This is not going to be the biggest selling car in the country, but for the 25 or so people who'll buy one next year, it will represent a very together sporty small car.

In Ireland it will be known as the 206 GTi 180; in most of the rest of the world it will be designated by the letters RC, presumably relating to 'Rally Car' and aimed at hitching a ride on the World Rally Championship winning by the 206 WRC over the past two years.

There has been a 206 GTi before, since 1999 and with a 136bhp engine. This one is further heated, to 180bhp. And if bhp is the name of the game, that's going to frighten the life out of the competition in Ireland - which is Yaris T-Sport, Punto Abarth, Ibiza Sport, MG ZR and Mini Cooper S - because only that last comes close, with 163 horses snorting to be released from under the bonnet.

But price will play a part too, and we don't have that for Ireland yet, as the car won't be available here until October. But think of a number between E20,770 (Yaris) and E27,100 (Mini), add a little, perhaps, for the extra punch, and start saving.

A brace of anorak figures are 7.4sec to the 100 km/h, and around 35mpg. It's a 2-litre engine, by the way.

They didn't do much with the style, on the grounds that if a car has been the best seller in Europe over the last couple of years, there can't be much wrong with it. There's a tidy spoiler at the end of the roof, and a brace of chromed tailpipes which are likely to be in big demand at the car accessory shops as those with humbler 206s try to upgrade their image.

But they'll also need to splash out on 17-inch alloys and low-profile tyres if they really want their mates to think they've got muscle. An there’s the matter of a front airdam, low-slung but not flashy, which could mean a little more expense.

Anyway, they'll not be able to do anything to get the engine note that sings out from around 3000rpm onwards. It is absolutely gorgeous, and the engine is effortless to spin up to the chorus, as some of us found on a recent run up around the Pyranees south of Biarritz.

Which, as aside, is an area I'd very much like to go back and spend a little time it. Really beautiful in the spring, and I noticed that Ryanair has a desk at the little airport which is just 15 minutes from the town centre.

The chosen route for our run was just right for the car, several good roads through really pictoresque villages, all absolutely spotless, and a few score of winding mountain kilometres, mostly on good surfaces, with the exception of a section after we drove into part of Spain.

The Peugeot people had told us in the briefing that some changes to the gearbox for this particular car had included 'lengthening' first gear so as to make it more user-friendly on the hairpins. In fact, with the kind of torque available it was possible to climb around such bends in THIRD gear without any drivetrain protest.

The car's handling is top-notch, with a balance rarely so well set, and the wide low profiles didn't upset the steering feel or progression in any way. That steering is real 'point-and-shoot' and the car simply goes where you think it to.

Though I must caveat that we were on French roads, with their typical good surfaces, the 206 GTi was commendably quiet in operation, only that engine song coming through when asked to, which wouldn't count as noise amongst those who will buy this one.

A colleague wasn't quite happy with the gearshift, but taking into account that I was right-handing it, it seemed decent enough to me. It DOES have a rather wide gate, I suppose.

I've never particularly been a 206 fan, mainly because my experience with the ordinary one left me uncomfortable with the driving position. But the interior fittings include special 'RC' seats that hug in all the right places without pinching, and somehow the difficulties I've felt with the standard car evaporate here.

A note too about the trim, which - including the door panels - is some kind of suede and very neat. All in all, and with the usual first run limitations, this GTi is a well-turned package indeed, and I don't see any problem with the brand shifting the limited number which is likely in Ireland.

by Brian Byrne