Will buyers ditch the Fiesta for the 2020 Peugeot 208?

The car in our photo is the 2020 Peugeot 208 and judging by the success of the Peugeot 3008 and 508 Fastback it has to be sad that this car has a lot to live up to.

It’s got a lot to live up to because Peugeot is having somewhat of a renaissance. Gone are the days of the French manufacturer building ugly, flimsy and undesirable cars. Instead they’re building cars that people want to own. However, making a fashionable SUV like the 3008 desirable is one thing but making a supermini sexy is quite another. So, should the Great British public be ditching their Ford Fiestas and rushing out to their nearest Peugeot showroom and buying one of these instead? Well, in this short article we’ll hopefully be able to tell you.

Looking at the pictures it’s fair to say that Peugeot is pretty much throwing everything, including the kitchen sink, at not only taking on but beating cars such as the Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen Polo, the SEAT Ibiza and Europe’s best-selling super-mini, the Renault Clio. Peugeot have given buyers a really smart interior, a brand new platform and now you can buy both petrol and diesel 208s and even an all-electric version. On top of all of this you get some fabulous styling. Gone is the slightly bulbous shape of the Peugeot 206, Peugeot 207 and the first generation 208. In its place comes a design that’s far better proportioned and one that very much references Peugeot’s heritage. You only have to look at the 208 badge on the bonnet to see that it harks back to the 504 coupe. However, it’s around at the sides that things get really interesting. Focus on the strong C-pillar and you’ll see a badge sitting slap bang in the middle of it. Place this together with the big black wheel arch extensions and it reminds you of the 205 GTi. It’s certainly not a pastiche, it’s just a modern reinterpretation of a classic car and we think it looks absolutely fantastic.

Whilst the outside may reference Peugeot’s of old there’s certainly nothing old when you sit inside the 208. It has to be said that this is one of the best interiors on the market and really sets a new benchmark in the class for design. There really isn’t anything on the forecourt that looks like it. In fact it makes a VW Polo look decades old. In the center you get your usual touchscreen and this uses the familiar system you see in Peugeots and Citroens of old. It’s certainly not the best system in the world but it still looks pretty cool though a little gimmicky. There’s nothing gimmicky about the rest of the tech inside the 208. Features such as the iCockpit screen is nothing new but in mid-level models and above in the 208 it actually has a 3D look to it. It’s a bit difficult to explain in words but it looks really cool and the functionality is great on it too. Apple Car Play and Android Auto come as standard and if all this isn’t all good enough then you really have to appreciate the sheer level of quality in the cabin. Ok, there are a few hard scratchy plastics on the doors and on top of the dash but generally speaking the fit and finish in here is absolutely brilliant and something you wouldn’t expect in a Peugeot five years ago. Another nice thing about the interior are the seats. The car we tested had the GT Line trim and as part of that you get some heavily bolstered sports seats. Again, nothing new about this but you then notice the materials that Peugeot have used. They have nice bits of leather, contrasting stitching and lovely fabrics which all help to make sitting inside this car a really nice place to be. Whilst the front seems massive for such a small car, in the back it’s a slightly different story. Due to the fact that the 208 has a lower roof line it means that room is a little tight if you’re over 6ft. The boot suffers too and is unfortunately smaller than the old car.

So the 2020 Peugeot 208 looks great both on the outside and on the inside and really helps to give this car the wow factor. It’s also surprisingly posh looking and well made too. With all of this is mind surely the 208 is good to drive too? Well, the answer to this question is an unfortunate no. By no we’re by no means saying that this is a bad car to drive. It’s just that it hasn’t quite got the same wow factor as the exterior and interior. The car we tested had the 1.2 litre, 3 cylinder turbocharged petrol producing 130 brake horse power (bhp). At the time of typing this is the most powerful petrol engine available and the same unit we’ve seen in lots of other Peugeots. This engine is really very good indeed and picks up really nicely. It feels very urgent, very fizzy and is matched up to a really good gearbox. The only thing we’d say about the gearbox is that the 6-speed manual is quite rubbery and a bit imprecise. The car we tested had the new 8-speed automatic gearbox and changes gear almost imperceptibly. What this does is help make this car very refined indeed and it’s that that brings us nicely on to the best thing about this car. We wouldn’t go as far as saying that this car feels luxurious but it does feel excellently refined and very cosseting. At motorway speeds the 208 is incredibly quiet and the ride, for most part, is very good. Around town it can get a little bit crashy but it is a small car after all. For the most part the ride in this car is very comfortable indeed.

The 1.2 130 is just one engine in the range. You can have a 75 bhp or 99 bhp 1.2 litre turbo as well. If it’s a diesel you’re after then you can opt for a 99 bhp 1.5 litre unit. The diesel is a little gruff but it’s punchy enough and should return up to 70 miles to the gallon (mpg) and emits just 85 grams per kilometre of Co2 (g/km). If this is a little bit too last century for you then there’s also an all-electric E208. Due to the fact that the 208 was actually designed to be offered as an EV (Electric Vehicle) from the outset its package is all but identical to the petrol and diesel versions. The electric motor sits under the bonnet while instead of a fuel tank you get a 50kw (kilowatt) per hour battery pack that lies neatly under the rear seats. Peugeot say it will managed 211 miles on a full charge.

Unfortunately, it’s not all good news when it comes to the driving experience in the 208. The steering is extremely light which is great around town. However, it doesn’t quite weight up enough on faster sections of road. It also feels a bit sort of gloopy in that it just doesn’t feel as smooth as it should. You also get the typical iCockpit problem where you have a small steering wheel being in the way of the dials in front of you. It’s certainly a lot better than it was in the old 208 but it’s still not quite there. If you like to have your steering low down then this won’t be a problem whatsoever but if you like to have your steering wheel up high then it means you can’t really see the absolutely fabulous 3D dials. Another thing we don’t quite like is the general visibility. You’ll soon discovery that this car has an absolutely massive blind spot due to the huge pillars and the view out of the back isn’t much better either.

Don’t get us wrong, the 208 is a sizeable leap forward from its predecessor. Although the Ford Fiesta is unlikely to lose its number one spot in the sales charts anytime soon the 208 does have its merits. Whilst the driving experience is pretty unremarkable the design and quality of the interior gives the 208 a likeable charm and is certainly going to be another winning product from Peugeot. If you like the look of the 208 and want to get a bit more up close and personal then why not take a look at the used Peugeot 208 cars for sale available on the DesperateSeller.co.uk website.