Peugeot 208

It maybe somewhat undignified as a direct replacement to the aging 207 but the brand new Peugeot 208 is all about letting your body drive away from your boring everyday moments. This is how you want to let your body out and go through bigger and better things. It's available in 3-door and 5-door models.

2013 Peugeot 208

The design of the Peugeot 208 derived from Peugeot's new design DNA first applied on the 508 and the 308 minor change. This provides more charisma and more flair but because this is French, it's somewhat too quirky to look at it. Hey, it's France and quirky brilliance is their design taste. What I'm looking up now is a design that is truly Peugeot identity that will stand out the rest and the new 208 progresses it even further.

2013 Peugeot 208 interior

On the interior, it's all about being luxurious but the best part of the 208's interior was it's iPad-like touch screen. Last year, I was amazed by having fun with the iPod-style "touch panel audio" on the third-generation Suzuki MR Wagon but now, the Peugeot 208, the iPad-style touch screen is much better to play with than the MR Wagon's "touch panel audio". This feature provides me some access to the following features such as radio, Bluetooth hands-free kit or playing music files via a USB connection or audio streaming. It also has access to reasonably priced navigation, which is less than 500 euros, placing it in a very competitive position in the motor vehicle domain of on-board navigation systems. Guess I have found myself my new companion...

The Peugeot 208 has a list of diesel engines available;

- 1.4l HDi PEF 50 kW (68 hp), 160 Nm, 5-speed manual gearbox; CO2: 98 g/km
- 1.4l e-HDi PEF 50 kW (68 hp),160 Nm,5-speed piloted gearbox,Stop & Start; CO2: 87 g/km
- 1.6 l e-HDi PEF 68 kW (92 hp), 230 Nm, 5-speed manual gearbox, Stop & Start; CO2: 98 g/km
- 1.6 l e-HDi PEF 68 kW (92 hp), 230 Nm, 6-speed piloted gearbox, Stop & Start; CO2: 98 g/km
- 1.6l e-HDi PEF 84 kW (115 hp), 270/285 Nm, 6-speed manual gearbox, Stop & Start; CO2: 99 g/km

It also has a list of gasoline engines available;

- 1.0 l VTi 50 kW (68 hp); 95 Nm, 5-speed manual gearbox; 99 g/km
- 1.2 l VTi 60 kW (82 hp); 118 Nm, 5-speed manual gearbox; 104 g/km
- 1.4 l VTi 70 kW (95 hp); 136 Nm, 5-speed manual gearbox: 129 g/km
- 1.6 l VTi 88 kW (120 hp); 160 Nm, 5-speed manual gearbox: 134 g/km
- 1.6 l THP 115 kW (156 hp), 240/260 Nm, 6-speed manual gearbox; CO2: 135 g/km

Part of this whole downsizing trend is the introduction of the new generation of 3-cylinder engines designed by PSA Peugeot Citroën Group and produced at its Trémery factory in France. Those 1.0L VTi and 1.2L VTi variants of the new 208 provide 99 g/km and 104 g/km of CO2. It's very eco though...

The 208 comes with numerous features for safety such as ESP, ASR (traction control), CDS (stability control), EBA (emergency braking assistance) and EBFD (electronic brake force distribution). This also comes with Peugeot Connect SOS and Peugeot Connect Assistance services free of charge and with no time limit. Bear that in mind that Peugeot Connect SOS, currently available in 10 European countries and in more than 600,000 Peugeot vehicles, permits location of the vehicle and dispatching of the appropriate emergency services in the event of an incident.

Four variants are offered; Access, Active, Allure, and Feline, with each different engine types, features, and options offered. What's more, it comes with nine exterior colors such as Blanc Banquise, Gris Shark, Blossom Grey, Spirit Grey, Bleu Virtuel, Rouge Noir, Rouge Erythrée, Noir Obsidien, and Gris Aluminium.

My comment:
Guess this brand new Peugeot 208 won my heart with its cool touch screen feature that turns out this is much better to play with than the MR Wagon's Touch Panel Audio. This is the only feature I really love to play with. Anyway, back to the 208, the quirky Peugeot design DNA really flourished this new age premium compact car to new and exciting ways to let yourself run free and do whatever he/she likes. If I have one, guess I should start playing with this...

Photo: PSA Peugeot Citroen