between Peugeot and Renault, who did the best 200,000 km in France?

It’s a Franco-French feud, which Peugeot or Renault makes more reliable cars? It is never easy to answer this question which often leads to arguments at family meals and elsewhere. We have analyzed the results of the 2023 technical review to give you some answers.

Launched in France on January 1, 1992, the technical review is a barometer that shows the market. In 2023, 19.5 million vehicles were passed, 80% of which passed, the remaining 20% needed to undergo a second inspection. This mandatory inspection for any vehicle over 4 years old cannot be considered as irrefutable proof of the brand or model’s reliability.e, since the long life of the car depends a lot on the maintenance done by the successive owners as well as the use they made.

List of French models with more than 200,000 km

Entered into force on January 1, 1992, the technical inspection is a reliable measure of the state of health of the French car fleet.© Self-defense

However, technical controls give us direction, a general trend of more or less positive resistance over time. We considered 20 French models that traveled more than 200,000 km and were most represented in the technical inspection in 2023 and compiled their inspection level.. These last vehicles represent 1,250,000 vehicles, or more than 15% of the products sold, and each one has confirmed its initial inspection, two years ago, to be able to drive on public roads since then. Here is our ranking.

The ringing	Brand	An example	Number of cars	%	Percentage of visits (%)
The ringing1	BrandPeugeot	An example206/206+	Number of cars141 223	%0.76	Percentage of visits (%)39,71
The ringing2	BrandPeugeot	An example307	Number of cars138 477	%0.75	Percentage of visits (%)35,93
The ringing3	BrandRenault	An exampleClio 3	Number of cars121 294	%0.66	Percentage of visits (%)33,03
The ringing4	BrandPeugeot	An example207/207+	Number of cars118 448	%0.64	Percentage of visits (%)30,85
The ringing5	BrandRenault	An exampleClio 2	Number of cars112 322	%0.61	Percentage of visits (%)39,44
The ringing6	BrandPeugeot	An example308 1	Number of cars82 408	%0.45	Percentage of visits (%)29,21
The ringing7	BrandCitroën	An exampleC4 Picasso 1	Number of cars78 581	%0.42	Percentage of visits (%)31,30
The ringing8	BrandCitroën	An exampleXsara Picasso	Number of cars77 035	%0.42	Percentage of visits (%)36,94
The ringing9	BrandRenault	An exampleTheme 2	Number of cars72 641	%0.39	Percentage of visits (%)37,57
The ringing10	BrandCitroën	An exampleC3 1	Number of cars69 914	%0.38	Percentage of visits (%)34,60
The ringing11	BrandRenault	An exampleMegane 3	Number of cars64 666	%0.35	Percentage of visits (%)28,41
The ringing12	BrandRenault	An exampleTheme 3	Number of cars57 134	%0.31	Percentage of visits (%)25,26
The ringing13	BrandCitroën	An exampleC4 1	Number of cars50 907	%0.28	Percentage of visits (%)37,17
The ringing14	BrandRenault	An exampleMegane 2	Number of cars50 437	%0.27	Percentage of visits (%)39,49
The ringing15	BrandPeugeot	An example407	Number of cars48 156	%0.26	Percentage of visits (%)35,71
The ringing16	BrandCitroën	An exampleBerlin 1	Number of cars47 567	%0.26	Percentage of visits (%)32,80
The ringing17	BrandPeugeot	An example3008 1	Number of cars41 545	%0.22	Percentage of visits (%)27,56
The ringing18	BrandRenault	An exampleKangaroo 1	Number of cars39 334	%0.21	Percentage of visits (%)36,17
The ringing19	BrandPeugeot	An example406	Number of cars35 848	%0.19	Percentage of visits (%)33,74
The ringing20	BrandPeugeot	An example306	Number of cars34 638	%0.19	Percentage of visits (%)37,30

Peugeot front short head

The Peugeot 206 is the French model with more than 200,000 km represented in the technical inspection in 2023.© Automotive Magazine

In this top 20, Peugeot is mostly represented by a short title with 8 models, followed by 7 Renaults, Citroën brings back 5 cars. These are the Peugeot 206 and Peugeot 206+ (a stripped-down version of the 207 that it replaced) which were on the brand’s list from 1998 to 2009 for the first and from 2009 to 2013 for the second. which are represented by more than 140,000 vehicles submitted for technical inspection in France in 2023.

A logical result since the model has sold very well in France and even outside our borders with global production exceeding 12 million units. Contrary to all expectations, it is not the Renault Clio 2, its rival at the time, which follows the 206 in that position. First is its big sister Peugeot 307, then comes Renault Clio 3 which is ahead of its modern competitor Peugeot 207. Clio 2 comes in 5th place, slightly exceeding 110,000 cars submitted for inspection.

Despite some electronic problems, the third generation Renault Scénic has a satisfactory reliability record.© Renault

Not surprisingly, for cars with more than 200,000 km, the counter inspection rate turns out to be high, in any case above the average which stands at 18.97%. In our ranking the best performer remains the third generation Renault Scénic launched in 2009 and which remained on the diamond brand list until 2016, with 25.26%. The worst performers in the class are the Peugeot 206/206+, Renault Clio 2 and Renault Mégane 2 with 40% match scores.