It's hard to imagine that Peugeot's 206 is in the autumn of its life. Although it has never quite enjoyed the charismatic appeal of its 205 predecessor, the 206 has still managed to topple the Volkswagen Golf as Europe's best-selling car.
The looks are still reasonably fresh. Now Peugeot has brought fresh enhancement to the 206 range with the addition of the GTi 180. Those figures are important: they plausibly represent bhp and distinguish the new arrival from its more "ordinary" 137 bhp sibling.
Both are 2.0 litre, but with the latest 180 bhp version that we sampled last Friday, there's a lot more sporty paraphernalia on board. The changes include variable valve timing while the suspension has been stiffened front and rear. An electronic stability programme has been fitted and the gearbox has been redesigned to allow a closer, quicker change.
The body-hugging front seats, too, have got the cosmetic sporty treatment which is carried through to the gear lever and pedals, now in shiny aluminium.
What then of the actual driving? The 206 GTi 180 is predictably very fast with a top speed of 143 mph and a 0 to 60 mph time of around seven seconds, just the machine for stacking up the penalty points. We found its quickness in a straight line was complemented by oodles of grip in the corners. It sits and moves on the road with reassuring confidence and there's ample body control to cover surface irregularities and undulations.
Odd, then, to report that while the car satisfies in most departments, it somehow doesn't create a rush of adrenalin. Could it be that we are just too familiar with the 206 at this stage even though the GTi 180 stands out a bit from the crowd with features like twin tail pipes and 17-inch alloy wheels? At the press testing exercise, some journalists were comparing it with a Honda competitor, the Civic Type-R which pushes out 197 bhp and is quicker on the 0 to 60mph sprint. They preferred the Honda, not because of its better performance credentials, but because it looked the part more.
Others thought that Ford's Focus ST 170, another competitor, provided a lesson to Peugeot on how to look exciting and thoroughly aspirational.
Interestingly, the car will be marketed on the Continent as the 206 RC, which stands for rally car. In Britain and Ireland, where it arrives in October, the older and better-known GTi applellation applies. "It's a badge that doesn't do us any favours with the insurance companies," admits Mark O'Connell, Peugeot's Irish sales and marketing man. He reports, however, that there are already 10 orders and next year he is confidently anticipating at least 25 sales.
There's no talk yet on an Irish price: that will be announced at the launch. The 137 bhp "ordinary" GTi which continues, has an ex-works price of €24,525 but we can expect the 180 to be positioned somewhere around or between the aforementioned Civic Type-R and Focus ST 170 competitors which are, respectively, ex-works €34,615 and €38,030.