Buyacar Buying Guide: Peugeot 208 GTI by Peugeot Sport

This feisty French hot hatch is Peugeot at its best, and a bargain used buy too

TODAY THE MAIN RIVALS TO THE FIESTA ST in the hot supermini arena are Hyundai’s i20 N and Toyota’s GR Yaris, but not so long ago it was a different manufacturer giving Ford a hard time. Old hand Peugeot had kept a couple of cards close to its chest when it released the 208 GTI in 2013, only revealing the car’s true potential when the 208 GTI 30th Anniversary arrived a year later.

Fettled by Peugeot Sport (the same team responsible for the firm’s Le Mans, Dakar and Pikes Peak efforts) it gained 8bhp and 18lb ft over the regular GTI for totals of 205bhp and 221lb ft from the 1.6-litre turbocharged four. At the same time it got snappier gear ratios, a limited-slip differential, firmer springs, a wider track, uprated brakes and sticky Michelin Super Sport rubber, among other tweaks.

A year or so later this spec became the default, now called the 208 GTI by Peugeot Sport, and while the name was long-winded, the car itself is a short, sharp hit of adrenaline. The driver sits in bewinged seats holding a tiny steering wheel that feels appropriate for the car’s rapid responses. The four-cylinder punches hard and the aggressive balance brings to mind Peugeot hot hatches of old, but thanks to modern stability control technology you can exploit that adjustable handling, or even just drive on a wet, unfamiliar road without worrying that a confidence lift will spin you into the undergrowth.

While those white-knuckle Peugeots of the past are getting less and less affordable, though, the Peugeot Sport 208 is looking like better value than ever, particularly when wrapped up in one of the deals on Buyacar. We found a 2016 model with 44,000 miles for only £232 a month, or £11,971 cash.

As well as being painless to buy, these Gtis shouldn’t be too much hassle to run either, provided you’re okay with the high-set dials and low-set steering wheel, which polarise opinion. The firm ride is still less punishing than that of a Fiesta ST, and when you’re not exploring the red line, the 1.6 doesn’t use a great deal of fuel – 40mpg is well within reach.

Given the 208 Gti’s successor will have some form of electrification, this could be the last ‘old-school’ Peugeot hot hatch we’ll ever see. All the more reason to snap one up while you still can.