Cars have become overpriced, in this inflationary period, a thousand leagues from the canon price offered by a 205 Junior in its time. Therefore, what would be the recipes to apply to the current 208 to make it as affordable as its ancestor?
€11,490 is now the minimum amount to pay to afford a new car on the French market. A pseudo-miracle that we owe to the Dacia Sandero which, a few years ago, was even available under the bar of 8,000 € at the entry level. A price which, converted into francs, was close to that of which one of the most affordable French city cars of the late 1980s could boast. A certain Peugeot 205 Junior, proud at the time of displaying its floor price of 49 900 F on 4X3 posters from all over France. What if, in this period of galloping inflation, the Lion reinvented this popular model on the basis of the current 208?
A real utopia?
€19,200 is the sum that must be reduced to a minimum to hope to afford the entry-level Peugeot 208. A staggering jackpot which, according to INSEE and its consideration of erosion due to inflation, represented more than 75,000 Francs in 1990. For comparison, at the time it was the value of a Peugeot 405. Therefore, to hope to see the current 208 lower to the level of a 205 Junior, it would have to be offered at around 12,600 €, taking inflation into account, again. A price not so utopian for the Sochaux, insofar as the current Sandero, which is based on a modern platform of Clio 5, achieves this easily. It would even be possible to lower this price level even further by excluding many items of equipment that have become standard in our time.
Condemned by probate laws
However, our hypothetical Peugeot 208 Junior would require additional sacrifices compared to the Like finish which currently represents access to the catalog. It is impossible for it to ignore the safety equipment imposed by the European Union (ABS, airbags, etc.) or even the pollution control systems for its engines, but it would be entirely possible for it to give up certain equipment relating to comfort, such as electric and tinted windows, central locking, air conditioning or car radio. Similarly, it could reduce the size of its wheels (the 205 Junior adopted 14″) and ignore soundproofing panels, or even abandon its rear wiper. So, heading or not heading Gentlemen from Peugeot?
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