1.6 THP GTi By PeugeotSport

Not worth the trouble

I switched out of an MX5 to the 208 GTI By PeugeotSport as I was looking for something that offered similar thrills, but with just a little more practicality. I'd previously enjoyed owning a DS3, which shares a lot of parts with the 208, but what a different experience the 208 would prove to be.

Let's look at the positives first. The performance and handling of the 208 were great. In gear performance was fantastic and the car was a joy to thread along a winding B-road. Grip was absolutely endless!

The seats were also excellent, offering lots of support and comfort on longer trips. The fuel economy was also a pleasant surprise - 40mpg was easily achievable. Looks are obviously subjective, but I always preferred the more subtle approach Peugeot took with the GTI by Peugeotsport compared to the boy racer-ish Fiesta ST.

But for all the 208's excellent qualities, reliability is this cars achilles heel. In my short time with the car, it experienced a myriad of problems. Everything from engine mounts, suspension falling to bits, faulty tyre pressure sensors and even a crunching noise from the gearbox that would only appear in start/stop traffic. The infotainment frequently reset itself, especially if the DAB radio was in use. The quality was also appalling, with items like the boot floor flexing downwards badly due to them being constructed from such flimsy material. The car was 6 years old with 40,000 miles on the clock during my time of ownership, and quite frankly no car should have quite so many problems at this age.

The cabin was a decent place to be, but little things like the cupholders (that couldn't actually fit cups) and the glovebox (that can't fit...well, anything) grate on you after a while.

So there you are, a car that is great to drive but very poorly built and poorly designed. I got rid of it after 6 months. Take a Fiesta ST or an MX5 because the handsome Pug is a lot more trouble that it is worth.

Report as offensive