A French Sedan Built In Iran And Imported From Russia Is The Most Sanctionable Vehicle Imaginable

It’s not often that a genuine Peugeot shatchback comes up for sale anywhere near me, but this is one of those: a 2010 Peugeot 206 SD. It’s in Finnish plates and located in the capital region, near Helsinki, and it’s likely to have an interesting story to tell. For one, it’s traveled quite far to get here.

Like I wrote in the Shatchback article, explaining what the British-coined term stands for, the Peugeot 206 SD is the sedan derivative of the 206 hatchback introduced in 1998. The 206 went on to have a long production life, as it was made until 2024: it was originally lightly facelifted in 2003, but it also got one of those weird deals where it wore the face of its own successor.

The 207, introduced in 2006, was largely based on the 206, but Peugeot also sold a specific model called the 206+, which was essentially the old car with the new face pasted on. It’s as if Porsche had sold the 996, the 997, and the 996+, which would have been a 996 that looked like a 997. Not confusing at all.

As well as the hatchback and sedan, the 206 was made in wagon and coupe cabriolet form, the latter with a folding SLK-style roof as was the style of the time.

Both the wagon and the 206 CC cabriolet were available with the same 2.0-liter 16-valve engine as the 206 GTI, but the GTI also received a hotter 177hp RC variant to address doubts about the GTI’s performance, as the original model had just 136hp.

Neither the 206 GTI nor GTI RC ever matched the success of their predecessor, the iconic 205 GTI, but they’re far cheaper. A 206 GTI typically costs little more than a regular 206, and for anyone looking for a cheap French hot hatch, they usually come up in the more affordable end of the search results.

Many people remember the 206 from the imaginative ad, “The Sculptor,” where one was painstakingly fashioned by hand and elephant from a beater car. The actual car from the ad resides in the L’Aventure Peugeot museum.

As well as its homeland, France, the 206 was built all over South America, in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. It was also made in China, and the Chinese got a very weird version called the Citroën C2, which was the 206 facelifted to look like a Citroën. This shouldn’t be confused with the regular Citroën C2, which was an upright hatchback sold in Europe.

In addition, the 206 was also made in Iran, where the local automaker, Iran Khodro, designed the sedan version together with Peugeot. It’s not one of the most successful sedan derivatives, as it looks extremely rear-heavy and the round trunk doesn’t really fit the rest of the car.

In Brazil, it again received the 207 nose, and it was sold as the Peugeot 207 Passion there in sedan form. The 207-nosed Passion sedan (above) is probably the least good-looking 206 version.

Automatic And Problematic

That brings us to this specific car, which even has the rarely chosen automatic transmission option, coupled with a 105-horsepower 1.6-liter eight-valve engine from the TU family.

It’s the rare combination of an Iran-built car that has been imported to Finland from Russia, where it was originally sold new. It’s possible that it was brought over by somebody who moved over from Russia, as it was registered here in 2015 based on the papers. It’s currently being auctioned as somebody’s traded it in and the dealership has figured it’s better off going on the online auction platform than sold from their selection of used cars.

Despite significant wear on the steering wheel, it shows a little over 160,000 km on the clock, or 100,000 miles, and while there isn’t a service book, a stack of receipts follows with the car. And it’s quite a stack, as in the last ten years someone’s spent some serious coin keeping a cheap car on the road. The cooling system’s been repaired several times, and there have been numerous attempts at fixing the broken air conditioning, but the kicker is that it’s also gotten the rear axle repaired, which is sometimes expensive enough to kill these cars dead.

Like on numerous other 1980s-2000s PSA Peugeot-Citroën cars, the bearings on the torsion bar rear axle wear severely enough to introduce noticeable negative camber, with the rear tires starting to rub on the inner wheel arches. A common fix is to get a completely new or reconditioned beam axle with new bearings, but when you’re driving around in a 206 worth a grand, maybe two, you’re unlikely to spend the same money again to replace the rear axle.

The other Press Rally car, the 306, needed the rear axle overhauled but the owner, Eetu, did it himself to save on costs. You can get a complete axle from Poland for a reasonable amount of money, but the labor is costly if you have a shop do it. The axle also needs to be in decent enough condition if you want the car to pass yearly roadworthiness inspection here, so you can’t just leave it be. A worn-out rear beam also makes the handling squirrely.

However, the rear suspension is also genius. It’s completely flat, and there are no rear springs, as the torsion bar axle only requires shock absorbers, yet Peugeot and Citroën hatchbacks with this setup traditionally ride beautifully. And the packaging means there aren’t any shock towers in the back, leaving plenty of space for cargo. Even in a three-box sedan, that’s handy.

Karma Police, Sanction This Car

So, you have a Russian car that was built in Iran. Technically, that should make it subject to double economic sanctions, as Iran has been sanctioned countless times since the 1979 hostage crisis, as well as its uranium enrichment program. At least a peace deal was signed in France, with hopes of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which would possibly bring oil prices down. Russia, in turn, has been fighting an invasive war in Ukraine for over four years, and the EU again imposed new sanctions on Russia a few days ago, targeting its energy sector and the military-industrial complex. The border between Finland and Russia has been closed for years, and it is likely to remain that way for some time.

That also means that fewer Russian cars will be privately imported here in the foreseeable future. As well as this Peugeot, some other French or French-related shatchbacks that have come in from Russia have been Renault Thalias, and the occasional Renault Logan, which is indeed the Dacia Logan but wearing Renault branding. In actuality, the first generation Logan isn’t a true shatchback, as it was designed to be a sedan first, and hatchback Dacia Sanderos were only developed later.

The war in Ukraine has already made it less cool to drive around in a Russian-branded car around here, or to get new parts for one, and while Ladas stand out in traffic, you’d have to be an extremely nerdy car person to figure out that an ordinary-looking sedan with a Western brand has its roots in Russia. It’s a separate discussion whether a car is to blame for the actions of the rulers and soldiers of the countries that built or sold it, but while we’re free to choose cars from elsewhere, we should do so.

Meanwhile, the hammer dropped on the 206 at 900 Euros ($1000) plus fees; that’s about what it’s worth, geopolitical baggage or not. Since it’s a used car built ages ago, any spare parts it needs would benefit Stellantis and aftermarket companies at best – not the regimes through which it has ended up here, but it’s up to your personal vibe whether you feel like driving one of these.

Photos: Huutokaupat.com unless otherwise noted