Drove the exciting and innovative all new Peugeot 208 hatch, that made it’s appearance on SA shores lately. It seems to have made quite the impression, and is being spoken in the same hushed tones, as the iconic VW Polo. This classy vehicle has already set the world alight with multiple awards and sales achievements since its international launch.

A few of these notable achievements are:

1. European Car of the Year 2020 (60 automotive experts across Europe)

2. Women`s Worlds Car of the Year – Best City Car 2021 (50 Female journalists, 38 countries, 5 continents)

3. Best selling car in Europe for first quarter in 2021

SHARP STYLING.

So, a lot of people commented on the looks of the 208, it really is attractive, the LED daytime running lights give the car a look, not too dissimilar to the 2008, which has the sabre tooth fangs. The rear LED lights also give the 208 a chic look. Basically for me, it is more attractive than the Polo.

Nice looking hatch all round, and not hard to see why everyone likes it so much. The gloss black mirror covers (GT trim), and gloss black wheel arches (GT trim)as well as the 15’’, 16’’ or 17’’ rims (trim level dependent) give it real presence.

Cabin.

The cabin is spacious enough in the front, but gets a little snug in the rear. The Peugeot I-Cockpit is very enjoyable, and although looking somewhat intimidating, is actually functional. It offers a 7 or 10 inch touch screen dependant on variant, and of course has Apple CarPlay & Android capability.

Safety is spoken to by the following aids: Lane Keeping assist, Driver Attention assist, Auto Switching Headlights, Hill Start Assist, Active Safety Brake. It has camera’s in the boot hatch showing a 180 degree visual, and Park Assist give an overhead view as well. The quality of materials inside is excellent.

Engine.

The latest incarnations of the 208 are powered by state-of-the-art PureTech 1.2 engines in both naturally aspirated and turbocharged formats. The engines are mated to a variety of manual or automatic gear boxes, guaranteeing you pure driving adrenaline.

• All 208 models are Euro 6 Emission Standard compliant.
• The 208 Active is fitted with a PureTech 3-cylinder engine available in a naturally aspirated 1.2l – 55 kW version.
• The PureTech 3-cylinder is also available in a turbocharged 1.2l – 74 kW version on the Allure Manual, and in 96 kW guise for the Allure Automatic and range-topping GT.
• The 74-kW engine is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission, whereas the 96 kW is combined with an EAT 6 automatic gearbox (Efficient Automatic Transmission 6-speed) which uses Quick Shift technology for faster changing.

We drove the manual variant, and personally, I would have preferred the auto, In Jhb, it makes driving way more pleasurable, especially now that traffic patterns have largely returned to normal.  

The model Line-Up is as follows:

Peugeot 208 Pricing:

Active – R289 900.00 incl. VAT

Allure MT – R349 900.00 incl. VAT

Allure AT – R379 900.00 incl. VAT

In summation, the 208 is a very good looking car, and is a worthy opponent of the range topping Polo.

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