Sweet car named desirable
WE’LL KICK off this week with a spoiler.this new Peugeot 208 isn’t as good to drive as a Ford Fiesta.a problem? Not really, because as you can see, the 208 is a fantastic-looking car. Peugeot’s designers deserve an Oscar for their recent work, or whatever the car industry’s equivalent gong is for design.
The company’s 3008 SUV has been a big success because of the way it looks and the 508 saloon the same. I’d have a 508 over a BMW any day.
The 208 is an all-new supermini that shares its platform with the soon-to-be launchedvauxhall Corsa.and like the Corsa, the 208 is available with the choice of petrol engines, a diesel or as a pure electric vehicle.the car was planned from the outset to also be electric which means no compromise is made.the battery pack in the electric e-208 is under the rear seats giving a boot exactly the same size as the one in the internal combustion-engined models.
We’ll wait until cars are in the UK until we give you the full lowdown on the electric model as we’ll want to see how it performs on our roads. But I’ll say this, having driven the diesel 208 and then got into the e-208, the absence of engine noise is a joy.also, the gearchange on the diesel car was pretty poor and, of course, in the electric version there isn’t a gearbox at all.
We’ll concentrate on the 1.2-litre three-cylinder, petrolengined model with eight-speed automatic transmission.
Our test car is a
Gt-line spec which comes out at £23,350.The
208 range starts at £16,250 for the Active spec version fitted with a 75bhp engine and five-speed manual gearbox.
O£23,350
Petrol – 1.2 130bhp
0 to 62mph in 8.7 seconds, 129mph top speed
UR BLUE test car looks fantastic from any angle.at the front there’s a chrome grille and the numbers 2 0 8 on the panel just ahead of the bonnet.the design of the C pillar (the rearmost pillar on the car) pays tribute to the Peugeot 205 and the design of the car’s rear makes it look wider and squatter than it actually is.
The new 208 is just as impressive inside. The quality is in a league above the current 208.There are some hard plastics but they’re out of the way. Our car features contrasting coloured stitching that lifts the whole atmosphere inside the car.
Peugeot’s party piece on its new small car is a three-dimensional version of its i-cockpit digital instrument panel.this is the sort of thing that I tend to dismiss as a gimmick but it works really well and is easier to read than the standard i-cockpit display.the cheapest Active trim makes do with a conventional instrument panel but Allure models up get the 3D effect unit. A seven-inch infotainment screen is standard on the 208 but you can upgrade to a 10in unit for £660 (it’s standard on the e-208).the screen on the current 208 isn’t easy to use and neither is this one.
A new feature is that you can call up the home screen by prodding the display with three fingers. I prefer the elegant piano keys that can be used to safely select features.
The boot holds 311 litres which is about average for the class.
It’s tight in the back for large adults but then the 208 is a supermini and most of them do have fairly restricted rear legroom.
Your kids won’t mind because they’ll be more than impressed by the two USB sockets in the back.
The 130bhp petrol engine is an excellent engine that works well with the automatic gearbox.there’s plenty of performance and it’s a quiet unit – unlike the 1.5-litre diesel engine.there is nothing wrong with how the new Peugeot 208 handles and steers, it’s just not as responsive or as fun to drive as the Fiesta.against another French newcomer, the Renault Clio (which is just about to enter UK showrooms) the 208 stacks up well, although it is more expensive.the 208 should be available with competitive leasing costs.
The Peugeot 208 would have to drive pretty badly to put me off buying it because the car’s design both inside and out and the quality of the former, makes it the most desirable car in its class, even it isn’t quite the best.
Driving the electric version when it arrives in the UK is going to be interesting.
52.2mpg 103g/km Renault Clio, Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa 9/10