This is the new Peugeot 208 that is arriving this year, 2020. The goal has been to stand out, make heads turn and get people talking. Peugeot calls it futuristic and young, which it really does stand up to.
The new 208 looks great
It’s difficult to stand out of the small car range and that is why many brands are making bold choices in terms of design. Peugeot has done just that with the 208, making it a stunning car.
There are harder angles throughout the design and it has a bigger grill. The headlights really stand out with daytime running LEDs that are designed to look like lion claws inside the headlight and lion fangs underneath them. The claws unfortunately only come with the top of the range model.
The design of the rear end of the car has a really nice gloss black finish that goes from one light to the other. Those taillights also have the lion claw effect in them and that is standard in all models.
The interior feels like the future
The use of design and materials makes sitting inside this Peugeot a dream. There are some cheaper plastics here and there, but that’s what we expect from this type of car. Regular buttons for functions in the car have been replaced with ‘piano key’ like switches. Just behind those switches are touch-sensitive shortcuts for the infotainment system.
That infotainment system comes in all models of the Peugeot 208, the only thing that changes is the size. It comes with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The system itself functions very well without a mobile device, with a decent user interface and quality GPS. However, if it were me, I would still just use my phone’s system.
There are some cons to the interior and they start with the driving position. It only works for some people because the small steering wheel gets in the way of the driver display. So, if you want this car, you will have to find one to see if you “fit” the driver’s seat. We have right-side driving cars and Peugeot for some reason cannot fit a full glove box into them. Go somewhere where they drive on the wrong side of the road and the glove box is fine. The back seats have barely enough space for passengers and forget about trying to get three people there comfortably.
Back to the good things. The driver display we mentioned earlier is fantastic. It has something called 3D i-Cockpit which makes the display, as you can guess, look 3D. You can also change the design to suit your personal taste. This feature, unfortunately, doesn’t come at the entry-level model range.
Will it perform on the road?
There are several options when it comes to the engine of this car. With petrol, there are 3 options. They are all 1.2 litre with 3 cylinders but, you get to pick how powerful it is. The smaller engine has 75hp and 118Nm, the next with 100hp and 205Nm and lastly, the highest performance has 130hp and 230Nm. There is also a 1.5 litre 4 cylinder diesel engine that gives 100hp and 250Nm too.
What is disappointing is that a fully electric version of the car does exist, but it hasn’t launched in South Africa. It’s called the e-208 and for interest sakes, it has 138hp and 260-300Nm.
The driving experience is nice. It’s not the best in its class and doesn’t have the most comfortable drive at lower speeds, but that isn’t as much of a problem on nicer roads.
The models
Active
This is the entry-level model for the Peugeot 208 and it starts at R249,900. It gets most of what we covered already like the infotainment screen. It also gets air conditioning.
Allure
This is the model that starts with the digital driver’s display. It coasts R269,900 and also gets 4 USB ports and a wireless charging pad to keep your devices up and running.
GT Line
At around R299,900, this is the model that gets the lion claw headlights. It also comes with a reversing camera and front and rear parking sensors. There is some very good looking style added to this car too, like gloss black trims, 17-inch alloy wheels, and ambient lighting. You can also get this model as an automatic for R314,900.
GT
This model does not have pricing for South Africa. What it does have is a 10-inch touch screen, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, and lane-keeping assist. With all of these features on an automatic, you could pay more and get a semi-autonomous driving aid that makes driving even more relaxing.
This car really excites me about Peugeot this year. If a small car is what you are looking for, then definitely give this car a try to see if you “fit” in it. For that feeling of driving a future car, you really get a lot out of the price it’s at.