Peugeot 208
MODEL TESTED: Peugeot 208 1.2 PureTech 100 Allure PRICE: £18,850 ENGINE: 1.2-litre 3cyl turbo, 100bhp We find out if stylish hatch has what it takes to dethrone French rival as our top supermini
PEUGEOT is pinning its hopes on its all-new 208 supermini stealing sales off rivals in one of the tightest sectors of the new car market, so it has its work cut out. One of those is the new Renault Clio, so we’re testing Peugeot’s 208 in 1. 2 PureTech Allure trim (£18,850) to see whether it can succeed.
Design & engineering
IT ’S the Peugeot’s styling that really catches your eye first. While there’s plenty of clever new tech underpinning this supermini, it’s the angular lines, solid surfaces and tusk-like LED running lights that set the 208’s style.
It looks every inch the modern supermini, while there’s technology to back it up underneath. That’s because the 208 is based on Peugeot’s CMP platform, something it shares with the new Vauxhall Corsa following Peugeot/Citroen’s buyout of Opel/Vauxhall. There are similar strengths and similar weaknesses, as we’ll see, while it also shares engine tech.
The 1. 2-litre three-cylinder turbo PureTech
100 unit has a little more capacity compared with the Clio’s, so it’s no surprise it makes more torque, at 205Nm compared with the 160Nm Renault.
There’s 100bhp on tap, too, while the 1,090kg Peugeot is 88kg lighter than the Renault, so it should have the measure of the Clio for performance.
But superminis are about so much more than straight-line ability. They have to offer practicality, low running costs and decent equipment, too. We’ll come to the two former points shortly, but where kit is concerned the Peugeot gives best to the Renault. Not only is it £2,355 more expensive, but it also lacks satnav (£650) and LED lights (£800). The Clio gets these.
At least Allure trim gets climate and cruise control as standard, plus autonomous braking, lane-keep assist, wireless charging, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, giving you nav through your connected device.
The Peugeot’s interior design is modern, but the materials aren’t quite as nice as those in the Clio, even if the design feels a bit fresher. The i-cockpit set-up is still rather problematic, too.
Driving
THE extra torque from the 208’s engine is very noticeable on the Against the watch it showed in our in-gear acceleration tests, where the Peugeot took 11.5 seconds to go from 50 to 70mph in top gear; the Clio needed 15.7 seconds. While the 208 has an extra ratio to further improve the motor’s flexibility, there’s no denying it’s the punchier, feistier unit. The Renault’s performance is adequate, the 208’s more impressive.
The 0-60mph sprint proves this, at 9.8 seconds compared with 11. 2 seconds, while the engine is almost as refined. You hear a little more percussion from under the bonnet than in the Clio, but not much, and it’s a small price to pay for the extra performance.
Yet performance is likely to matter less to most buyers, as long as it meets a minimum standard. Comfort could well be more important.
Both cars are evenly matched when it comes to the ride. The Peugeot’s body control is just a little better and it feels slightly firmer, but the damping absorbs bumps well and it remains settled most of the time, delivering enough comfort on the motorway (but just shy of the Renault) as well as a little more handling agility on twistier roads.
Neither model’s gearbox is brilliant, but the 208’s shift action feels better than the transmission in other Peugeots we’ve tested, which is a positive.
Both cars are close from behind the wheel, then.
The 208 shades it for performance and handling, while the Clio is just a little comfier.
Practicality
THE CMP architecture clearly isn’t as well packaged as the Clio’s new because the 208 feels more cramped in the rear; there’s not as much legroom while access isn’t as easy as in the Renault.
But it also loses out on boot space, because there’s only 311 litres of luggage room in the Peugeot, compared with 391 litres in the Renault. This is a big gulf and a potential issue for those journeys where you might be carrying four people and their suitcases.
Parking sensors are included, which is handy because rearward visibility isn’t the greatest, yet this is also a problem the Clio suffers with. But you can’t add a reversing camera on Allure trim, which you can for £400 on the Clio Iconic.
Ownership
SOMEWHAT surprisingly for a modern, all-new supermini, the Peugeot only scored four stars out of five in its Euro NCAP crash test. However, it does get autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection and lane-keep assist, but there’s no extra safety tech available on the options list. You’ll have to upgrade to GT Line spec to get the full suite of safety tech.
Ownership prospects are still respectable, though, because Peugeot finished 12th in our most recent Driver Power owner satisfaction survey last year. This was seven places ahead of Renault.
Running costs
THE 208’s price works against it when it comes to company car tax. Although it emits marginally less CO2 than the Clio, at 97g/km, both models sit in the same 23 per cent Benefit-in-Kind tax bracket. It means lower-rate earners will pay £109 more per year to run the 208, at £859 in company car tax.
If you’re a private buyer it’ll also hold on to less cash. Our experts predict the Peugeot will retain 38.7 per cent of its list price compared with 44 per cent for the Clio, which works out to depreciation of £11,549 and just £9, 232 respectively. The Peugeot will therefore be worth £7,301 and the Renault £7,263.