Through the ages, nothing has quite said classless chic like a small French hatchback. First the Peugeot 205, then the Renault Clio and Citroen Saxo: all became must-have fashion accessories for the bright young things of a certain era who wouldn’t be seen dead in anything but the latest styles.
That said, in recent years, the effortless cool of the French hatchback has been on the wane, squeezed on one side by the ultra-cute offerings from MINI and Fiat, and on the other by more prestigious alternatives like the Audi A1.
But perhaps the tide is turning again. The arrival of the Renault 5 in 2024 single-handedly reminded the world just how cool a small French car can be. And now, the 5 is at the top of the shopping lists of car buyers who want to look the part, along with its sister cars, the larger 4 and smaller Twingo.
Trouble is, not everyone can stretch to the £22,000 a new 5 will set you back. But the good news is that Gallic style doesn’t have to cost you anywhere near that much, because there are some cracking used bargains out there that’ll give you the high-fashion look and feel of the 5 for a fraction of the price.
Like the Citroen DS3, for example. Once seen as a MINI alternative with a hefty slice of Gallic flair, this little hatchback has aged well, and there’s a huge choice on the second-hand market. What’s more, the extensive range of colour and personalisation options on offer to original buyers means that used buyers have the opportunity to bag a car that really stands out from the crowd.
Take the 2012 example currently for sale on CarGurus. It’s a mid-range 1.6 VTi DStyle model with the optional Plus pack, so it gets such niceties as cruise control, climate control, front fog lights, splashes of chrome along the flanks, and colourful mood lighting inside.
Resplendent in yellow paintwork with a black contrast roof – just like a brand-new Renault 5, in fact – it’s a cracking option if you want something fun and fashionable, and it’s done just 48,000 miles, which means it’s likely to be many years away from the timing chain issues that can sometimes afflict this engine.
Despite this, it’s on the market for just £2,200, which is £956 less than it should be, according to the CarGurus Instant Market Value (IMV), which is our projection of an advertised car’s value based on the sales of similar cars with similar mileages.
Or how about the forerunner of the latest Renault Twingo? This previous generation model didn’t rely on retro call-backs for its charm, yet still had buckets of Gallic style. Its quirky rear-engined layout made it surprisingly roomy inside, and gave it a brilliantly dinky turning circle, making it a cracking little thing to zip around town in.
The example I’ve unearthed is rather special, too. It’s a 2016 example with the frugal 1.0-litre engine, it’s covered just 47,000 miles, and it comes with almost a full year’s worth of MOT.
This is a ‘The Colour Run’ special edition, which means its slinky black paintwork hides bright turquoise accents inside and, most importantly during the summer months, a full-length folding fabric sunroof, just like the latest Renault 4 Plein Sud. All this is yours for just £4,495, or £805 below its CarGurus IMV.
French car makers seem to love a folding fabric roof, as you can tell by the fact one is fitted to my final find. It’s a Peugeot 108, but no ordinary Peugeot 108. You see, throughout its 38-year sponsorship of the French Open, Peugeot made a series of luxurious special-edition models, badged ‘Roland Garros’ in honour of the stadium where the tennis tournament is held (which itself is named after the first pilot to fly solo across the Mediterranean Sea).
The 108 Roland Garros is just such a car, and Peugeot threw the options book at it, which means this dinky city car got, yes, a folding fabric roof, along with climate control, keyless entry and start, a reversing camera, a seven-inch colour touchscreen, and orange and white accents throughout.
All of which is enough to elevate this 108 above the hoi polloi of humdrum city cars. Yet they look far more costly than they actually are. At £5,440, the 2018 example I found with just 27,000 miles on the clock looks like good value, and that’s backed up by the fact the CarGurus IMV places it at £224 less than its actual worth.
With a bit of a haggle, you could have a real bargain on your hands. And, as with all the other cars here, one that could give you a slice of Gallic je ne sais quoi for far less than you might think.
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