Peugeot 208 - Should You Buy One?

BUY, LEASE OR FINANCE A PEUGEOT 208 FROM OSV: bit.ly/2Xb25Ov
Peugeot's 208 supermini has been rejuvenated in second generation form. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.
Market and Model
Prices start from just over £16,000 and run up to around £23,500 for the conventionally-engined models. Buyers choose from base trim, then 'Active', 'Allure', 'GT Line' and 'GT' specifications. The full-electric e208 is offered in all but base trim, at prices starting from around £25,000 (following subtraction of the £3,500 government Plug-in car Grant). With the e-208, access to charging points via the PSA Group's 'Free2Move' service is included.
As you'd expect, a wide range of driver assistance and safety technologies are available this time round. Go for the auto gearbox (or an e-208 model) and the adaptive cruise control system you can have has the ability to make the car automatically stop and go in heavy traffic. You can have this system with a manual gearbox too, where it operates down to 18mph. Lane departure warning, auto parking and blind spot monitoring systems are available too. Go for a variant with the largest 10-inch centre dash infotainment display and you'll get built-in navigation, plus 'Apple CarPlay'/'Android Auto' smartphone-mirroring.
Cost of Ownership
Expect the 1.2-litre PureTech petrol variants that most will buy to be very acceptably clean and frugal. With the 100hp manual model, you can expect to manage up to 53.0mpg on the WLTP combined cycle and return an NEDC-rated CO2 reading of up to 96g/km, which is pretty good going for a car in this segment. The 1.5-litre BlueHDi diesel version of course does much better. Up to 71.4mpg on the combined cycle is theoretically possible, along with up to 84g/km of NEDC-rated CO2.
But of course if you're really interested in ecological efficiency, there'll be just one variant of this car that'll interest you, the all-electric e-208. For this derivative, Peugeot claims a WLTP-rated driving range between charges of 211 miles. And fast charging at the rate of 100kW is available via a CCS socket hidden behind the fuel cap, with an 0-80% charge achievable in around 30 minutes. If you install a wallbox at home, you can recharge the battery from empty in around five hours if you have an 11kW electricity supply - or in around eight hours with a 7.4kW supply. Bear in mind that the e-208 is around 350kgs heavier than the ordinary version.
Summary
So the 208 has evolved - but not beyond recognition. In improving it, Peugeot has certainly tried to cover all the bases, while being very conscious that trying to please too many people too much of the time is a sure-fire recipe for failure - or at the very least, a distinctly compromised and forgettable end-result. 'It's OK to have 20% of people not liking this car', the company's MD used to say, 'as long as the other 80% love it'. This time round, we reckon his brand doesn't have too much to worry about.
There may be a few supermini buyers who don't like the cabin layout, want something better suited to cornering on its door handles or who might prefer the value proposition of a budget brand - but I'm guessing they'll be in the minority. Most will recognise that in this 208, Peugeot has perfected for us the supermini it was always capable of. A smart small car choice - in more ways than one.
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