Much has been written about the Peugeot 505 on this site already, but when I happened upon this V6-powered late-model beauty, I figured there might be enough space for just one more post on Sochaux’s last “traditional” four-door. Open wide for a tasty hunk of PRV-flavoured ‘80s goodness!
When it was launched in 1979, the 505’s mission statement was to take over from the 504 as the French carmaker’s bread-and-butter 2-litre saloon / wagon. And in this, it clearly succeeded: over the next decade, Peugeot sold well over a million of these in saloon form, not including another 200,000-plus 505 wagons (which, as was the Peugeot way, had a longer wheelbase and a completely different rear suspension).
The main issue was not with the 505, but with the 604, seen here in its first full MY. Initial sales were decent enough, but by the early ‘80s, production of the so-called “French Mercedes” had fallen off a cliff. The Talbot Tagora (1980-83), Peugeot’s other RWD executive sled, was a disaster from the get-go. Only the Citroën CX, which made do with 4-cyl. engines, kept the PSA Group from total capitulation in this segment.
Product planners were in disarray. The 604’s career was going to have to be cut short, but its replacement, the 605, was slated to appear only in 1990 or 91. On the Citroën side, the CX had debuted in 1974 and was to be relieved of its duties by the XM, pencilled in for 1989. This left Peugeot with only one solution: the 505 would have to shoulder the burden and go upmarket for the second half of the ‘80s.
At the end of the 1985 model year, the last 604s were out the door; MY 1986 would be the 505 range’s epic apex moment as it gained a new version with a 6-cyl. engine. The PRV had not been much of a hit thus far for any of its users, but the 505 was lucky: it would have access to a new and improved version with offset crankpins and improved counterweights that was specially designed to address the motor’s inherent lack of balance.
Along with a little extra displacement, this all would make for a more convincing V6. And by this point, Peugeot had finally and completely given up on their irrational attachment to carburators, so the fuel-injected PRV would now be a bit less thirsty than it had been just a few years prior. In the end, even if the blatant stopgap measure that was the 505 V6 didn’t prove popular, it probably would not adversely affect the rest of the range in any way. The 4-cyl. 505s, be they 1.8 or 2-litre petrol, 2.2 litre turbo or 2.5 litre turbo-Diesel, were still selling quite well. At least, they would until the summer 1987 launch of the 405.
With 170hp under the hood and a set of alloy wheels (but precious little else, externally speaking, to make it stand out), it was hoped the new top-of-the-line Pug would able to hold its own compared to other ageing Euro-saloons, such as the BMW E28 or the aforementioned CX, but it would need to match those more established models in terms of presentation.
A little (optional) leather goes a long way, and the 505 had just received a new dash when undergoing a facelift in 1985 – not exactly harmonious, but up-to-date. Power windows and speed-sensitive power steering came as standard, but A/C, a 4-speed automatic and an electric sunroof were on the rather long options list. Initially, one could also choose between ABS and a limited-slip diff, but it was one or the other: Peugeot, for whatever reason, took over a year to work out how to have both on the car at the same time.
With the same wheelbase as the 504, the 505 was a mite less generous with rear passenger space than some of its rivals, especially FWD ones. And those were getting more and more numerous. As a matter of fact, we should really take a look at said rivals to provide a little more context.
Again, I’m using British market data because UK pricing info is more readily available online. By this era though, the overall European market was a lot more homogenous thanks to EEC regulations, so this table would have looked roughly the same in, say, France, Spain or West Germany. There could have been a few more in there, including the Fiat Croma, the VW Passat, the Toyota Camry, the Saab 9000 and the Mazda 929. Interestingly, the Peugeot, the Renault and the Lancia all used different versions of the same V6, but the Pug’s was the most potent. But the V6 was not the most powerful 505: that honour was still held by the 180hp 505 Turbo, which could even be fitted with a PTS kit churning out 200hp – all this from an ageing 2.2 litre 4-cyl. inherited from Simca/Talbot.
Still, the 505 fitted in this sharp-elbowed crowd relatively well. Its looks were starting to seem a little dated perhaps, but the Pininfarina magic still made it quite a bit more attractive than some of its distinguished opposition (e.g. Alfa Romeo 90 (ugh!), Ford Scorpio/Granada (meh…) and Volvo 740 (Yeesh!) in the table above). In 1988, it gained a big rear spoiler. Gotta keep up appearances.
Then came 1989 and Peugeot, feeling the pinch, brought forward the 605’s launch date (with pretty disastrous consequence, as we’ve seen before), bringing the 505 V6’s relatively short life to a halt by the end of the calendar year. A few MY 1990 cars do exist, mostly for export, in the year that saw the passing of the 505 saloon itself. Some were even sent to Japan, though the total number of V6 models imported here must have been minuscule.
And that is chiefly because the number of V6-powered 505s was, itself, very modest: under 12,000 units were made in three years – not dissimilar to the 604’s sales performance from 1981 onwards, truth be told. Apparently, domestic sales were minimal: only around 2000 units stayed in France, where the 505’s image was incompatible with the snob appeal of a near 3-litre V6. This accidental flagship did the best it could, given the situation. And it looked might handsome while doing it.
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: 1989 Peugeot 505 Wagon – The Last Of The World’s Greatest Wagons, by PN
On The Go Outtakes: The Last Peugeot 505 Wagon Still On The Go? Probably Not, by PN
CC Global Outtake: One Night in Bangkok, avec un Peugeot 505, by Robert Kim
Getting Passed On The Right By A Peugeot 505 Wagon, by PN
Windshield Outtake: Peugeot 505 Diesel, by Dman
Vintage R&T Road Test: 1987 Peugeot 505 STX, by Yohai71
Interesting that you considered the Camry competiton in this segment. That was a pretty middle of the road offering here in the states, nothing anybody ever aspired to own. Same thing applies to the Fiat, the Fords(nobody here in the states thought the Taurus was upscale/luxury car), the VW, all of them have the wrong name on them.
I dunno how Peugeot and Renault were viewed in Europe, if they are seen more as Chevrolets or as Cadillacs or somewhere in the middle like a Buick. The french cars never sold well enough in the USA to establish an identity. Except for Citroen in my mind, those had a very unique character. I saw them as pretty upscale with the tech, ride and nice interiors. But once again nobody in the states knows what the heck a Citroen is.
His comparison is in the UK and/or Europe. The Camry was never a big seller in Europe, and its market position there was somewhat higher than in the US. It was an “executive” class car in the UK, meaning bought with the significant tax perk available to companies that allowed employees to buy cars for their personal use under that program.
One can’t readily compare European brands (in Europe) with American ones. Their market positions were generally much broader; Renault and Peugeot made cars from little entry level ones up to the executive class, like this 505V6. Citroen also made very entry level cars, starting with their 2CV, and others in the ’80s too.
It’s important to keep in mind that in many European markets (and in Japan), class was delineated to a great extent by size, price, and engine displacement. This isn’t to say brand wasn’t relevant, because it was, but in a lot of places, a largish sedan with an engine of 2 liters or more was necessarily an executive-class car. The 505 V6 was expensive to run in countries with displacement-based road tax — it was over line where the tax doubled (or more than doubled) in Italy or Japan, and it was at the upper limit of the highest sort-of-affordable French tax band.
Interesting that you chose a Volvo 740 Turbo for the price comparison, as the Volvo 760 – with largely the same engine as this Peugeot – was still available for 1988. I think it was pretty apparent, though, that Volvo had all but given up on the PRV V-6 by this point, instead choosing to focus on the turbocharged version of the famous redblock I-4, and also the 16-valve version of the redblock. In fact, I think Volvo continued to offer the PRV through 1990 only due to contractual obligations.
I have always regarded the 505 as one of the most handsome cars of the 1980s, dignified and understated during an era when many automakers seemed to be flailing about in the search for new, more aerodynamic styling themes. Of the European competitors shown above, perhaps the Audi 100 is the only one clearly a generation ahead of the Peugeot in terms of clean lines that still look good nearly 40 years later.
My own experience with the 505 is limited to a few rides with a work colleague in her 505 wagon in the late 80s. The car was impressive in its smooth ride, solidity and the overall feeling of well-being that it imparted to all passengers, the driver’s lack of attention to traffic conditions notwithstanding,
This example appears to be at the apex of 505 goodness, and I can imagine that in Japan it has been meticulously maintained. Thanks for highlighting this particularly rare specimen.
Thanks for this article. May I ask why Opel’s Senator or even upper-level Rekords are not included in the list of competitors? I’ve sat in a late-model 505. The dashboard is remarkably brittle-looking. Ford’s Granada, the 740 and Opel dashboards are far better. The original 1979 505 dash was much more coherent. The 505 is nonetheless a terrifically well-proportioned car.
I did look into the (Vauxhall) Senator and it would have fit in that table quite well, but only for 1988: the old generation passed away mid 1986 and the new one took until April 87 to be launched, in the UK at least. A bit too late for this table, as all the pricing data is late 86, i.e early MY 1987. And prices moved quite a bit in six months, in them days.
Plus, as stated in the text, I was really spoiled for choice. I didn’t even look at what Nissan were fielding in that segment in Europe at the time (Maxima, I’m guessing?)…
I liked the 505 from the first moment and I’ve toyed with the idea of buying one several times. But each time it ended up being a Volvo.
Now it is too late as they have become very rare in my neck of the wood. I can’t remember the last time I saw one in the wild (or on a dealer’s gravel ground).
The 505 and 504 were very good cars, tough and reliable.
I think the only reason Peugeot left the US was because of its poor after-sales service and the difficulty in acquiring spare parts, not because its cars were bad.
Volkswagen had much worse cars than Peugeot but it survived in part because of the above. No one can say that a Jetta or a Fox was better than a 504, 505 or 405.
I think the UK comparison table’s spot on – maybe with the addition of a Vauxhall Carlton 2.0iCD or Senator 2.5i. The Volvo 760 was a lot more expensive – at least £17k I think and auto only, and most people would have cross-shopped a BMW 520i as a basic 525i would have had Armstrong windows, no sunroof, no radio etc. That said the 505 saloon was a very niche choice in the UK, V6 even more so. Several of my school friends’ parents had a 505 Family if they had three or more kids as it was the only car on the market with three forward facing rows of seats where you could also fold both the second and third rows down, so it was a lot more versatile than the Citroen CX equivalent (third row only folding). And less car sickness inducing.
Nice find! And it’s in the customary Japanese immaculate condition, of course.
I totally missed out that the 505 was available for a time with the V6. They were never as common as the 504 down here (but then that used to be locally assembled), and I assumed the 505 was Douvrin or Diesel only. Mind you I’d also never noticed they’d pulled the plug on the 604 early. Guess that’s my New Fact for the day.
Funny (sad, really) how Peugeot never seems to have much success with executive-class cars. No matter what they offer (604, 505V6, 605…), the market seemed to turn to Citroen instead. Now I suppose they all buy German.
The 505 was locally made too, first by Renault (at West Heidelberg), then, believe it or not, by the remains of Leyland in Sydney for a bit! My ’80 model was made in Melbourne, not terribly well, either. The old pushrod four from the 404 days lasted right through to ’88 here.
I would like my V6 505 to be like that CX the other day, namely, looking precisely like an ultra-basic ’79 model but with the six and 5-speed installed.
You see, the Pinin original is super-elegant, a haughty and glassy thing, square in outline, but upon close examination, full of gentle, tension-causing curves. It’s quite a subtle looker, and the thick makeup makeover of the S2’s bland it out. And the interior, with its equally elegant low-set Honda style dash, was vastly nicer than the squeak-fest ergonomic plonker of ’86-on. (Both had big ergonomic fails).
I know this because I’ve owned an ’80, and an ’86. Both of them gorgeous-to-drive but rather flawed machines, and neither anywhere near the wondrous all-of-a-piece 404 in feel. THAT was an outstanding machine in its time: these were merely very good ones in theirs.