Peugeot 305: History

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Peugeot 305 History

1977 - A New Peugeot

For some time in the mid-to-late seventies, the motoring press had been speculating about the arrival of a new Peugeot - one that would bring the company's ageing fleet up-to-date - and signal the arrival of a whole new range of Peugeot's; which would hopefully have greater international appeal. Many people thought that a new car would be launched to fill the gap between the dated 304 and 504 models, left following the removal of the 404 from production.
It seemed logical, then, that this new car would be named the 405. Peugeot, however, had other ideas. The car was to be based on 304 running gear, but in terms of size and price, it was to be the natural successor to the 404 - especially considering that the top-of-the-range model was to be more expensive than the cheapest 504 and, it had been planned that the 304 would remain in production for some time after the launch of the new car. For the sake of confusion, Peugeot decided to call this new model the 305. They launched it to the press in November 1977. Immediately the confused journalists wondered why it was a called a 305, but nevertheless, the car was widely accepted as a good thing.

Styled by Pininfarina, the body was a completely new, all-steel monocoque affair which bore more than a passing resemblance to the 3-series BMW's of the time. The design was based upon Peugeot's 'VSS' prototype safety vehicle, which had begun life as a study into improving car safety. Thus, the car had bolt-on front wings, deformable end structures (or 'Crumple Zones'), reinforced doors and a protected fuel tank.
Despite the modern design and new safety features, the 305 was still rather traditional in other senses. It had the standard 'three-box' shape, with a separate boot instead of a hatchback; which was becoming more popular with other car manufacturers. This made the 305 an interesting blend of old and new.

Press reviews were good. Most people liked the modern design, the spacious interior, the handling and, as one magazine article put it, the lack of 'Gallic eccentricities'.

Inside, the design was commended for it's clear no-nonsense instrument panel and sensible layout. The 305 also had a good drag coefficient and sound deadening which reduced interior road and wind noise to a very high standard.
Certainly the 305 was very spacious - no one was quite sure exactly how Peugeot had managed it, but by utilising some sort of mysterious new way of measuring things, they had made a car that was both narrower and shorter than the Ford Cortina or Chrysler Alpine of the time (both in a similar price range), but which was still roomier inside. The seats were also very comfortable - offering a good driving position and back support, coupled with the superb ride Peugeot was already famous for.

The comfortable ride was mainly due to the 305's MacPherson struts with long suspension travel. The rear suspension was very similar to that of the 304, with trailing arms that kept the wheels vertical over the bumps but allowed them to lean with the car through the corners. Both front and rear incorporated anti-roll bars that reduced roll. The chassis and suspension setup provided for well-mannered road handling abilities, only understeering lightly on it's skinny 145 tyres when pushed to it's ample limits.

The engine was well-bred too. Based on the 304's engine, with only a few minor detail changes, it was well-developed with a good history. However, this did not make it particularly conventional. The 305's XR-coded petrol engine was a forward-sloping transverse unit, with the gearbox sharing engine oil. It had a chain-driven camshaft and still had a rather outdated and unusual belt-drive system for the ancillaries. The radiator fan was belt driven, using a electro-magnetic clutch to engage itself at higher temperatures. It was mounted at the front, whereas the alternator was mounted on the side of the engine. To overcome the problem of driving all the ancillaries, the fan belt was driven around two runners which allowed it's operation to turn through 90 degrees - thus the large belt ran around the corner of the engine, operating the fan directly. Although incredibly interesting, this system was criticised for it's complexity and power-sapping abilities. Most modern cars of the time had switched to using electric fans, so it seemed strange that Peugeot had not adopted this design move.
In the 305, the engine was available in both 1290cc (for the base model GL and higher spec GR) and 1472cc (for the top-of-the-range SR model) versions. It was a capable engine, generating 65 and 74 bhp respectively - the lesser of the two perhaps being slightly too stressed under load.
The gearbox was fantastic - positive, easy to use and robust. It finally proved that it was possible to build a good gearbox into a front-wheel-drive car after all. The only niggle was the lack of a fifth gear; at motorway speeds, the four gears were just about enough and allowed the 305 to have a lot of power at the top end in fourth, but it sounded a little too frenzied for some people, even though Peugeot claimed the car would reach 95mph if pushed to the limit.

In the 305, Peugeot had a car that they would hopefully be able to sell to the world. It's modern, no-nonsense design inside and out had won it many good reviews - hopefully the 305 signalled greater things for the future.

More history to come soon...

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