(first posted 7/5/2017) This rather sad-looking 204 is a fixture near the parental nest in France. I’ve seen it several times over the years – always slightly more decrepit than before, but seemingly still in occasional use. These have become quite a rare sight around here now, but in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, they were the most popular car in France for several years running.
Classic car mags and websites usually remember the 204 coupé and convertible, but those were always exceedingly rare. For those of us who live (or used to live) in its country of origin, the 204 was sometimes a wagon, but first and foremost a humble four-door saloon.
Though discreet almost to the point of being bland, these cars were nothing less than a revolution for Peugeot, thrusting the venerable automaker into the true mass-market and transforming their range from a one-car monoculture to a multitude of models. After the pre-war 202, Peugeot launched the clean-sheet 203 as its sole model in 1948, followed by the 403 (1955) and the 404 (1960) – all essentially the same car with updated styling and gradually larger engines. The 404’s replacement, the 504, was planned for 1968.
But the increased engine displacement, no matter how gradual, was pushing Peugeot further up the price ladder. When the 404 came along, its 1.6 litre plant was putting it out of many people’s reach. Peugeot executives looked worriedly at Simca and Renault, whose range was far richer and wider. They determined that for Peugeot to survive, they needed to broaden their scope considerably and include a mini, a compact and an executive car. The first segment they targeted, with the 204 in 1965, was the compact. The mini (104) came in 1972 and the big car (604) in early 1975. That year, incidentally, was peak Peugeot diversity: the catalogue included the 104, 204, 304, 404, 504 and 604 – a straight flush-type feat never repeated since.
The 204 was Peugeot’s Great Leap into the Unknown. It was a completely new car from A to Z: new body, new engine, new FWD transmission, new all-independent suspension and new front disc brakes. The only thing it had in common with its 1965 RWD stablemates, the 404 and the soon-to-be-retired 403, was the badge. That stood for Peugeot’s carefully constructed image: a conservative, provincial and Protestant family business for generations, France’s oldest automaker after Panhard, renowned for its well-crafted and durable cars and other wares (anything from bicycles to peppermills) that were always a little more expensive, a little more austere and a lot more durable than the norm.
1965 Peugeot 204
The 204 was launched in the spring of 1965. Its sole engine was an all-alloy 1100cc 4-cyl. sitting atop a 4-speed all-synchronized gearbox and placed transversally, like the BMC Mini, to drive the front wheels. The interior was Spartan and the options list virtually inexistent, but for the traditional sunroof. Critics hailed it as a thoroughly well-made car, with excellent brakes, good visibility and comfort, but the 53 HP (DIN) were deemed a bit on the low side, the steering seemed a tad vague and handling in the wet was not as good as it could have been. The lack of options and relatively high price also irked a few journalists, but the impression of quality was indisputable. Priced around FF9000 in 1965 and placed in the 6CV tax band, the 204 competed directly with the Renault 10 and the Simca 1300.
True to form, Peugeot soon added variants to the 204. By late 1965, the “Break” (station wagon) was put in production. Presented at the 1966 Paris Motor Show, the two-door cars hit the streets in the first weeks of 1967, with their shortened wheelbase and attractive bodies. That same model year, a noticeable esthetic change came with the new wraparound taillights, courtesy of PininFarina, who used these on several other designs at the time. Finally, a 3-door “Commerciale” delivery wagon was introduced later in 1967, derived from the Break. Peugeot did build a prototype 204 pickup around this time, but the platform was felt to be not strong enough for a pickup’s hard labour. Peugeot pickups would remain on the larger RWD platform until the very end.
There were a couple of interesting specials made using the 204. Let’s just mention the Autobleu GT coupé, which was presented at the 1967 Geneva Motor Show. Autobleu was an aftermarket specialist firm, especially renowned for eking out additional HP from various French engines. In the mid-‘50s, they had tried making a series of special-bodied cars based on the Renault 4CV, but Alpines were more successful. They gave it another shot with their 204 GT fastback, designed by Pietro Frua and based on the cabriolet version. Alas, the venture was doomed due to the transformation’s high cost – and Autobleu’s own engine tune-up side, which allowed clients to get their stock-bodied Peugeot about 10 extra HP for a lot less money.
Series 1 (1970-72) Peugeot 304, essentially a 204 with a big butt, “Sophia Loren eyes” and a 1.3 litre plant.
The 204 started to really catch on by then: in 1969, 1970 and 1971, it was the number one selling car in France. But it seemed that Peugeot were already moving on from the 204: after 1970, the range started to shrink. The reason was the launch of the 304, essentially a 204 shell with 504 headlamps, a 1.3 litre engine and a larger trunk. The 304 cannibalized its elder sister by stealing its body, including the two-door and wagon variants. The 304 saloon’s elongated behind (with an extra 15 cm of trunk space) did not improve the handling, but the other versions (3- and 5-door wagons, coupé and cabriolet) were strictly identical to the 204, so they were, on the whole, much more drivable thanks to the larger 7CV engine. Snob appeal dictated that one would go for the 304 if one could – the 204 lost a great amount of appeal once this pecking order got established. The 104’s launch in 1972 robbed the 204 of its bottom-rung status, leaving it with even less of a reason to exist much longer, though it did pick up an extra 2 HP (DIN) along the way.
From then on, the 204 coasted. The 304 saloon was restyled and given an even larger engine in 1972, as well as a floor-mounted gearstick. The 204 carried on with its styling unchanged and an increasingly outdated column shift till the end, which came after the 1976 model year. The final 204s did have a few distinctive touches, such as the “heraldic” lion badge (after 1971) and, as above, a black plastic grille (1975-76). The 1.3 litre Diesel engine, hitherto only available on the Break, became available on the saloon for those final couple of years.
Our featured CC has the former but not the latter, as well as bumpers with a painted black stipe that replaced the earlier rubber inserts in 1973. So it’s a late Pompidou / early Giscard model (a.k.a late Nixon / early Ford or late Heath / early Wilson). Let’s call it a ’73, as I already have a ’74 on my hitlist with the Méhari I caught last month.
1972 Peugeot 305 prototype
By this time, Peugeot had already started work on the 305, which essentially took the 204/304’s underpinnings within a new body shell, which was finalized and launched (looking nothing like the above, really) in 1977. The 304 went out of production in 1980 as the 305 took over; the last 305 wagons were produced in 1990, making the 204/304/305 family of cars a rather long-lived platform.
Our feature car’s fading dark green hue is a classic 204 colour, which was pretty much proposed throughout the model’s 11-year lifespan. The 204 was never one to wear the more stylish ‘70s colours, such as puke green, curious orange or metallic “robo-turd” brown, as seen on its younger 304 sister model. It was and remained a mid-‘60s car through and through.
Above: the dashboard in the 1965 brochure; below: our 1973 CC’s slightly more weathered interior.
The dash did receive a major update in 1968 with the adoption of the three round dials that we see here. Strangely, the 304 initially went back to the linear / square style (with a smattering of fake wood, for good measure), but soon reverted to this arrangement as well. The massive chromed shifter head on our featured car is, of course, not at all stock.
The Peugeot “2” series were a string of classic hits, from the 201 that introduced the “zero in the middle” nomenclature back in 1929, the 202 that survived the war, the 203 that was the first monocoque Peugeot, the 205 that saved Peugeot’s bacon from the Talbot debacle in the ‘80s, the 206 that became a record-selling world car (10 million built and counting)… The 207 and current 208 seem a bit lackluster in this company, but our 204 is very much worthy of Peugeot’s “Terrific Twos” – it was the model that broke new ground and helped transform its maker into a world-class automotive giant.
It’s a pity this one seems to be stored without any protection. It was obviously registered recently to its current owner, as the brand new plates can attest. Perhaps said owner isn’t able to rescue this nice little Pug right now. Here’s hoping it will get the attention it deserves sooner rather than later.
Related CC posts
Cohort Capsule: Peugeot 204 Coupe – Sweet Baby Peugeot , by PN
Thanks for the treatise on these cars. We lost Peugeot in the American market in 1992. It was advertised for years as “The French Mercedes”
It was commonly referred to as “The French Mercedes” in Europe, but I don’t believe it was ever advertised as such.
I still don’t understand why great cars like 404&504s didn’t work in usa.if they can survive in rough areas like mideast or africa,How the heck they couldn’t make there?my grand father’s 1969 PEUGEOT404 lasted over 800k km on original motor&there is still planty of 504s on road here from 70s&early80s.Great Cars.
I explained it here, as best as possible: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/curbside-classic-1976-peugeot-504-one-continents-french-mercedes-and-coty-is-another-continents-most-rugged-vehicle-is-another-continents-pos/
Thank you Paul.It Was Very Helpful.
A few things…
1. The car became an appliance for most people in the USA. Americans grew to expect their cars to run forever with minimal maintenance and long service intervals. People wanted to be able to run cross-country on interstate highways without even opening the hood. The Japanese car makers learned this in the 1970s and 1980s and were able to push the fussier European brands like Peugeot, Fiat, BMC, and others out of the USA.
2. Peugeot had to deal with ever-tightening American emission and fuel economy laws. This led to some complex electronic and vacuum control systems that didn’t always work right and were hard to repair.
3. I suspect that many Peugeots in places like Africa and Asia have been kept going by clever and resourceful “shade tree” mechanics who knew how to adapt a hodgepodge of parts. It’s like how the Cubans have been able to keep so many old American cars running even though parts have not been available for decades.
Always liked these baby Peugeots. The 204 was not sold in the US, but the 304 was, and I came very close to picking up a wagon, in that same dark green and tan upholstery as our 404 wagon. It was such a sweet little car. But it was stick shift, and Stephanie didn’t drive a manual. They coulf be picked up for dirt cheap in LA at the time (1977-1978) as most of their owners were essentially ditching them, due to having bought them on impulse, and having problems getting them serviced. The first time a bigger issue arose, they were ready to get rid of it and buy a Toyota.
I vaguely remember these 204s from my decades of reading CAR magazine. They always acquitted themselves in multi-car comparison tests….though a British built car always to be just a tiny bit better.
The various ’04 cars always looked attractive though the 204 looks like it’s a bit melted at the ends.
Looks more neglected than sad to me .
Pops grey marketed a brand new 404 Break in 1967, it was cobalt blue and lived a ling hard life in New England, mostly Rochester, New York with many trips to Ma. and other states, he made the mistake of letting my Siblings drive it so of course my then druggie Sister let her doper boy friend wail it up the Turnpike flat out without checking the oil so the engine seized and the rip off Pug $tealer told him it wasn’t worth fixing and gave him $125 for it and it of course appeared on their used car lot all polished and shiny a week later .
Pugs seem to be good if _different_ Automobiles and I’d happily give this 204 a go if I found one .
-Nate
Compared to its contemporains or zeitgeist cars, this was lightyears ahead. Opel, Ford, Toyota could not hold a candle against the 204, only the Austin-Morris Glider / America / 1100 – 1300 could. This drove like it ran on rails. Your real Peugeot, not extremely fast, but an extremely good drivers car.
But then came Simca with the 1100, also FWD but a hatchback available in so much more varities and at a much lower price. The 204 did have real urban chique, I still lust for a 204 or 304 Coupé.
IIRC, the Simca 1100 was #1 on the French sales chart in ’72-’75, just after the 204’s moment in the sun.
Protestant! Never knew that, but it makes sense. To me anyway…
That 305 prototype has an awful lot of R5 styling cues, doesn’t it?
It really does look like a R5, the production 305 bears no resemblance to it other than it’s general stance.
True about the R5 face… must’ve been because ’72 was the R5’s launch. And I’m reasonably sure that this is the work of Peugeot’s in-house team. The 305’s final styling was (of course) Pininfarina, and had a bit of a family resemblance with the 604.
Somebody at my local Peugeot/Citroen dealership is something of a car collector along with a 58 Corvette 57 two door hardtop Belair and a Daimler Jag Ive seen a 204 ragtop with its powertrain out, cool little car actually, I hope to see it out and about one day as the other treasures get driven regularly.
This is beyond of “beautiful” or “ugly” : cars like this have the strong value of self-identity .
I find these early FWD cars so fascinating… This, the Austin 1100/1300, the Fiat 127… It’s interesting because so many other companies stuck with the tried-and-true RWD layout for their compacts, well into the 1980s. While I love RWD in some applications, it’s not really necessary or hugely desirable in a run-of-the-mill B or C-segment vehicle. Kudos to Austin, Peugeot, Fiat (and others) for embracing FWD even if much of the market was reluctant to.
This, the Austin 1100/1300, the Fiat 127… It’s interesting because so many other companies stuck with the tried-and-true RWD layout for their compacts, well into the 1980s.
I figure Opel/Vauxhall and Ford had no choice but to follow the direction of their mother ships in Detroit. Simca had already started the transition to front drive before Chrysler took over.
As we have been discussing on the VW Type 4 thread of last week, the signals of the market shift were coming into focus by the mid 60s as a flurry of front drive models appeared in 67-70, but VW completely missed to boat, investing in yet another rear mounted, air cooled, flat 4, model. If I had been a European car company CEO in the mid 60s, the prospect of the BMC ADO16 being built with decent quality would have scared the pants off me.
Speaking of the Brit models, it’s interesting that, on the 204, Peugeot figured out how to get the radiator directly behind the grill, while the ADO16 had the radiator against the wheel well as the Mini had years before.
To be fair, Ford were already part of the FWD crowd (in Germany anyway) with the 1962 Taunus P4. It took British and US Ford a good while longer to become converts…
To be fair, Ford were already part of the FWD crowd (in Germany anyway) with the 1962 Taunus P4. It took British and US Ford a good while longer to become converts…
Thanks, didn’t know about that one. Reading up on the P4, I see it was followed by the front drive P6. Then Ford dropped the P6 and front drive entirely in 70, reverting to the cheaper front engine/rear drive architecture used across the channel on the Escort and Cortina.
Nordhoff’s takaway was probably that, as the P4 did not eat the Bug’s lunch, then he was right and Ford was wrong. VW wouldn’t be the first company put in jeopardy by management’s confirmation bias. So the throwback Type 4 and the advanced Audi 100 both debuted. The Type 4 was a dud, while the 100 sold like crazy. Reportedly Audi 100 sales were so strong that an additional line was set up in Wolfsburg, making the 100 the first front drive, liquid cooled model built in that plant.
The 204 didn’t have column shift until the end of production. My mother owned a 1969/70 RHD 204 saloon from new and used it daily until about 2001 by which time it had been renovated once and was falling apart again and the VERY heavy steering and lack of A/C was getting too much for her so we replaced it with a 2nd-hand JDM Honda Logo. Her Peugeot had the restyled rear with the wraparound lights and a 4-speed floor shift. I drove it a few times when I was learning to drive and although it was quite a pretty car, I didn’t find it very enjoyable to drive. It was quite slow, had slow, heavy steering and a very vague gearbox.
We were actually a Peugeot family back then – my dad had four 404s, one after the other, and my uncle had two 404s in succession too. It didn’t hold, though! I’ve never owned a single Peugeot although I wouldn’t say no to a 504 Convertible V6!
No column shifter on a 204?? First time I ever heard of that. Even the coupe / cabriolet versions had the column shifter until they switched to the 304 range. Might have something to do with the fact it was RHD. Where was it bought originally?
Further to the steering column upgrade, RHD 204s featured a floor-mounted gear lever from model-year 1970 onwards. The earlier RHD 204’s steering column, gear lever and indicator/light/horn stalks were a mirror copy of the LHD’s – making for quite an interesting arrangement.
Here is more related reading or ” a plug for a pugh”: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-twofer-71-and-69-peugeot-304-gl-modern-cars/
Peugeot still makes a darn fine pepper mill- there’s one on my counter now.
Rare now on the roads in France – not to say they don’t show up occasionally. Its often the breaks (estate cars) that are kept going because they are so useful in country areas.
One thing that comes to mind with the Peugeot 204 is why it was never directly replaced like the Peugeot 304 was by the related Peugeot 305.
Since the Peugeot 304/305 challenged the Ford Cortina/Taunus and the later Peugeot 104 challenged the Fiat 127 and later Ford Fiesta, yet Peugeot never directly built a model to sit between both the Peugeot 104 and Peugeot 305 to challenge the Mk2/Mk3 Ford Escort in the almost 10 year period between the last Peugeot 204 and the first Peugeot 309.
Surely Peugeot could have developed a direct 204 replacement derived from the Peugeot 305 given the latter carried over the Peugeot 204/304’s underpinnings?
“When the 404 came along, its 1.6 litre plant was putting it out of many people’s reach.”
Are you referring to the initial purchase price, the annual road tax, or both?
Hard to believe this “dated looking ride” isn’t an “early 60’s” model.
In reference to the terrific two’s, yes the 207 and first generation 208 were neither pretty or inspired, and seemed to hit either new ground or carry the spirit of the previous small Peugeots, but the latest 208 (unfortunately they have run out of numbers and ideas for nomenclature, so we are doing repeats) is a real return to form. It is the prettiest car in its class, extremely popular in a segment that other players have given up on (Ford Fiesta) and is a solid basis for a raft of other Stellantis cars. That they already have an electric version, Peugeot seem to be back.
Those vestigial tail fins seem to have been a thing in Europe in the mid 60s. This is a DKW F102, which begat the Audi F103.
I happened to watch a 1970’s French film last night (The Burned Barns), set in the winter in a village in the Jura mountains. In addition to the great pleasure of watching Simone Signoret, there were some sturdy French automotive workhorses to be seen making their way through the rural snow – a Peugeot 404 wagon complete with mismatched front fenders, a ‘modern’ Renault R12, and some more prosaic P’s & R’s as well – possibly including a 204. Worth a watch for multiple reasons.