The new Peugeot 208 is here

On first glance the new Peugeot 208 isn’t that much to look at, another small engine city car, but once you take a closer look you start seeing what all the hype is about. Peugeot themselves admit to having a bad reputation when it comes to aftersales service which negatively affects their next sales but with this new updated addition to their existing range, we’re sure to see numbers pickup.

Exterior

The first and most striking thing about the new 208 is the vibey new range of colours and textures that have been made available. Exciting new colours like Ice Grey and Ice White, which reflect changing light conditions, have a matt or satin appearance and a unique touch and feel, have been introduced as well as a new Orange Power metallic that is sure to get the youth excited. A few new styling cues also greet the driver in the form of new wrap around taillights that emulate the lions claws. Two tone black and chrome headlights and LED daytime running lights as well as cornering assist fog lights mounted near the gloss black grille give the car a low sporty appearance.  The rear windows also see a tint to add to the sporty appearance while a set of 17-inch Caseium alloys replace the 16’s that were on the previous model.

Interior

The GT Line comes out with a half leather and cloth interior. The small steering wheel with aluminium inserts and red stitching immediately grabs your attention. Next to grab your attention is the 7-inch touch screen that runs the i-cockpit system, there is a refined finish on dash, with chrome styling cues on various ports and dials.  The red line detail is carried throughout with the stitching and cloth material. The leather cover on handbrake lever is also a nice touch. The 208 GT Line is packed with other features such as  aircon, airbags, traction control, stability control, emergency brake assist, brake force distribution and ABS.

Engine

The engine in the GT Line that we tested has won the International Engine of the year Award for 2015 for having incredibly low emissions of only 103g/kg.
The new 208 has a punchy little 1.2 turbocharged 3-cylinder Puretech engine that makes 81kW and 205Nm but it felt a bit sluggish when coupled to the new ESAT 6-speed auto gearbox.. The auto gearbox changes were smooth and effortless but the option to switch over to “manual“ was very tempting. The Stop & Start system enabled to 208 to be very efficient returning just 4.5l per 100km.

The Drive

A 30km route consisting of open freeway, city and suburb was the proving ground for the 208 GT Line. The car had a smooth, linear acceleration up to cruising speed on the freeway and settled comfortably. Handled superbly in traffic but the suspension seemed a bit hard for the speedbumps and rough surfaces of suburbia.

Overall

The new Peugeot 208 ticks all the boxes if you’re after a small city car with a frugal engine and a sporty look and feel, it’s not the cheapest but it will definitely give the competition a run for their money with excellent aftersales service and spares backup and a fresh new look.

The newly updated four-model Peugeot 208 range is priced as follows:

208 Active 1.2 PureTech	R209 900
208 GT Line 1.2 PureTech Turbo	R269 900
208 GT Line 1.2 PureTech Turbo Auto	R289 900

Pricing includes a three-year/100 000 km warranty. Active and GT Line models also benefit from a five-year/60 000 km Premium Plan (Full Maintenance Plan).