By Classic Yorkshire contributor Tony Lofthouse
A recent holiday to southern Portugal reacquainted me with a rare Gallic ‘workhorse’ from the 70s – the Peugeot 504 estate.
Whilst the 504 estate might have lacked the innovative suspension system of an equivalent Citroen DS fastback, this Peugeot five-door was a big-hearted car that was roomy, functional and tough!
Its 504 saloon ‘brother’, with its Pininfarina lines, won the 1969 European Car of the Year award and its coupe and cabriolet versions were equally classy acts.
But, in 1970 the launch of the brake version with its higher rear roof line, lengthened wheelbase and huge boot space at 63.9cu ft would attract worldwide sales.
The estate came with petrol and diesel options and the example I came across (pictured) was a 2.1 GRD diesel with over 100,000km on the clock.
In the UK they certainly had an appeal amongst buyers looking for a reliable European alternative to a Volvo 145/245 estate or Vauxhall Victor FE.
The 504’s size and durability also made it a popular commercial carrier. Places like Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa produced thousands of the cars into the mid 1980s.
A Familiale model – known as the Super 7 in South Africa – offered seven-seater accommodation in three rows.
The 504 estate and saloon versions barely changed in over 14 years production and its replacement, the 505, came along in 1980.
It might not have been flash and was prone to rust but for me the 504 is bit of an underestimated classic, even if it was rough round the edges.
Footnote – eagle-eyed readers might have spotted two iconic Renaults in the background of the 504 pictured. Between them the R4 and R5 clocked up over 17 million in sales.