Spotted: a 1988 Peugeot 309

The Peugeot 309 began its life as a development project for the successor to the Talbot Horizon.
The new car would be called Talbot Arizona.
Toward the end of development, however, brand owner Peugeot decided to discontinue the Talbot brand.
Fortunately, the new Talbot was largely based on the technical basis of the Peugeot 205 (the doors even matched), so it already had a somewhat Peugeot-like appearance.
As a result, the car could easily be included in the Peugeot lineup without too many modifications.

Now for a name for the Peugeot 309

Although, trouble-free… What were they to call the new compact midsize car?
The new Peugeot was clearly a class above the popular Peugeot 205.
‘Peugeot 305’ then?
No, because that name had been in use since the late 1970s for a compact sedan and station wagon.
‘Peugeot 306’ wasn’t an option either, because that would falsely suggest that the new Peugeot was a model generation ahead of the pack.
Moreover, the new car was intended as a model between the 205 and 305, not as a successor to the latter.
So in the end, they chose the completely different Peugeot 309.

Engines and versions Peugeot 309

The Peugeot 309 entered the market in 1985.
Although the bodywork was largely derived from the Peugeot 205, the engines were taken from the Horizon.
Peugeot supplemented this with slightly larger engines from its own factory.
Diesel engines were added in 1986 and eventually there would be a fairly wide range of engines.
It was not until 1987 that the Peugeot 309 also became available as a three-door.
That same year, Peugeot also thought the time was ripe for the introduction of a sporty GTi version, with the 1.9-liter from the 205 GTi.

Facelift and follow-up for the Peugeot 309

In 1989 it was time for a facelift, in which especially the rear changed significantly.
The tailgate now extended almost to the rear bumper and the car received modern smoked-glass tail lights for the time.
Inside, the build quality in particular improved considerably.
The Peugeot 309 lasted until 1993, when it was replaced by a completely new hatchback that was allowed to carry the name Peugeot 306.

The spotted specimen

In Den Helder, we saw this 1988 Peugeot 309 GL Profil.
In our opinion a very nice surprise.
The Peugeot 309 is not often seen in Dutch traffic anyway, let alone one from before the facelift.
As far as we are concerned, it is extra nice that it is also an ordinary version that has been preserved.
To make it complete, apart from only slightly discolored bumpers, this 309 looks very well preserved.