Road test review: Peugeot 208 GT

Tuesday, 10 March 2020

**PEUGEOT 208 GT

Base price:** $TBA

Powertrain and economy: 1.2-litre turbo-petrol three-cylinder (petrol GT) or permeant synchronous electric motor with 50kWh battery (electric GT), 96kW/230Nm, 8-speed automatic (petrol GT) or 100kW/260Nm (electric GT), FWD, combined economy 5.6L/100km, CO2 127g/km (source: Peugeot).

Vital statistics: 4055mm long, 1765mm wide, 1430mm high, 2540mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 311 litres, 17-inch alloy wheels.

The Peugeot 208 was crowned European Car of the Year in 2020, and it has quite a lineage too.

We like: Fantastically fun car to throw around, eager and willing powertrains - petrol and electric, impressively high quality interior.

We don't like: No hot GTI version, we have to wait so long for it…

The Peugeot 208 has just scored the European Car of the Year award, but it isn't due to land in New Zealand until next year. Luckily we were over in France for the launch of the 2008 late last year and got to also spend a couple of days in a pair of fresh 208s around Paris - one petrol and one electric.

Wait, why do we have to wait so long?

Demand, basically. Peugeot are selling pretty much every 208 they can make at the moment, so little RHD markets like us just have to wait until they can free up some space for us.

The only noticeable differences between the petrol (left) and the EV (right), is badging and the EV's coloured grille.

**READ MORE:

* First drive review: Peugeot 2008

* Troubled European car market gets a boost from EVs

The 208 will only come to New Zealand in top GT spec and will be packed with standard equipment.

And after spending a couple of days buzzing around in the two different 208s, I have to say I really can see why the demand is there - it is a fantastic little thing.

While the petrol GT will arrive sooner, there will be a longer wait for the EV, although 'later next year' is all we know.

The two we spent out time in were top spec GT models, one powered by the Peugeot's brilliant 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, while the other was the pure electric version that packs a 100kW/260Nm electric motor and a 50kWh battery pack, and both were an absolute blast to scurry around the streets of Paris in.

Does the EV look weird so people will know it is electric?

The electric 208 weighs more, but offers identical interior and cargo space to the petrol.

Nope, not at all. The 208 follows the same approach Peugeot has taken with its 2008 SUV cousin, with the company offering multiple trim levels with a choice of petrol, diesel or electric propulsion across them, rather than a separate dedicated EV model.

While we won't see the diesel powertrain here, both the most powerful 96kW petrol engine and the 100kW electric will land here, with only minimal visual differences between them - the EV gets some body-coloured grille highlights and some modest badging.

Interior quality and design matches the fantastic levels in the larger 508.

Peugeot's clever battery packaging means that there is no difference in cargo space of interior room between the petrol and electric models, and while the EV is obviously heavier, the driving experience is remarkably similar as well.

So does that mean the electric one doesn't have insane punch off the line? Or is the petrol one truly mental?

It's the former - the EV does have a noticeable edge over the petrol off the line, but it isn't ridiculously fast, rather - either by design or co-incidence - it delivers its performance much like the petrol model once the initial electric 'instant-torque' punch has occurred. This is likely by design, as Peugeot is trying to keep the electric 208 as 'normal' as possible.

And it really is quite remarkable how similar both are in terms of performance and dynamics - among the frantic, impatient and unforgiving traffic in Paris, both are utterly fantastic at sliding into the smallest gap when it presents itself.

The 208 is perfectly suited to zipping around the streets of Paris. We think it will translate well here too.

The EV has a slight edge here because it always has that instant electric torque, but the petrol doesn't lose out by much, as the engine is willingly strong right across its rev range and the 8-speed transmission has the almost uncanny ability to be in the right gear at the right time. This is particularly uncanny for a French car too…

Out on the highways and open roads heading away from Paris both 208s are equally at home as well, with the petrol taking that slight edge back from the EV, thanks to its lower weight and wonderfully eager engine, while the electric version's regenerative brakes are also a bit of a let down, lacking the feel and positivity of the petrol car's stoppers.

Both are an absolute blast to flick around a winding back road, genuinely bringing back memories of a 1996 205 GTI I owned many years ago with their sharp, accurate handling and superbly eager and responsive chassis.

So which one would you buy then?

It actually really doesn't matter, as both are quite brilliant - it literally comes down to which one would fit your life better.

The EV has a range of up to 340km (under the new WLTP test cycle, or 450km under the older, less reliable NEDC test cycle), which is perfectly fine for most of people, but if it makes you nervous or you can't get your head around the whole charging thing, then you are literally not missing out by going with the petrol.

Both have the same utterly fantastic interior that features a lot of the same design and tech as the 508 we have raved about here previously, and if Peugeot's local distributor can pull the same trick it managed with the pricing of that 508 with the 208, then it is on to an absolute winner.

And it is pricing that will probably be the biggest deciding factor between petrol and electric too - the EV will be more expensive than the petrol, but quite what that gap will be is yet to be determined.

Any other cars I should consider?

In terms of the petrol model, Peugeot is aiming the 208 directly at the Audi A1, and will go largely head to head with the top spec 35 TFSI S-Line which sells here for $48,900. Peugeot's New Zealand distributor is aiming to get the 208 GT petrol here somewhere in the 'high $30s', which should worry Audi, to be honest.

The A1's platform-mate - the Volkswagen Polo - heads down the performance route, with the ferociously fun GTI being its entrant in the high $30k arena, while the dynamically similar Ford Focus ST also drops in at $35,490. Both are awesome, but neither can touch the 208's level of quality.

Heading further down the price scale, cars like the Mazda2, forthcoming new Toyota Yaris and, the leader in private car sales numbers in New Zealand - the Suzuki Swift - all compete in terms of size and segment, but, again, none offer the 208's level of quality and equipment.

As for the EV? Only really the Renault Zoe is a direct competitor in terms of size, albeit likely a more expensive one, depending on how much the Peugeot lands here for…