Driven: Peugeot
208 1.0 VTi Active (2013)
Greetings once
again, Pertolheads!
Today’s
post regards my last rental car in Germany, the latest Peugeot 208. I must
recognize I had high expectations regarding this car, partially because of the
impressive Peugeot’s CV on this front (who can forget the stunning 206, or the
legendary 205), partially because the PSA-group is now on a very fragile
situation, so they can’t afford themselves a bad product.
Even
so, they did. I’ll go straight on: it’s one of the worst cars I’ve driven
lately.
After
the (still) gorgeous 206, the 207 was already a downturn, but the 208 is on a
class of its own. After spending an entire week watching Price Drop TV, their
designers went straight to the drawing board and came up with this. It’s a
prime example of what overdesigning is, the short size of the car enhancing
even more this problem. And the designers didn’t stop on the outside either,
because even the classic instrument cluster arrangement was thrown out of the
window! Because the instrument cluster was moved upwards, the 208 has a small
steering wheel, way smaller than normal. But you know what? Despite looking
hideous, the truth is that the high positioning of the speedo and rev counter
do allow for a dramatic increase in visibility, only surpassed by the head-up
display that some more expensive cars have nowadays! And because the steering
wheel is smaller, there is more free room and it’s easier to steer. Well
thought!
The
rest is far more conventional, every single plastic is hard and nasty in
feeling, but at least it’s well screwed together. It’s not tremendously
spacious, but a word of appraise must be given to Peugeot for making the 208
smaller than its 207 ancestor. Level equipments vary, but this intermediate
Active has to make do with a plastic steering wheel, for example. It has got
bluetooth connectivity, which didn’t always work, but when it did it was worth
it. Even the telephone was relatively clear, despite some tragic speakers. What
makes me laugh though is the price Peugeot asks for this very same car: over
14k € (in Germany) has to be the biggest joke in recent times.
The
next focus of attention has to be the engine. For the 208, Peugeot have
developed a couple of new 3-cylinder petrol engines, designed primarily for fuel
economy, and this unit had the smallest of the pair – a minuscule 1-litre. I
suspect the low power output has to do with Peugeot trying to push customers to
the bigger, more expensive 1.2, something that, after a couple of months, I
would definitely advise – even without having driven it. This engine is yet
another example of the environmentalist-movement taken to the extreme, because
I have to say: this car is almost dangerous.
It
has the slowest response ever in a car I have ever driven, and I’m sure this
programming has to do with fuel economy. Revving this engine is like taking a
picture with an early digital camera: it will happen, eventually, but often
just too much late. The practical consequences are easy to guess: it frequently
stalls while driving off the lights, or on a slope, so even in the city it’s
seriously compromised. The gearbox has very short gear ratios (third barely
arrives at 115 km/h), as a way to compensate for this lack of energy, but it’s absolutely
worthless. Revving the engine is mandatory in order to experience some sort of
acceleration, but fortunately it’s not very noisy – and it actually has a sweet
3-cylinder thrum – and it’s smooth at the top end. The same cannot be said at
low revs, because it vibrates as if it’s burning stones.
The
only upside of this eco-obsession is that it’s economical irrespective of the
treatment you give it, easily averaging 5,5 l/100km (51 UK mpg) driving on the
open road – forget the official figures, they are utopist. Even on the autobahn
it barely burned over 7 l/100km (40 KU mpg), while floored most of the time.
That said, full throttle was 140 km/h (88 mph) while going uphill!
Handling
is not great either. The 208 may be lighter than the old 207, but that said, it’s
like calling the new Range Rover a sports car because it lost 400kg compared
with its predecessor. It feels like a heavy car, body movements are well
apparent, but it does grip in corners. Fun it is not, you can never feel the
rear wanting to play (remember the 206?), the steering is lifeless and it has
the worst gearbox in the whole of the history of the Automobile. Well, perhaps
not quite, because I once drove a 307 1.4 HDI, which was just about the same.
To give you an idea of how imprecise it is, I’ll give you an example: the
gearlever moves almost the same in neutral or in-gear, so you have to look at
the rev-counter to make sure you’re not in neutral. It’s also extremely noisy,
and the amount of travel is also a joke. It takes some effort to accomplish
such big rubbish, but unfortunately Peugeot succeeded.
So,
the 208 is groundbreaking on the visibility front with that unconventional
instrument cluster design, but otherwise it really is a case to say: Peugeot,
what the hell were you thinking of?! This people make the gorgeous
(pre-facelift) and (I’m told) brilliant to drive RCZ, but then come up with
this pile of rubbish. If you want a small, economic and fun to drive Peugeot, try
the 107: despite being 8 years old now, it’s just worse than the 208 on the
instrument cluster area!
Verdict:
Low-cost quality at Premium price.
Vital data:
Engine
and transmission:
999
cc, inline-3 cylinder, 4 valves per cylinder (petrol)
68
PS (50 kW)/ 6000 rpm
95
Nm/ 3000 rpm
Red
line: 6300 rpm
5-speed
manual transmission
Dimensions
and weights:
Length/
width/ height: 3,962/ 1,739/ 1,460 metres
Turning
circle: - metres
Empty
weight: 975 kg
Boot:
285 litres (5 seats)
Fuel
tank: 50 litres
Tires:
185/65 R15
Official
performance:
Top
speed: 163 km/h (101 mph)
0-100
km/h (0-62 mph): 14 seconds
Fuel
consumption (urban/extra-urban/average): 5.1/ 3.8/ 4.3 l/100km (55/ 74/ 66 UK mpg)
CO2
emissions: 99 g/km
3000
rpm, 5th gear: 92 km/h (58 mph) – GPS reading (shown: 93 km/h – 58
mph)
Main
equipment: climate control, twin front and side airbags, radio with aux-in
socket and bluetooth connectivity, trip computer, ABS+ASR+ESP, cruise control,
electric wing mirrors adjustment, steering wheel controls for the Audio system.
German
price in 2013: 14 400€.
Driven:
May-June 2013, 2 500 km (1 500 miles); car left with 5 500 km (3 400 miles).
Rating: 9 out of 20
It
has the slowest response ever in a car I have ever driven, and I’m sure this
programming has to do with fuel economy. Revving this engine is like taking a
picture with an early digital camera: it will happen, eventually, but often
just too much late. The practical consequences are easy to guess: it frequently
stalls while driving off the lights, or on a slope, so even in the city it’s
seriously compromised. The gearbox has very short gear ratios (third barely
arrives at 115 km/h), as a way to compensate for this lack of energy, but it’s absolutely
worthless. Revving the engine is mandatory in order to experience some sort of
acceleration, but fortunately it’s not very noisy – and it actually has a sweet
3-cylinder thrum – and it’s smooth at the top end. The same cannot be said at
low revs, because it vibrates as if it’s burning stones.
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