When the best-selling private owner's car in the UK comes with one of the most popular engines of its kind in Europe, criticism tends to roll off it like water off a duck's back. Nearly 81,000 examples of the 206 were sold here last year, out of a global production of 737,000. The factory at Ryton is working seven days a week to satisfy demand, and there are four other factories going strong in France, Argentina and Brazil. And the Peugeot-Citroen group has to work very hard to keep up with orders for its HDi turbo diesel engines.What's the basic appeal of the 206? It looks really smart, both inside and out, and it comes in some attractive colours. The chic styling appeals to women drivers, while there are enough sporty versions to interest the chaps. Then there's the turbo diesel engine, which in the case of the GLX offers excellent economy while providing sturdy mid-range performance.A full two-litre is quite a sizeable engine for car of the 206's dimensions. There's a 110bhp version for other cars in the Peugeot range, of course, but the HDi 90 does just fine in this application. An extra 20bhp would make the GLX go like a rocket, but what would be the point?There's a feline look about the front end of the 206, thanks partly to the headlamp design, and the five-door as tested here stays stylish all the way to the back. Inside, everything's a great deal different from the days when Peugeot gave the impression of not caring a scooby about interior design. Now, it has a very neat way with shapes, curves and the relationship of switches, controls and vents to one another.The GLX comes with leather/alcantara trim, the latter extending to the fascia and door panels. Unlike some other hatchbacks, the 206 has a sensibly arranged fascia area ahead of the front passenger. In descending order, it accommodates a reasonably deep tray, an airbag panel, and a locker with space on the let-down lid for a couple of cups, a sunglasses holder and a clip for the usual super-slim ballpoint pen.This is a compact-sized car, but a couple of four-up trips allowed us - all quite tall - a fair amount of room, once the driver's seat had been shunted forward somewhat. As one of my colleagues says, of course, how many superminis take four people on a regular basis? One rear-seat passenger complained loudly about how the headrest dug into the top of her back, until it was pointed out that it slid easily upwards, and had been in the no-passenger position when she climbed aboard. Everything was fine after the blushing adjustment.Other standard features in the GLX - which is not, for price, in the pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap category - include climate control, an anti-glare windscreen, a 6-CD autochanger, front foglights and rain-sensor wipers of a design which surely only the accountants admire.Peugeot has fallen for the old trick of saving fourpence by fitting left-hand drive wipers with an eccentric motion in an effort to cover what is, in UK cars, the offside edge of the glass. The snag is that the movement at the spindle is so weird you can hardly help watching it, instead of the road ahead.ABS is a £295 extra-cost option, although you might think that at the GLX price it should be standard. There's a slick gearchange, a 180-degree sweep for the rear wiper and a deactivation switch for the front passenger airbag, plus heated door mirrors and remote central locking. The "3-pint" rear seat belts mentioned in one document about the test car aren't quite as jolly as that suggests.The HDi engine runs smoothly and quite quietly at motorway speeds, and it has the familiar light-staccato direct injection diesel tickover. This is one of those engines, of course, in which there's no point in trying to pile on the revs. With 153lb/ft of torque at 1900rpm, the thing is to keep the engine turning in the meaty part of the curve, and change up quite early. The 206 will hustle along smartly, while staying commendably frugal on fuel.In this country, diesels account for only 17% of 206 sales. Naturally, the percentage is higher on the Continent, where the fuel is a lot cheaper. But there are signs here that we're beginning to wake up to the advantages of modern common-rail turbo diesels, although their market penetration is (ludicrously) still a long way below the figure achieved by the far less efficient indirect-injection engines in the early 1990s. Blame that on the Treasury take.Second opinion: Slightly smudgy handling is balanced by strong mid-range performance, which overall brings the diesel version back in line with the petrol-fuelled cars. The test vehicle did not a bad job on a long two-day trip, even if the engine note became slightly wearing. The most annoying feature is the one common to all 206s, namely that the steering wheel is not adjustable for reach - the standard position may suit some people but it's too straight-arm for me. David Finlay. Engine 1997cc, 4 cylinders Power 90bhp Transmission 5-speed manual Fuel/CO2 56.5mpg / 136g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 11.6 seconds Top speed 112mph Price £12,300 Release date 15/05/2010
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