Owning a French car, why why why?

I had a Zoe as my first EV - I would have preferred a Leaf, but they were A) quite a bit more expensive, and B) a 6 month+ longer wait.

To be honest, I can't think of much to fault on it. It was nice enough to drive, never had anything go wrong with it, got me from A-B in relative comfort and cheaply. Of course it didn't have the "prestige" or "luxury" of a car costing twice as much, but then why would anyone expect it to?
 
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Peugeot make generally pretty cars and are cheap. That is what the general public want.

As for modern Peugeots I think the recent 308 GTi by Peugeot Sport is a cracking little hatchback. Lightweight and simple enough how they should be.

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Certain French cars are good. I had a Renault Twingo and that was a great small hatch, under a ton and handled well for an ecobox. RS Renaults are also really good.

Citroens are usually comfortable with some of the smoothest rides, way nicer rides than German stuff (excluding the C1).

Electrical problems are a real thing with them though. It's not just a cliché. But they are on British cars too.

Peugeot made crap cars for a long time, but they seem to have got better since they bought Vauxhall. Now they are the same cars with nicer lines. 30k+ is a bit much for a 308 though.
 
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I tried the 508 PHEV a while back, cracking car to drive tbh, i would have had one, but it was cheaper for me to have a BMW 330e as a company car. Peugeot seemed to have started making decent cars again, i still like the Clio. But ive never been a fan of Citroens. Even though the picasso we had in the family was no trouble at all.
 
I have only ever owned one French car a Renault Megane Coupe (year 2000) it was not a great experience. So much failed on it, it was like they had used really soft metal or something, I had shocks snap, the gear box failed, various engine issues, the electrics werent much better, ABS issues, engine management warning light etc. That car limped to the garage for part ex, however it wasn't the worst car I ever owned, that accolade goes to the Suzuki Swift, I hated that car with a passion, genuinely wanted to push it off a cliff instead of part ex'ing.
 
I had a 306 GTI-6 for several years. I never had any electrical niggles however as soon as I got the car I pulled every electrical plug visible and dolloped in silicone grease before re-connecting it so maybe that helps. Some parts did fail however during my ownership. Power steering ram, rear windscreen wiper motor, exhaust welds, radiator come to mind. Still a cracking car that I had great fun modifying alas eventually it became tedious having to speak at elevated levels in the cabin when on the motorway and at around the 110k mile mark I got shot. It did sound great, induction noise was awesome and the BlueFlame cat back system had a lovely note to it too.

Unsure if I'd buy another French car at this moment in time though due to what I'm looking for in my next car.
 
I'm rocking a DS3 Performance after having two previous DS3 THPs in the past. I think they look good, they're relatively uncommon on the roads and are reasonably nippy and fun to drive. I'm gutted they've stopped making them now though which means this will probably be my last DS3.
 
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My wife has a French car.
I thought it was great value nearly new (meaning we avoided a big chunk of the depreciation) until it got to about 5 years old. In terms of space, spec etc all very decent for the money.
Past 2 years it's being throwing up issues and is being replaced with a Japanese car. So obviously the opinion on value has diminished a lot.

To be honest, if I add the money we've spent on repairs to the purchase price, it's still not that bad from a money perspective, as another marque would have lost thousands more in depreciation due to the much higher price of an equivalent model, but could've done without the hassle.
 
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Well my 2019 Smart Fortwo is made by Renault and is basically a two seater Renault Twingo MKIII and is made in France. So it’s a French car, the 2024 model onwards is a totally new car made in China by Geely. It’s also electric only.
 
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My MK2 Twingo sometimes struggled to start on cold mornings. You could almost here the annoyed French accent in the starter motor.
 
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