2013 PEUGEOT 208

PEUGEOT 208 GTI 200 THP - SAFE STAGE 2 REMAP - APPROX 240BHP - £3,450 ONO

Small. Grey. French. Slightly deranged.

And much faster than it has any right to be.

Here we have a Peugeot 208 GTI.

Je suis desole, La Guerre et la Paix.

It's French.

This means several things.

It likes corners, cheese, wine and occasionally doing things differently simply because the Germans said they should be done another way.

It also goes forwards extremely quickly and backwards like a French surrender.

But before we get to the silly bits, there is something rather important about this particular car.

SOMEONE ACTUALLY LOOKED AFTER IT.

The previous owner appears to have approached maintenance with the enthusiasm normally reserved for a man cataloguing his collection of vintage Bordeaux.

There is a proper collection of invoices, year after year, documenting its maintenance.

Not one receipt from Kwik Fit in 2019 followed by five years of crossed fingers and prayer.

Actual, meticulous maintenance.

It has an extensive service history with a collection of invoices to back it up.

And that matters because this isn't some neglected GTI that's been mapped to within an inch of its life by Kevin from Facebook while parked outside a vape shop.

It's been looked after.

THEN SOMEONE MADE IT FASTER.

Because obviously 200-ish horsepower in something the size of a baguette wasn't enough.

So it now has:

Stage 2 remap

AIRTEC uprated intercooler

GFB throttle valve

Uprated boost hoses

Scorpion sports cat

Stainless steel exhaust

308 GTI 270-spec plugs

Fresh Bosch coil packs

And the result?

Mon Dieu.

It flies.

Properly flies.

Put your foot down and the little 1.6 turbo clears its throat, fills its lungs and disappears towards the horizon like Gerard Depardieu has just been told there's a free bar in Saint-Tropez.

The noise when it comes onto full boost is absolutely brilliant.

It's brilllll-leeee-ant. Welsh version.

For a 1.6-litre turbocharged Calais booze-cruise shopping trolley?

Magnifique.

THE GEARBOX

Six speeds.

No crunching.

No knocking.

No horrible noises suggesting that third gear is currently being converted into iron filings.

The change is smoother than garlic butter melting into a warm baguette, helped by the Pug1Off quick shift.

No clutch slip and, importantly, at 97,581 miles it had a new clutch, flywheel and slave cylinder together with fresh gearbox oil.

CORNERS

This is where the little Peugeot starts showing off.

It handles considerably better than soft cheese.

Point it at a corner and it simply goes there.

Like a go-kart.

No committee meeting settled by a guillotine.

No written application.

No waiting for permission from Brussels.

Turn wheel.

Car turns.

And if you're properly committed, it'll lift a rear wheel mid-corner like an excitable French terrier that's just spotted a particularly interesting lamp post.

But here's the clever bit.

Depending on which way the corner goes, it'll happily load itself onto either side, settle onto the outside tyres, turn in and just keep handling.

You can actually feel the chassis moving around underneath you, working from axle to axle rather than simply ploughing straight on like an overloaded supermarket trolley.

It's playful and loves being pushed.

And it's ridiculously good fun.

Which finally explains something I've wondered about for years.

Why did the French line all their best roads with trees?

Apparently it wasn't just to ensure invading German armies could march through France in the shade.

They were also creating the perfect scenery in which to enjoy a 208 GTI on full chat.

Suddenly it all makes sense.

A deserted French D-road.

Plane trees disappearing into the distance.

A little Peugeot on boost.

And a driver discovering that the next bend is considerably tighter than the last one.

It sorts it out.

Vive la France.

STOPPING

Fortunately, Peugeot remembered that after making something go quickly it is occasionally useful to make it stop.

It has had recent discs and pads all round.

No issues there either.

And the brakes are superb.

It goes.

It turns.

And when required, it stops as fast as a French general can wave a white flag.

Which, historically speaking, is quite rapidly.

THE IMPORTANT MECHANICAL STUFF

This is where this particular car makes considerably more sense than the mileage might initially suggest.

The THP engine has already had a substantial amount of the expensive work these engines can require.

At 80,604 miles it had major timing and VVT work including:

VVT camshaft

VVT motor

Timing chain

Timing chain guides

Crankshaft seal

Rocker cover gasket

Oil and filter

It has subsequently had the valve stem seals replaced, along with further work to the VVT system, camshaft sensors, a new dealer-ordered high-pressure fuel pump, water pump, thermostat system, oil filter housing and oil cooler.

The inlet valves have also been walnut blasted and decarbonised.

At 97,581 miles it had:

New clutch

New flywheel

New slave cylinder

Fresh gearbox oil

And most recently, at 109,593 miles, it received a comprehensive service including:

OE-spec TotalEnergies Quartz INEO ECS 5W-30 engine oil

Genuine Peugeot oil filter

Four new Bosch ignition coils

Four new NGK spark plugs

New auxiliary and serpentine belt

New auxiliary belt tensioner arm

Two new rear springs

New radiator

Full cooling system flush and refill

The previous radiator developed a tiny hairline crack in the core.

Rather than pouring a bottle of radioactive-looking miracle goo into it and selling the car quickly, I fitted a new radiator and continued to enjoy it.

Which rather sums up how this car has been maintained.

The complete chronological service and maintenance history is included at the bottom of this advert.

MILEAGE

Currently approximately 110,200 miles and rising slightly as it's still being used.

And before anyone faints dramatically onto a chaise longue...

Look at the history.

Look at what's been replaced.

Look at the invoices.

Photos included.

I'd rather buy a properly maintained 110k GTI with documented servicing, timing chain and VVT work, camshaft, valve stem seals, HP fuel pump, clutch and flywheel, suspension work, ignition components and cooling system work than a mysterious 70k example whose entire maintenance record consists of:

My mate Dave serviced it.

It's still being used, so the mileage will creep up.

This is because my dirty diesel Krautwagen is currently off commuting duties at around 200,000 miles, presumably sitting somewhere contemplating its emissions scandal and annexation of Poland.

So the French Resistance has been called into daily service.

BODYWORK AND INTERIOR

Bodywork is very good.

Interior is very good.

It's grey, understated and doesn't shout about what it can do.

Which is useful because most people looking at it have absolutely no idea how quickly it's about to disappear.

NOW, THE BITS THE OTHER ADVERTS DON'T TELL YOU

Because apparently every used car on Facebook Marketplace is:

MINT M8.

This isn't mint.

But it is very tidy.

It's a used hot hatch.

Loved but used.

My Mrs regards kerbs less as obstacles and more as parking guidance equipment, so the wheels have some marks.

They aren't destroyed.

But they're not concours.

Two rear tyres are also approaching the limit, but may be replaced by the time you get this far in the advert.

I can either put tyres on it or we can negotiate accordingly if they're not done.

Simple.

No nonsense.

AIR CONDITIONING

The air-conditioning radiator was removed when the intercooler setup was installed.

If you absolutely require refrigerated air while driving through Wales in February, it can be reinstated.

Again, I can sort it or we negotiate it into the price.

Personally I'd rather open a window.

WHY AM I SELLING IT?

Genuinely...

This was going to become my rally recce car.

Then plans changed.

But here's possibly the biggest endorsement I can give it:

I'm going to build a 208 GTI Clubman rally car using essentially the same sort of setup.

The white car is already bought.

So I'm not selling it because I've discovered they're rubbish.

I'm selling it because driving this one has convinced me that I want an even sillier one.

AND THAT'S THE THING...

I genuinely wish I'd bought one 10 years ago.

I'd overlooked the 208 GTI.

That was a mistake.

It's small.

It's light.

It's quick.

It's entertaining.

It makes ridiculous turbo noises.

It handles beautifully.

It'll lift a rear wheel when you're committed, move its weight around underneath you and somehow remain completely composed while doing it.

And when the road gets interesting, it becomes one of those cars where you suddenly realise you've been grinning like an idiot for the last 15 miles.

It's like a good French wine.

It's got better with age, it's surprisingly intoxicating and if you consume too much of it you'll probably wake up somewhere near Lyon wondering where your trousers went.

Except this has a turbo.

£3,450 ONO.

I won't surrender, but I am negotiable.

I'm not claiming it's perfect.

I've deliberately told you what isn't.

But mechanically, a lot of money and maintenance has gone into this car, both during my ownership and through the previous owner's meticulous approach to servicing.

There are years of invoices and history to support it.

Come and look through them.

Come and look at the car.

Then drive it.

Because that's the bit that sells it.

It pulls hard.

The gearbox is smooth.

It'll lift a rear wheel through a corner and still go exactly where you point it.

It stops as fast as a French general raising a white flag.

And when that boost arrives...

SACRE BLEU.

Tres rapide.

Handles better than Brie.

Aged like a decent Bordeaux.

Gearbox smoother than garlic butter on a baguette.

And finally explains why France planted all those trees beside its roads.

£3,450 ONO.

No swaps for a broken Corsa, three pit bikes, your cousin's gaming PC, a French bulldog called Thierry, or any dropped and unfired rifles left over from 1939.

The French may have surrendered them quickly, but I still want pounds sterling for the Peugeot.

Vive la France.

FULL SERVICE, MAINTENANCE AND MOT HISTORY

DATE - MILEAGE - JOB DONE AND PARTS

25/07/2014 - 1,974 miles - Peugeot main dealer service

28/07/2015 - 4,019 miles - Peugeot main dealer service

18/07/2016 - 6,898 miles - MOT

05/06/2017 - 7,972 miles - MOT

11/10/2017 - 13,662 miles - Peugeot main dealer service

25/05/2018 - 22,517 miles - MOT

18/07/2018 - 23,587 miles - Peugeot main dealer service

08/2018 - Stage 1 ECU remap

05/02/2019 - Stainless steel cat-back exhaust fitted

04/03/2019 - Peugeot main dealer service

18/04/2019 - Coolant changed

18/05/2019 - 36,693 miles - MOT

19/07/2019 - Scorpion sports catalytic converter fitted

28/08/2019 - Stage 2 ECU remap, uprated AIRTEC intercooler and new boost pipes

15/09/2019 - 42,000 miles - Service, engine oil and oil filter, gearbox oil changed

08/11/2019 - 43,000 miles - New ignition coils

10/02/2020 - Strut top mounts replaced

19/02/2020 - 46,851 miles - Service, engine oil, pollen filter, coolant and thermostat and thermostat housing

19/03/2020 - 47,861 miles - Water pump and tensioner replaced, inlet valves walnut blasted and decarbonised

11/04/2020 - Pug1Off short shifter fitted

22/04/2020 - 48,828 miles - ABS rings replaced

11/06/2020 - Air-conditioning work, Powerflex engine mount fitted

15/07/2020 - 51,654 miles - MOT

01/12/2020 - Service, engine oil, oil filter and spark plugs, engine flush

2020 - Date unknown - Bosch battery fitted

12/07/2021 - 61,967 miles - MOT

02/11/2021 - Service, engine oil, oil filter and spark plugs, PCV system cleaned

17/03/2022 - New OE high-pressure fuel pump fitted

02/07/2022 - 73,275 miles - MOT

02/09/2022 - Oil filter housing and oil cooler leak attended to

07/09/2022 - Thermostat housing replaced

10/11/2022 - VVT solenoids replaced

21/04/2023 - 80,604 miles - Major timing and VVT work, VVT camshaft, VVT motor, timing chain, timing chain guides, crankshaft seal, rocker cover gasket, engine oil and filter

17/05/2023 - Engine oil and filter service

23/05/2023 - Camshaft position sensors replaced

14/07/2023 - 82,499 miles - MOT

17/10/2023 - 85,264 miles - Valve stem seals replaced

04/04/2024 - 89,559 miles - New oil filter housing and oil cooler, lower suspension arms replaced, engine oil changed

28/06/2024 - 92,051 miles - MOT

15/10/2024 - 95,728 miles - Turbo boost solenoid replaced

16/10/2024 - Lambda sensor replaced

01/11/2024 - 96,211 miles - Rocker and cam cover replaced

12/12/2024 - 97,581 miles - New clutch, flywheel and slave cylinder, gearbox oil changed

20/02/2025 - 99,373 miles - Service, engine oil and oil filter

16/07/2025 - 101,910 miles - MOT

15/07/2026 - 109,031 miles - MOT

20/07/2026 - 109,593 miles - Full service, OE-spec TotalEnergies Quartz INEO ECS 5W-30 engine oil, genuine Peugeot oil filter, four Bosch ignition coils, four NGK spark plugs, auxiliary and serpentine belt, auxiliary belt tensioner arm, two rear springs, new radiator due to hairline crack, cooling system flushed and refilled