Driven: Peugeot 208
Prices expected to start from around £16,000 Premium interior borrowed from the 508 exec
THE Peugeot 208 doesn’t need much introduction. It’s the bread and butter of the small car world, along with key rivals such as the new Vauxhall Corsa (with which it shares its platform) and the Ford Fiesta.
Peugeot is pitching its car as ‘the classy one’ in this crowded market. The chunky but chic styling backs that up, as does a rather executive-looking interior that borrows much of its styling from the larger 508.
The 208 is also going to bring electric motoring into the mainstream like never before, since it is offered in pure-electric guise with a 211-mile driving range – more of which you can read about over the page.
Here, we’re driving a prototype version of the 1.2 turbo petrol, the mid-level (99bhp) option in a line-up of three petrol engines that also includes a lower-power 74bhp version and a more powerful, 128bhp model that comes with an eight-speed auto as standard. A 99bhp diesel is also on offer.
Our prototype’s engine needs to be revved to get the best out of it, but it thrums away cheerfully, and is both quiet and pokey enough to do a great job around town and on the motorway. The clutch action is vague in our car, and the gearknob is unnecessarily large, but it’s not difficult to drive smoothly and with vigour.
Select Eco mode via the toggle switch under your elbow and the steering becomes overly light, but Normal weights things up and delivers more reassuring bite as you swing into a corner. At that point you’ll find the 208’s neutral style is fit for purpose, but it’s a lot more flat-footed than the entertaining Fiesta or the SEAT Ibiza. Don’t be misled by Peugeot’s marketing, then, which will shout about driving excitement and ‘unboring’ the future.
The 208 is a car that majors on comfort and refinement, with a classy finish. It soaks up bumps easily, delivering a loose, spongy ride comfort that’s sure to make light work of scruffy town roads, where the 208 will feel right at home. The compromise is some body lean, even at low speeds.
The main thing that characterises our 208 (which may yet be a fraction off the final production set-up) is just how grown-up it is. It doesn’t feel like a small, affordable car so much as a truncated executive car.
That’s in part because of the unruffled way it goes down the road, but it’s mostly thanks to the interior. Some drivers will have to play around with the seat to find a position that allows them to see the dials over the top of the small steering wheel, but the dense materials and finishes in our Allure test car make it feel really classy.
There’s even a driver readout with a ‘3D’ look, thanks to selected information being beamed onto a reflective screen. It looks a bit weird initially, but within a few minutes your eyes get used to the fact that the speed readout is jumping out of the dials.
Overall, the minimalist design and tactile materials make the 208 feel great inside. You can expect it to be one of the better-equipped cars in this class, even in its cheapest guise, which is expected to cost from around £16,000.
It’s a practical thing, too, available as a five-door only. Yes, the rear door apertures are a little narrow, but once you’ve slid onto the rear seats, there’s room for two adults to get comfortable. A 311-litre boot makes for plenty of space to throw in a chunky buggy or a labrador, although it’s a shame that there’s no variable boot floor for underfloor storage or a flush load lip.
Still, you can add a space-saver wheel without harming boot space, and safety kit includes traffic-sign recognition and autonomous emergency braking.
“Our prototype car’s engine needs to be revved to get the best out of it, but it thrums away cheerfully”