The 106 Rallye's Trip To Evo Magazine

Total Mileage: 124,047

Mileage This Month: 714

Costs This Month: Zero

It’s been a busy month for the Rallye. A long trip from Wakefield to Evo magazine’s offices in Northampton had to be completed, and if I’m honest, I had my doubts about the Rallye. To be fair, it’s not given me any reason to doubt its ability to drive long distances, but as with all old French hot hatches there’s always a pessimistic outlook on things to come.

So it was with great trepidation when I eventually set off on a glorious Sunday afternoon. Filled up with petrol, the Rallye settled into a 70mph rhythm and eventually arrived at the pre-booked hotel 130 miles south. It’d only used a quarter of a tank too, so its first mission had been well and truly accomplished.

Its time at Evo magazine drew many admiring glances. Whilst driving down I’d lost count of the amount of people who gawped at it through their windows and it’s something that I’ll never get tired of. To many people, it’s just an old white Peugeot. But to those in the know, it’s one very special little car.

Fast forward a few days, and it was time to re-pack the Rallye with my belongings and head home. Another 130 miles were taken with ease and in the whole journey the Rallye didn’t miss a single beat. Okay, the ride’s extremely firm and not great for eating up the miles, but the Cobra buckets are very comfortable and have once again showed that they’re a vast improvement on the originals, which gave me chronic backache on most journeys.

I do feel slightly guilty putting more miles under its steelies, but the car’s there to be enjoyed and once again it’s delivered. The roads it’s been on weren’t the most inspiring, but it’s just shown another aspect to it; it can be trusted and it can do the distances. I love my 106 Rallye.

106 Rallye - Sixth Report

Total Mileage: 123,333

Mileage This Month: 394

Costs This Month: £130 (Crankshaft oil seal) £100 (Two tyres)

It's been a bit of an uneventful month with the Rallye. New tyres and the addition of a private plate have enhanced it though. I'd noticed a few drops of oil on the garage floor recently and a trip to the mechanic diagnosed a seal had gone. The parts only came to around £30, but with labour costs I faced a not too unreasonable bill of £130. However, after a few days it's clear that there's still a slight leak, so it looks like the Rallye's due for another appointment with its mechanic.

The two rear Bridgestone Potenza tyres were on their legal limit, so two Toyo CF1's were sourced and purchased. Because they're only 14 inches they're incredibly cheap for quality rubber, so the car's now got four CF1's on for the first time.

More intriguing news came when I was behind a let's say 'enthusiastically' driven Clio 172. Now, I was in two minds whether or not to chase, given the Rallye's large power deficit to the Clio, but curiosity got the better of me and I caught up as Mr 172 was stuck behind a dawdler.

The slower moving car pulled into a street, and the 172 and Rallye were primed in second gear. He jumped on the loud pedal straight away, and I followed and was extremely surprised by the margin. From 20mph to 70mph saw inevitably the Clio pulling away, but it wasn't a clear-cut thing and the Rallye hung on very, very well.

It's definitely a strong engined Rallye this one, and the little encounter with a much more powerful car proved the power and weight of the Rallye is more than enough.