Our Fleet Test Drive: Peugeot 208 – First Report

After nearly seven years with the lacklustre and bulky 207, Peugeot has downsized its supermini offering with the smaller, lighter, more cost-effective and sharper-looking 208, which has the daunting mission of tackling Ford’s Fiesta and the VW Polo head on in the business sector.

The French brand  claims the 208 has received its “most ambitious ever model overhaul”, and must hope this supermini segment contender’s transformation keeps it ahead of or on the pace with the aforementioned rivals as well as the new Renault Clio.

Peugeot has reversed the trend of ever-larger, so-called superminis – not only is the 208 shorter and lower than the bulbous 207, the new, more svelte bodyshell also benefits from weight savings of up to 175kg.

Despite being smaller, there is significantly more passenger and luggage space with decent rear leg room, while the highly touted, smaller steering wheel allows drivers of varying physiques a clear adjustable view of the elevated instruments [1].

Competitively pitched in a price-sensitive sector, our Virtual Blue (more like a Cadbury’s chocolate wrapper colour) 208 has a £15,790 P11D price ticket. That is inflated by £1725 in options including metallic paint (£495), full-length glass roof (£400), reversing parking sensors (£270) and electric rear windows plus folding mirrors (£160).

The extras bill also covers a neat multi-function colour infotainment touch screen [2] , incorporating satnav for a fairly frugal £400, but there is no CD orifice for devotees of discs rather than digitally sourced music at this spec level. Customer requests are prompting an optional single disc changer that can be fitted below the driver’s seat for less than £200, linked to the touchscreen system.

Its markedly upgraded cabin quality is ergonomically effective even if the classy ‘piano’ black top edging on the fascia glints distractingly in sunlight and reflects on the shallow windscreen.

Our five-door Allure specification model is powered by the 92hp 1.6-litre e-HDi unit with zero VED, a 98g/km CO2 rating and an official 74.3mpg consumption figure. Whether or not we can approach official laboratory-induced consumption figures remains to be seen, and the computer nominally claimed a healthy 58.7mpg average for the most recent 150 miles covered, although we are treating the fuel gauge with caution as it refuses to register above seven-eighths full despite determined tank-brimming. Curiously, it is not possible to detach the ignition key from the filler cap when refuelling [3].