RE: Peugeot Sport 208 GTI: PH Fleet
Thursday 29th March 2018
Despite the fact that I hadn't actually driven a 208 before KR67 DHD arrived on our fleet, I just knew I was going to like it. It was a combination of my optimism, liking the way it looked and, having driven a 308 GTI, an expectation to deliver. The bar was set high then. Over the last four months and 6,000 miles though, I wasn't prepared for just how much it would grow on me.
I know it's easy to say more power isn't everything, especially given that the 208's stablemate in my own fleet has 55 per cent more horsepower, but in recent months I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that circa 200hp and 1,200kg is the perfect recipe for our roads in Britain. We had loads of fun last month shooting Matt's GT86 vs. 208 GTI feature and both manufacturers would get the Paul Hollywood handshake for their perfect bake.
There are no selectable driver modes in the 208, not even a Sport button. And while the latter would be welcomed for some more noise from the exhaust, the simplicity is what makes this car so great. No need to fumble around with buttons to select your preferred throttle response, damping or fake induction noise - just get in and go. Fast. And let's face it; it's one less thing to go wrong too. So while manufacturers are constantly playing the numbers game in an attempt to stay ahead of the competition in the premium hot hatch segment, there is luckily still such a fantastic selection of cars for sale today that match my recipe. Not to mention that fuel, tax, parts and servicing costs will be lighter on the wallet, too.
Peugeot Sport 208 GTI: PH Fleet
Ben's Peugeot is away being fixed at the moment; the return can't come soon enough...
I'm spending a couple of weeks in a 308 GTI at the moment while the 208 is away having a rear-end rattle diagnosed and hopefully fixed. I miss it. While the 308 is essentially very much of the same but in a larger package with more space, power and some additional maturity, given the choice I'd stick with my long-termer. There's no doubt that a 308 is better suited to someone requiring the extra space and doors, but I don't and despite the boost in performance, it doesn't leave the 208 feeling like it's lacking in any way.
Driving more powerful cars is undeniably intoxicating, but I find that I spend more time frustrated not being able to use all of the power on the road. At least where I live in Kent, where I probably spend 95 per cent of my time driving. And while Matt may have concluded that Toyota was the Star Baker in that round, the day confirmed that you don't really need any more power to have huge amounts of fun. You can squeeze out every bit of power, extending each gear without going excessively fast, yet going quickly enough to get your heart beating faster and put a big smile on your face. Both felt relatively lightweight, predictable and playful through the corners, changing directly as quickly as you could turn the wheel. You might not be able to keep up with that guy in front in his M3, but I bet you're having just as much fun.
So whether you've got £2,000 to spend on a Renaultsport Clio or £20,000 (or £200 a month) on a 208 GTI or GT86 fresh from the factory, there's something out there for everyone. For me, the supermini hot hatch segment is going to be one of the most exciting for 2018 and I can't wait to see what Peugeot comes up with next.
FACT SHEET
Car: Peugeot 208 GTI by Peugeot Sport
Run by: Ben
On fleet since: November 2017
Mileage: 6,183
List price new: £23,550 (As tested £24,250 comprising £250 for Peugeot Connect SOS & Assistance, £250 for Active City Brake and £200 for Reversing Camera)
Last month at a glance: Straightforward, good looking and powerful enough - Ben's Peugeot is still going well too!
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Discussion
Good little article Ben. A few particular things stood out to me, as they both share my exact sentiments.
"but in recent months I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that circa 200hp and 1,200kg is the perfect recipe for our roads in Britain." - I find this very accurate. It's the perfect recipe really. This particular segment of hot-hatches keeps itself in-line with what i believe to be the proper hot-hatch philosophy, or as close as.
I also agree with your comment on the driving modes, or particularly the lack of them. Like you, i just wanna get in and go. I don't really wanna have to mess around with the perfect set up for certain scenarios and keep reverting back and forth. For me, i just want it already pre-set up from the factory, ready to go.
With that being said, i do think that the new Fiesta ST will be a fantastic car still. I'm looking forward to it's release.
"but in recent months I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that circa 200hp and 1,200kg is the perfect recipe for our roads in Britain." - I find this very accurate. It's the perfect recipe really. This particular segment of hot-hatches keeps itself in-line with what i believe to be the proper hot-hatch philosophy, or as close as.
I also agree with your comment on the driving modes, or particularly the lack of them. Like you, i just wanna get in and go. I don't really wanna have to mess around with the perfect set up for certain scenarios and keep reverting back and forth. For me, i just want it already pre-set up from the factory, ready to go.
With that being said, i do think that the new Fiesta ST will be a fantastic car still. I'm looking forward to it's release.
Why would you want more noise from the exhaust? It droned horribly in my old 208 GTi (non-sport version).
The fact that yours has gone wrong already is not good. Easy when you have easy access to another car but bad for those of us who don't work for motoring publications.
I do agree about the power/weight thing, especially for those of us who live in the clogged South East.
The fact that yours has gone wrong already is not good. Easy when you have easy access to another car but bad for those of us who don't work for motoring publications.
I do agree about the power/weight thing, especially for those of us who live in the clogged South East.
Still enjoying my 208Gti, but it does unfortunately seem like Peugeot may still have a few build problems, whilst the cabin area and externals all seem very well built mine also has developed a few internal bodywork rattles, first was a loose window winder motor very efficiently fixed under warranty and now it's developed another rattle deep in the boot area, ah well all be drowned out by the "droning" exhaust but I really REALLY do forgive it its just too much fun on the back roads . . . whats a few rattles, when your having fun its a Peugeot hot hatch right. . . you just get in turn the key, off you go and have fun. . . er whats a driving mode anyway?
I recently had a 308 on hire which shares many of the 208's quirks.
Some observations:
1) Steering wheel size and position - initially I hated it, but after a day or two and adjustment of the seat, yes it really works, the small wheel is great and the instruments are positioned in a decent place to see out and view the road. The 308 had a reverse sweep on the rev counter needle (right to left) which didn't seem quite right.
2) Infotainment system - one word, "Garbage". When you can't change anything without having to fumble through endless seemingly illogically laid out menus, the battle was lost. It was almost like they had tried to make it hard to use, the opposite of Apple if you like.
3) Interior build - some way off VAG standards on quality of materials, and rattles aplenty
Overall, a great car to drive and decent engines, but the battle would be lost in the showroom over the rather odd ergonomics, which would put many people off, and sales figures would seem to bear this out.
But there's a decent car in there if you can get past initial prejudices and likely high depreciation.
Some observations:
1) Steering wheel size and position - initially I hated it, but after a day or two and adjustment of the seat, yes it really works, the small wheel is great and the instruments are positioned in a decent place to see out and view the road. The 308 had a reverse sweep on the rev counter needle (right to left) which didn't seem quite right.
2) Infotainment system - one word, "Garbage". When you can't change anything without having to fumble through endless seemingly illogically laid out menus, the battle was lost. It was almost like they had tried to make it hard to use, the opposite of Apple if you like.
3) Interior build - some way off VAG standards on quality of materials, and rattles aplenty
Overall, a great car to drive and decent engines, but the battle would be lost in the showroom over the rather odd ergonomics, which would put many people off, and sales figures would seem to bear this out.
But there's a decent car in there if you can get past initial prejudices and likely high depreciation.
downhillmalins said:
This >> "So whether you've got £2,000 to spend on a Renaultsport Clio"
not sure who would buy a 208 at £20k
spend £2k on a Clio 182, have just as much fun, track it etc without much of a worry, and the rest on something that won't depreciate like a sinking stone
New car v old car argument shoehorning completenot sure who would buy a 208 at £20k
spend £2k on a Clio 182, have just as much fun, track it etc without much of a worry, and the rest on something that won't depreciate like a sinking stone
Well played
GTEYE said:
I recently had a 308 on hire which shares many of the 208's quirks
2) Infotainment system - one word, "Garbage". When you can't change anything without having to fumble through endless seemingly illogically laid out menus, the battle was lost. It was almost like they had tried to make it hard to use, the opposite of Apple if you like.
Overall, a great car to drive and decent engines, but the battle would be lost in the showroom over the rather odd ergonomics, which would put many people off, and sales figures would seem to bear this out.
But there's a decent car in there if you can get past initial prejudices and likely high depreciation.
308 is significantly worse to sticking the HVAC controls in the touchscreen. 208 gets away with it on account of having some quite nice rocker switches for increasing decreasing climate control temp. 2) Infotainment system - one word, "Garbage". When you can't change anything without having to fumble through endless seemingly illogically laid out menus, the battle was lost. It was almost like they had tried to make it hard to use, the opposite of Apple if you like.
Overall, a great car to drive and decent engines, but the battle would be lost in the showroom over the rather odd ergonomics, which would put many people off, and sales figures would seem to bear this out.
But there's a decent car in there if you can get past initial prejudices and likely high depreciation.
Agreed on ergonomics generally though. Other than the temperature, other HVAC controls are in buttons that sit flush to one another - looks nice but you can feel your way around them so forced to take your eyes off the road. Even more frustrating when the mirror adjustment switches DO have some texture, even though I'd only adjust them when stationary!
I can partly forgive the touchscreen, but only because its not specifically a Peugeot issue. All other manufacturers seem to be equally deluded that this is a sensible thing to put in a car, although Peugeot's menus in particular are pretty poor. My solution is to just avoid using it where possible.
The exhaust is only an issue when at motorway cruising speeds. I'm rarely on motorways so not a problem, but if you had a long commute I can imagine it's a PITA.
Edited by Greg 172 on Thursday 29th March 13:43
downhillmalins said:
This >> "So whether you've got £2,000 to spend on a Renaultsport Clio"
not sure who would buy a 208 at £20k
spend £2k on a Clio 182, have just as much fun, track it etc without much of a worry, and the rest on something that won't depreciate like a sinking stone
New vs old, how original.not sure who would buy a 208 at £20k
spend £2k on a Clio 182, have just as much fun, track it etc without much of a worry, and the rest on something that won't depreciate like a sinking stone
Or to flip it.... Why spend your hard earned on a car that's many years old, has had someone else spend many hours farting in when you can quite happily afford to run a newer car?
Test drove one of these, a Fiesta ST and a Focus ST. I ended up ordering the Focus.
The gear change in these felt... off. It's hard to describe but it felt clunky and awkward. Maybe it was the demonstator car? I don't know. The dealer was also insistant I wouldn't get much off the list price too. Shame as otherwise it seemed quite nice, I actually prefered it to the Fiesta ST.
The gear change in these felt... off. It's hard to describe but it felt clunky and awkward. Maybe it was the demonstator car? I don't know. The dealer was also insistant I wouldn't get much off the list price too. Shame as otherwise it seemed quite nice, I actually prefered it to the Fiesta ST.
MOBB said:
Mine arrives in June, same colour too
My last 2 cars had 560bhp and 350bhp and for the reasons you stated, I'm really looking forward to getting this car
Excellent, you won't be disappointed! Good time of year to be getting it too. All of this rain/snow has dampened my opportunities to get out for a decent drive, so I'm looking forward to some better driving conditions (hopefully) soon.My last 2 cars had 560bhp and 350bhp and for the reasons you stated, I'm really looking forward to getting this car
culpz said:
Good little article Ben. A few particular things stood out to me, as they both share my exact sentiments.
With that being said, i do think that the new Fiesta ST will be a fantastic car still. I'm looking forward to it's release.
Thanks Sam. Your new Scirocco looks smart! More coming on the Fiesta vs 208 soon, hopefully old and new.With that being said, i do think that the new Fiesta ST will be a fantastic car still. I'm looking forward to it's release.
LG9k said:
Why would you want more noise from the exhaust? It droned horribly in my old 208 GTi.
If anything it's just frustrating that it doesn't sound better from the factory. When Mini could make the N18 JCW sound so good using the same engine block, you'd hope that Peugeot would be able to do the same. The drone is noticeable but it's only at motorway speeds and music quickly drowns it out. If it were my car, I would be looking into the options to release a bit more noise from it.downhillmalins said:
FN2TypeR said:
New car v old car argument shoehorning complete
Well played
why thank you Well played
To me £24k for this car seems like a crazy amount
I'm sure it makes sense to some out there but if you want french hot hatch thrills, go take a look in their back catalogue surely.
BenLowden said:
Thanks Sam. Your new Scirocco looks smart! More coming on the Fiesta vs 208 soon, hopefully old and new.
Cheers Ben 
bit of a side-step from my original idea of getting a cheap Clio 172/182, but my budget for one ended up being less than i'd hoped and i saw a chance to get another Scirocco before they go out of production, but with a decent engine a spec this time. Insurance was really cheap aswell.Looking forward to more updates on the new Fiesta ST. I planned that as my next car if i went for new, as i saw it was due to be released early this year, but clearly not as early as i'd hoped! The new Polo GTI was the other, but the deals on them weren't great at all and haven't really improved much.
Im not sure why people are saying these all have rattles/bad build quality, at the moment i've 3 Peugeot's, 2 from its new stable and 1 from its... well its a 207 with the 1.4 VTi engine, less be said about BMW's fantastic engineering.
MY RCZ R is 4 years old now, had her from day 1, she was the last of the first batch to be sold (last one in stock), absolutely no rattles or build issues, runs like a dream, just passed her 2nd MOT with flying colours, never needed to go back to the dealers to be fixed, just regular servicing and that's it.
My 3008 SUV being one of the first has had a few issues but those were recalls, rear seat mounting, fuel line and bonnet catch (and wobbly bonnet at speed), all sorted out, later models didn't have these issues, again she was one of the first to be made so expected the odd issue, no build quality issues or rattles on her either, just had her 1 year service, even got to use the grip control on the last little beast from the east (surprisingly good, did better than some of the 4x4's near where i live ) but Peugeot has upped its quality, the latest face lifted 308 is excellent, the new 208 is due out this year along side the 2008, yes the 208's infotainment system isn't fantastic but the one I had for 2 years did better at finding places with the sat nav than my mates 2013 A6 Allroad's sat nav.
The 308 Feline I had for a year prior to getting the 3008 SUV didn't have the best infotainment either, BUT this is now improved with the face lift model which has a similar system to that of the 3008/5008 SUV.
Peugeot are getting there, they went a little off track from around 2002 to 2010ish, building boring, rubbish cars (407/307 are 2 examples, the 207 is actually quite good but let down by poor engines in some of them), so its good to see that the 208 GTI by PS is getting the exposure its due, its a good car in a packed market, even the 308 GTI 270 is a really good but overlooked car because of cars like the Golf GTi, Seat Cupra, Focus ST, Hyundai's new i30N, and it happily competes with most of them very well (as its only a 1.6 v the 2ltr engines of the rest), it will be good to see if Peugeot bring out that 308 R Hybrid they are promising (though they have stated that it won't be on this model 308).
MY RCZ R is 4 years old now, had her from day 1, she was the last of the first batch to be sold (last one in stock), absolutely no rattles or build issues, runs like a dream, just passed her 2nd MOT with flying colours, never needed to go back to the dealers to be fixed, just regular servicing and that's it.
My 3008 SUV being one of the first has had a few issues but those were recalls, rear seat mounting, fuel line and bonnet catch (and wobbly bonnet at speed), all sorted out, later models didn't have these issues, again she was one of the first to be made so expected the odd issue, no build quality issues or rattles on her either, just had her 1 year service, even got to use the grip control on the last little beast from the east (surprisingly good, did better than some of the 4x4's near where i live
) but Peugeot has upped its quality, the latest face lifted 308 is excellent, the new 208 is due out this year along side the 2008, yes the 208's infotainment system isn't fantastic but the one I had for 2 years did better at finding places with the sat nav than my mates 2013 A6 Allroad's sat nav.The 308 Feline I had for a year prior to getting the 3008 SUV didn't have the best infotainment either, BUT this is now improved with the face lift model which has a similar system to that of the 3008/5008 SUV.
Peugeot are getting there, they went a little off track from around 2002 to 2010ish, building boring, rubbish cars (407/307 are 2 examples, the 207 is actually quite good but let down by poor engines in some of them), so its good to see that the 208 GTI by PS is getting the exposure its due, its a good car in a packed market, even the 308 GTI 270 is a really good but overlooked car because of cars like the Golf GTi, Seat Cupra, Focus ST, Hyundai's new i30N, and it happily competes with most of them very well (as its only a 1.6 v the 2ltr engines of the rest), it will be good to see if Peugeot bring out that 308 R Hybrid they are promising (though they have stated that it won't be on this model 308).
I drive a 308 GTi and agree it is a very overlooked car. Whilst the current range of Peugeot cars has come on massively it's image hasn't caught up yet from the 2000's.
My car isn't quite VAG quality but it's quicker and much more fun to drive than the Golf. The driving position, steering wheel and touch screen take some getting used to, so first impressions are not always great, but live with it for a week...
My car isn't quite VAG quality but it's quicker and much more fun to drive than the Golf. The driving position, steering wheel and touch screen take some getting used to, so first impressions are not always great, but live with it for a week...
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