l heard the engines are a bit sluggish but l was still interested in buying this model, would you recommend from experience?

No flippin' way

Nothing wrong with it mate,but you should go for the diesel that gives best mileage.

l ad a 206 dude, and it was the most reliable motor i've had to date.

the only thing to watch 4 is the windscreen mists up really easily because of where the vent is on the bonnet.

other than tht i'd say go for it

The earliest 206 was available with the XUD9 & XUD9TE (turbo) engines, these engines were very reliable & the turbocharged variant had a decent bit of go for a diesel, but the XUD9 without the turbo was as dead as a bag of tatties, avoid it. Most 206s with a 1.9D will have the DW8 series engine. This engine was based on the old mechanical XUD9 & still has a mechanical fuel pump that controls the injection timing, but the ignition advance was changed to electronic control, & became a common problem with them. The DW8 also was not available with a turbo which made it really slow, avoid it.
The engines can be identified easily, the XUD9 will have an alloy casing on the top of the engine. The XUD9TE will have an intercooler (looks like a radiator) on the top of the engine. The DW8 had a black plastic inlet manifold on the top rear of the engine & a clip on black plastic cover on the top front of the engine.
The engine to go for if u r intent on a diesel (and peugeot make much better diesel engines than petrol engines) is the 2.0 HDi, this engine has a black plastic square engine cover that will have HDi embossed on it. The engine is available in 90 or 110 horsepower versions & has more power & better economy than the older engines, with all the power & torque being much more useable than the old engines. The HDi is fully electronically controlled but is a fairly reliable engine & is the one that l personally prefer.

Through my job l have driven thousands of different cars fitted with these engines, & l would buy HDi.



EDIT:
In answer to ANDRA, the many thousands of these engines that l have worked on without any head or head gasket problems far outweigh the few with head problems. In fact every Citroen or Peugeot engineer that l have talked to regards these engines as pretty tough generally speaking, certainly not 'prone' to head gasket problems!

The engine is sluggish up to 60 mph but then pulls well.My 51 plate 206 1.9d does 450 miles on 3 qaurters tank of diesel.Have not had any problems with car since l bought it 2 years ago.

What Von forgot to mention is that the XUD is also prone to cylinder head and head gasket problems.

No, they're a good little car - l sold one a few years ago. They're not quick by any margin, but it is still a little car, so they're nippy enough, and very economical. The normally aspirated diesel engine is also the most reliable, as it is very under stressed.

Take it for a test drive. Depending on the type of driving u have to do & ur driving style, u may actually like it (particularly when u get around to filling the fuel tank :)

Do not worry about the technical specs. If u compare a 106 XSi hot hatch with a 106 XRD, the XSi has a petrol efi engine with about 105hp while the diesel XRD is something ridiculously low like 60hp.
The XSi is great to drive providing u keep the revs above 4000! In comparison the XRD is nimble enough, but really is great when u r driving in traffic etc or in normal every day driving when the revs r typically between 1500 & 2500 rpm.

If u do lots of around town driving, u may find the diesel to be more relaxing than a highly strung petrol. They r also quite drivable at highway speed too.

Look at the fuel pump too, if it is a bosch they r strong enough to run waste vege oil through (properly pre treated) while the lucas/CAV/Rotodiesel variant appears a bit weak for vege, but fine for dino juice.

go to edmunds.com

Go for one with the 2 ltr HD l diesel , you wont find that sluggish mate they as good if not better than the petrol engines, and you should get over 50 mpg is you drive it properly , peugeot make a very good diesel engine , i've had a few of them and they never any trouble , and as for head gaskets going that only happens if you run them out of water and fry the engine , l had a 405 years ago with nearly 150,000 on the clock and the head was never off it