]

I had a 1.9 and sold that and bought a 1.6 out of the both i prefer the 1.6

 

neither has power steering but on the 1.9 it was much heavier due to the wider tyres,my 1.6 now is a doddle to steer i hardly notice that it

 

Did later 1.9s have PAS out of interest?

[erbs 42 1 Cars]

i think so, yes,but i'm sure someone here will give a definitive answer

[niagra 3]

PAS was standard on the 1989 Limited Editions (not sure about the 1.6s though?) and was then an option from then on, for the 1.9s. It was made standard from the CAT only 1992 on cars. Again, not sure about the 1.6s.

 

I stand to be corrected!

[allsmiles 0]

Good luck with the searching mate!

[GLPoomobile 958]

My mates keep telling me to get a 1.9

 

This is typical herd mentality. Of course the 1.9 was the better car, it was a whole 300cc superior. Why on earth would you want to buy the inferior 1600 GTi?

 

Typically the people who voice this opinion actually have either no experience, or very little, of driving either variant.

 

I'm not saying that anyone who has driven both doesn't have the right to prefer the 1.9 (some weirdos do ), just that you need to be able to offer up a quantifiable argument as to why, and most people (those I mentioned above) usually can't. "Cuz it's a 1.9 innit bruv! It'll piss on a f***in 1.6 you mong!"

Edited April 6, 2012 by GLPoomobile

[Guest sharkman07]

Good luck with the searching mate!

 

Thanks mate!

 

This is typical herd mentality. Of course the 1.9 was the better car, it was a whole 300cc superior. Why on earth would you want to buy the inferior 1600 GTi?

 

Typically the people who voice this opinion actually have either no experience, or very little, of driving either variant.

 

I'm not saying that anyone who has driven both doesn't have the right to prefer the 1.9 (some weirdos do ), just that you need to be able to offer up a quantifiable argument as to why, and most people (those I mentioned above) usually can't. "Cuz it's a 1.9 innit bruv! It'll piss on a f***in 1.6 you mong!"

 

I agree with this mate 100%. I had a 1.6, it was great, that's what I want, end of.

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

PS was a option on all models, it was never fitted as std bar the ltd ed models, There's quite a few CAT cars without it

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

how would a 1.6 compare against a 1.9 with a 1.6 box? cant be much between them?

[Baz 421]

Depends on a lot of things, you're not getting this yet are you...

[Lasource 0]

Bought my 1.6 last summer for, funnily enoough, £1300. Looked tidy enough, everything seemed right on the road test, but once I got it home had some issues with cooling. To cut a long story short, it turned out to have a cracked block, so needed a new engine, and so many little faults have come to light since then, I'm beginning to feel I was sold a pup. But we're working through it, and thankfully I don't need it every day.

 

Still puts a smile on my face though, like no modern car can. :-)

 

My advice? Spend more, and try to find a really well looked after car where all the little things work. That's the sign of a fastidious owner...

[GLPoomobile 958]

You should actually be able to get a decent one for £1300, but as you've alluded to, you were unfortunately sold a bit of a lemon by the sounds of it.

[dodsworth_gti 11]

all the decent cheap ones seem to have disapeared

 

ive had various engines,2x 1.6 2x 1.9 and a mi16

 

not counting the mi16,i much prefered my 1.6's. and a mildly tuned 1.6 was bloody brilliant fun (head work,cams,bike carbs,exhaust)

[erbs 42 1 Cars]

i paid £1650 for my 1.6 and it has fsh and no rust anywhere,i even went to the trouble of taking the headlights out to see if there was any rust behind, there is not a patch and i have a folder stacked with every mot since 1994 and all the services and any repairs its had along the way

 

buy the best you can afford as i do enjoy driving it more than fixing it

Edited April 8, 2012 by erbs

[Lasource 0]

Lucky bar steward

[welshpug 1,657]

I paid £510 for my 1.9 but that was 5 years ago, was a FSH 131k mile 89 car, since then I've rebuilt the beam, replaced the suspension, replaced the ecu and exhaust.

 

 

I didn't go out to find a 1.9 specifically, just happened to be the right car and the right price at the time.

[Guest sharkman07]

Dont seem to be many cars in the for sale section here, only parts. Anywhere else recommended to look? I would definitely prefer a forum/club members car rather than just chancing my luck with a random motor.

[davey205 7 1 Cars]

I paid £1700 for mine in 2009, 69k fsh, 3 owners from new, no rust, completely standard