208 – the 100mpg fuel sipper
FUEL ECONOMY is improving all the time – especially with the increasing availability of hybrid cars.
Surprisingly though, even before the latest emissions scandal, no manufacturer has built a diesel-electric hybrid apart from Peugeot’s 508RXH and that has gone out of production.
Of course, at the lower end of the company’s range, it has a supermini that is already topping 100mpg in the government’s consumption figures on the extra urban cycle.
And to my knowledge, apart from the hybrids, it’s the only conventional model that can manage such an excellent figure – however unattainable it might be.
The car in question is none other than the humble 208. In 1.6 Blue HDi form, even the government average is 83mpg.
Now over many miles of fairly hard work – and I wasn’t trying for economy at all – the best I got was 45.5mpg.
But out on the road in real day-to-day driving – and being a bit more careful – those figures would equate to a normal average of 60-plus mpg, which has to be superb.
However, all this fuel sipping doesn’t mean this 208 is slow or lacking in fun out on the road – oh no.
Acceleration from rest and in the gears is good, with a smooth and responsive power delivery that also produces the goods when accelerating in the gears.
It cruises happily at motorway speeds and there is enough power for lane changing and gentle acceleration in fifth gear of five.
But at lower speeds, the long gearing to give best economy is counter productive in a way, since it won’t go down to 30mph in fourth gear, never mind fifth.
The whole car’s feel out on the road is excellent, with brilliant taut and flat cornering, strong grip, and good feel from the steering.
The Peugeot 208 1.6 BlueHDi I drove costs £18,975.