THE PEUGEOT 309; A CELEBRATION

Trivia question; what was the first Peugeot to be made in the UK? Despite popular mythology, it was not the 405 but the 309, one of the most overlooked models to wear the lion badge.

Project C28 commenced in 1982 as the future replacement for the Talbot Horizon that was to be named ‘Arizona’. The bodywork was created in Coventry, with PSA decreeing it should use the doors, floorpan, and bulkhead from the Peugeot 205. Power was from the familiar ex-Simca 1,118cc and 1,294cc units.

However, it was increasingly apparent to PSA that the Talbot marque was not commercially viable, and so the Arizona would be sold as a Peugeot 309 after management rejected ‘206’ badging. Production began in the Poissy factory in 1985, with RHD cars built in the UK; the Ryton plant benefited from a £30m investment in preparation for the new model. By the end of the year, British 309 manufacture was already 750 units per week.

Diesel engines became available in 1986, with a three-door option augmenting the original five-door in 1987. In June of that same year, PSA introduced the Ryton built 309 GTI. It shared its fuel-injected 1,905cc engine with the 205 GTI, and at £9,599, it cost around £300 more than its stablemate. Your Peugeot dealer would also tell you that its top speed of just under 122 mph was superior to the MG Maestro 2.0 EFI. Better still, when Motor tested the 309, they preferred it to the VW Golf GTi:

“The Peugeot has the space and the practicality, it has the speed and the chassis. But, more than that, it has the coherence of design and the depth of all-round ability which was once the exclusive preserve of the Golf and made it great.”

Meanwhile, the writers at Car magazine compared the 309 GTI to ‘drinking champagne - it’s intoxicating and exhilarating’. This was praise indeed, and Peugeot GB was understandably keen to extol its virtues compared with its rivals.

1989 saw the facelifted Phase 2’s introduction, and three years later, Peugeot’s TU engines replaced the now very elderly Simca units. The last 309 was made in 1994, and today you would be hard-pressed to find many examples on the road in the UK. Sadly, the last of the line GTi16, powered by a 16V 1.9 alloy engine, was only available in LHD form,

However, in 1992 British motorists were offered the rather splendid GTI Goodwood, named after the 309’s victory in the 1991 Esso Superlube Saloon Car Championship, defeating the BMW M3 and the Ford Sierra Cosworth. The ‘Metallic Pinewood Green’ paint finishes blended perfectly with the anthracite alloy wheels. In addition, the cabin boasted black leather upholstery, a wood-rimmed steering wheel and even a six-disc CD changer.

Today, the 309 is in danger of being forgotten, on this side of the Channel at least. Yet, it was arguably one of the best cars in its class and the first British Peugeot. The launch brochure claimed it ‘promises to quicken the pulse of every discriminating car buyer’; many a 309 owner would say that was more than sales hyperbole.