Car Of The Day: August 30, 2011

Today's car of the day is Siku's 1980 Peugeot 505.

The Peugeot 505 is a large family car produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot from 1979 to 1992 in Sochaux, France. It was also manufactured outside France, for example in Argentina by Sevel from 1981 to 1995, China, Indonesia and Nigeria.

For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Peugeot 505

Another car from the five pack I picked up at a recent train show.  This casting is fantastic.  Hot Wheels also did the 505.

The 505 was the replacement for the 504, available in sedan/saloon and station wagon/estate, including an 8-passenger Family Estate. The styling was similar to the 504. It is known as the "Work Horse" of Africa today.

The 505 was praised by contemporary journalists for its ride and handling, especially on rough and unmade roads; perhaps one reason for its popularity in less developed countries. "Remember that the 505´s predecessor, the 504, had an outstanding ride. It took a British-market model on a hard charging drive across the green lanes of the Chilterns. The impacts were well suppressed and the car veritably floated over the undulations and potholes. I concluded that the 505 is as good as the 504 (but no better)."  The 505 also had good ground clearance; if it wasn't enough though, Dangel offered a taller four-wheel drive version of the 505 estate equipped with either the intercooled turbodiesel 110 hp (81 kW) engine or the 130 hp 2.2 L petrol (96 kW) engine. The four wheel drive 505 also had shorter gear ratios.

The interior styling was viewed positively in contemporary reviews: "Having settled into the 505's neat cockpit one notices how handsomely styled it all would appear to be. The tweed seats and brown trim look smart and less confrontational than offerings from a certain other French marque."  But the ergonomics were criticised too: "The ashtray was competitively sized but is placed directly behind the gearstick. For British market cars, this will be a constant nuisance while our continental cousins will consider the placement quite logical and natural."

The range was given a facelift, including an all new interior, in 1986, but European Peugeot 505 production began to wind down following the launch of the smaller Peugeot 405 at the end of 1987. Saloon production came to a halt in 1989, and estates in 1992, some time after the introduction of the larger Peugeot 605.
In some countries such as France and Germany, the 505 estate was used as an ambulance, a funeral car, police car, military vehicle and as a road maintenance vehicle. There were prototypes of 505 coupés and 505 trucks, and in France many people have modified 505s into pickup trucks themselves.

The 505 was one of the last Peugeot models to be sold in the United States, with sedan sales ending there in 1990 and wagon sales in 1991. The last versions sold had PRV's 2.8 V6 engine only. Both the sedan (saloon) and station wagon (estate). 505s were also sold in Australia (where they were assembled by Leyland Australia from 1981 to 1983.), Argentina, Chile, China, and New Zealand. In New York City, Peugeot 505s were used as taxicabs.

The car was summed up as follows by motoring writer Archie Vicar: "The 505 is a saloon with quite a pleasant appearance, quite efficient engines, quite comfortable seating, quite nice steering and a quite reasonable price. And it is quite well constructed. So, you might say it was merely average. But can it really be that simple? Have Peugeot in fact, played a very clever game where, instead of dazzling us with technology or breathtaking styling, they have decided to woo us with understatement of the profoundest kind?"

505 models varied very much in equipment. Base SRD cars with the 2304 cc diesel engine didn't even have power steering, but the GTD Turbo, the GTI, the V6, and the TI all had power steering, central locking doors, air conditioning, a 5-speed manual transmission, moonroof (except the GTD Turbo), and front fog lights. In the V6, the power steering was speed-sensitive, the central locking doors came with an infrared remote, and the heating and ventiliation systems included electronic climate control. A 3-speed automatic transmission was available on early 505s, which was later replaced by a 4-speed unit. The most durable 505 model proved to be the GTD with a 5-speed manual transmission. In Australia, the 505 was sold as a GR, SR, STi, or GTi sedan, or an SR or GTi 8-seater station wagon, all with petrol engines. Very few GRD and SRD diesel-engined 505s were sold in Australia. The Series II update saw the SR replaced with an SLi.

The United States and Canada had their own 505 body. Notable differences were: gas tank moved inwards (now behind rear bench), with filling neck on rightside, different style quad headlamps, taillights (pre-1986 sedans), distinctive whip antenna moved from roof to rear fender (and changed to telescopic), larger bumpers, tailpipe moved from right to left. Fewer engines were offered, all detuned to meet more restrictive emission standards. The models sold in North America were: Base, "GL", "S", "GLS", "STI", "DL", "Liberté", "STX", "Turbo", "GLX", "SW8", "V6", "Turbo S", and in 1983 the "Anniversary Edition", which was sold in a limited quantity. All North-American bound 505's were built in Peugeot's Sochaux Plant, in France. The Turbo estate version was unique to the North American markets.