Well, you're right about the total tire/rim diameter: it is very very close to that of the 185/50/16.
However, I don't think that 205 width tires can be placed on the 16" SE rims. These are 6J if I recall correctly, and 205 tires don't fit on anything narrower than 7J.
There is quite a bit of tolerance when placing narrower tires on wider rims, but
not the other way around (the tire will 'bulge' over the rim and the tire walls probably won't like that).
So upgrading to 205/45/16 tires will also mean upgrading your rims to a 7J or better matching width.
I've been looking around on the internet a bit but haven't found a good reference for you to prove this point. Stay tuned or wait for someone else to agree with me (or disagree, perhaps).
As for fouling: I don't think that's the issue. The 17" sport rims also have 205's on them. However, they might have a different ET-value (offset) too, to alleviate any problems. If I'm not mistaken, most info on the 16" SE and the 17" Sport wheels are on this forum somewhere...
Edit: here a thread on rim widths:
http://www.a2forum.net/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=2284&SearchTerms=7J
So 16" SE are 6J and the 17" Sport are 7J.
Now if I could only find a chart that maps rim witdth to allowable tire widths...
Cheers,
Edo
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(2003 Silver 1.4 Tdi Exclusive(SE), 95bhp/235Nm chiptuned by ABT, black interior, sport seats, heated mirrors, JVC KD-SH909RB cd-receiver, Infinity Kappa 63.1 + Vifa on-dash tweeters, 12" Subwoofer on 300w Amp)