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Why did Gen Z vilify Peugeot?

  • Writer: Ben Higgins
    Ben Higgins
  • Jan 30, 2023
  • 2 min read

Updated: Feb 24, 2023

From hero to zero. How Peugeot destroyed it's once respected name, and how it is trying to get it back.


If you look up “why is Peugeot…” on google the top result is “why is Peugeot so bad? On the contrary, people from my father’s generation, Gen X, to this day sing Peugeot’s praises and will speak highly of their reliability, ability to make fun to drive vehicles and the beauty that Peugeot were able to achieve in even their hum drum cars. But why with Peugeot going through a brand renaissance or sorts at the moment, is such still contrast between the love for Peugeots that previous generations have, to the vilification of the brand from my generation and where did it come from?


For the older generations, Peugeot made some great cars. The 205 GTI and the Rallye editions if the 306 and 106 were and are great cars, but even things like their diesels got a great reputation and were renowned for being bullet proof. They also offered the regular consumer a beautiful design for everyday cars. The Pininfarina styled 505 is a key example of all the factors that made the brand a force at that time.


"1992 Peugeot 309 GTI 16V" by Niels is licensed under CC BY 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/nielsautos/27155101181




The late 2000s and early 2010s were a dark time for Peugeot. I believe that you can pinpoint when Peugeot lost young people with the introduction of 207 and 308 models. Gen Z's first impression of the brand was with these two models. My generation saw these as cheaply made, boring, uninspiring vehicles that were made for old people. For example, the 407 and its gaping front end, the 4007 which was just a rebadged and uglier Mitsubishi outlander/Citroen C-Crosser and the 607 which by the time of its death in 2010 was hopelessly outdated. None of these cars did anything to inspire any sort of love or desirability for the brand. It's not just me that thinks this, Autocar put the the Peugeot 1007 in their list for "Worst Cars Ever Made", and WhatCar ranked the Peugeot 208 20th out of 24 cars in a reliability score.


"Peugeot 207, 2006-modell" by Yngve Jarslett is licensed under CC BY NC SA 3.0: https://snl.no/Peugeot

You still see this reputation affecting the brand today. For example, when the 508 Sport Engineered came out, I remember seeing comments saying things like “it’s still a Peugeot” or “It’s still French scrap”. This reputation has imprinted itself into the minds of Gen Z will be a hard mindset for the brand to shake. They have made some in roads with the RCZ and the newer 308 GTI but it has a long way to go.





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