My only bad experiences with French cars always involved the electrics. I understand that the manufacturers have been working hard to sort out these issues. My last French car was a Citroen DS3 and I had no problems at all with it. The only reason I sold it was due to the warranty running out. Having another French car wouldn’t bother me at all.
I had a DS3 on the scheme when they first came out. Loved that car to bits & never had a single fault in the 3-years I had it. Terrific looking car & typically French. If there’s one car the French do know how to design & build – it’s small hatchbacks.
I’m leaning towards the 208 GT Line Peugeot in that ‘Faro Yellow’ paintwork because… well, it’s simply gorgeous in my eyes! Every road review says it’s a little cracker too… and it recently won the ‘European Car of the Year’ to boot which is voted for by motoring journalists, so it can’t be that naff.
Incidentally, I’ve never had a Peugeot in all the years I’ve been driving. But if you read all of the recent owner reviews for the past several years, they do well on reliability & ownership satisfaction… better infact than many BMW and Audi models.