Peugeot 208 review

You can pretty much rely on a French car maker to create a stylish small car. Whether it’s any good or not is another matter entirely, so you'll be pleased to know from the outset that the current Peugeot 208 is one of the good 'uns.

Let's be clear: this is a completely different model to the first-generation 208. That's marvellous news, because the original was one of the less good ones, and struggled to compete with rivals such as the Seat Ibiza and Volkswagen Polo. This second-generation 208 presents much more of a challenge to the class best.

New Peugeot 208 video review

Better still, the current 208 doesn’t just stack up well against the best mainstream rivals. The more expensive versions in the range are genuine alternatives to premium-badge rivals, including the Audi A1. Why's that, you might ask? Just take a look at the 208's upmarket interior and you'll get an inkling.  

It all sounds pretty good so far, then, but it's time to get into the nitty gritty to establish where exactly the Peugeot 208 sits in the 'best small cars' pecking order. 

What’s new?

- June 2025 - Top-of-the-range GT Premium trim introduced with Alcantara interior, heated front seats and an electrically-adjustable driver’s seat
- May 2025 - New special edition 208 Style features a black grille, orange seat stitching and comes with a 1.2-litre engine
- October 2023 - Revised 208 launches with a new look, 10in touchscreen and most models feature wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay 

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Unless you go for the all-electric Peugeot e-208 (which we've reviewed separately) you'll get either a petrol or hybrid petrol engine.

The cheapest is also our pick of the range – the 99bhp 1.2-litre PureTech 100. For a little engine, it packs a relatively big punch: it pulls keenly from low revs and feels potent when you rev it out. It's ideal for propelling you along A-roads and motorways without fuss, and feels much livelier than a Renault Clio or VW Polo with equivalent power.

If you’re after efficiency, the 108bhp Hybrid 110 and 143bhp Hybrid 145 are interesting options. Although they are technically mild hybrids, they allow you to drive on electricity alone for short distances at low speeds, and have plenty of power to get you up to motorway speeds.

The 208 scores well for comfort, offering a gentler and more supple ride than even an Audi A1 or Polo. Regardless of speed, the 208 is particularly smooth, and it’s most impressive on motorways, where it feels as comfortable as some larger cars.

The 208 has softer suspension than the Clio, so it bobs up and down more along undulating B-roads, but not in the wayward manner of a Citroën C3. And being softer means that even nasty ridges and potholes don't cause too much discomfort.

While the 208's suspension softness makes it a cushy and comfy cruiser, it doesn’t lend itself to sportiness. There's more body lean through tight twists and turns than in an Audi A1 or Seat Ibiza, and it's not as keen to change direction through switchback turns.

The 208 has a tiny steering wheel that looks a bit go-kart like. It conveys a good amount of weight as you turn the wheel but feels a little artificial and elastic off-centre, which doesn’t give you a great sense of connection with the road.

Once you’re used to it, it does the job, but if you want a small car that’s more engaging and fun to drive, you’ll want to try an A1 or Clio.

Relative to other small cars, this is an area of strength for the 208. Road noise is excellently suppressed, even at speed, and there’s not much suspension noise as you trundle around town. At higher speeds, there's a bit of wind noise from around the windscreen pillars, but it's not intrusive.

The 1.2 PureTech 100 is a little noisy at times. You’ll hear it thrum as you accelerate from low revs but that quickly fades into the background at motorway speeds. If you go for one of the hybrids, you'll enjoy much quieter electric-only driving for parts of your journey.

The 208's standard six-speed manual gearbox doesn’t quite have the pleasing mechanical precision of the equivalent in the Ibiza. The same goes for its clutch action, with a slightly vague bite point that can cause the odd jerky start. The optional automatic gearbox suffers a little bit of a delay when you put your foot down, and doesn’t iron out its gear changes as smoothly as it could.

“In the hybrid versions of the 208, your speedometer on the digital driver's display turns green when it’s running on pure electric power, which I think is a nice touch.” – Doug Revolta, Head of Video

Entry-level Style trim has analogue dials with a small digital screen between them, while the rest of the range has full digital instruments – with a 3D effect on GT trim and above. But how you view the instruments in the Peugeot 208 is where things get rather unconventional.

Peugeot calls the set-up its iCockpit design, and you're supposed to view the instruments (the speedo, rev counter etc) by looking over, rather than through, the steering wheel. To make this possible, Peugeot's shrunk the steering wheel to the size of a shirt button. So, is it better than the conventional driving positions of its rivals? Well, that depends. 

If you're long in the body or sit close to the wheel with the seat jacked up, you’ll probably think that's great. If not, you'll probably find that the steering wheel actually blocks your view of the instruments, and you have to sit in an uncomfortable position to see what speed you're doing. On manual versions, the space next to the clutch pedal is quite tight, too, so make sure you take a test drive before buying to check you're happy.

We also have a gripe about the 208's lack of physical buttons. For example, you have to use the touchscreen to adjust the interior temperature, which is distracting. On a positive note, the seats are comfy but adjustable lumbar support is standard only on range-topping GT Premium trim. It's available as an option on GT trim, as part of a pack that adds Alcantara upholstery, heated seats and a massage function.

Seeing out of the 208 could be easier. For a start, the windscreen pillars obscure more of what you can see in front of you than they do in, say, a VW Polo. There are decent-sized wing mirrors but the rear pillars and tapering roofline reduce the amount you can see over your shoulders as well.

Still, there is salvation in the form of standard rear parking sensors on all models, with front sensors added if you step up to mid-spec Allure trim and a rear-view camera added in GT cars. You can add front and rear cameras to Allure and GT trim as part of a parking pack.

Eco LED lights are standard across the range so you won’t struggle to see where you’re going at night. On GT trim, those are upgraded to full LEDs.

All 208s come with a 10in infotainment touchscreen. It's standard definition on entry-level Style trim and a higher definition with other trims. 

Neither version is as high definition as the equivalent in a Seat Ibiza or a Polo, though, and Peugeot's operating system isn't as responsive or intuitive to use, either. Fortunately, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay come as standard so you can use your phone apps through the screen, but even then the software can be laggy.

TomTom sat-nav is standard on all versions, as are front USB-C charging ports, with wireless phone charging optional from Allure trim and standard on GT Premium. 

The 208’s interior is one of the most striking designs available in a small car – even including the premium Audi A1.

The use of high-end materials and soft-touch surfaces makes it feel upmarket, and if you go for GT trim, you'll get some fancy ambient interior lighting. The build quality largely matches the style, with everything feeling screwed together sturdily.

“A 3D-effect digital driver display comes as standard on GT trim and above, making some information on the screen appear closer to you than others. To be honest it’s feels like a bit of a gimmick and I prefer the regular display.” – Doug Revolta, Head of Video

Although it’s a small car ,the Peugeot 208 has enough head and leg room for tall drivers in the front. It's also narrower than some rivals between the two front doors, although you and your passenger will have enough space to both rest your elbows on the central armrest. There are roomier alternatives, though, such as the VW Polo. 

Under the armrest, there's a large cubby for your wallet, and storage space elsewhere is very good. You get sizeable door bins, trays and cup holders, plus a decent glovebox.

The 208 isn't the easiest car to get in and out of if you're an adult of reasonable stature because it has fairly narrow door openings.

Once inside, however, there's just enough head and leg room for taller adults to fit, and the 208's rear seats are roomier than the Renault Clio's. Do bear in mind that the 208's optional Cielo glass roof reduces head room by quite a bit, though.

Once again, the Polo is roomier, so if you need more rear space, that's a better choice. Storage space in the rear of the 208 includes a couple of small door bins and map pockets on the back of each front seat, though.

The rear seatbacks split and fold in a 60/40 arrangement as standard. That's par for the course in a small car but not as versatile as the more practical 40/20/40 arrangement you’ll find bigger cars, like the Mercedes A-Class.

The Honda Jazz is a small car with more seating flexibility. It's unique rear seats have a special folding mechanism that allows them to fold totally flat, so you can increase the load-carrying capacity when needed.

With GT trim, Peugeot adds a height-adjustable front passenger seat. You can't add passenger lumbar adjustment, though, which you can with the Polo and some other rivals.

The 208 has a 309-litre boot, which is decent for its class but not as big as the Seat Ibiza's or VW Polo's boot. We managed to squeeze five carry-on suitcases in the 208 below its parcel shelf – the same number as in an Audi A1 and Renault Clio. 

Annoyingly, the 208’s boot has a narrower opening than many other small cars, making it harder to squeeze in large items, and you can't have a height-adjustable boot floor.

“Rear seat space isn’t a strength of the 208, but a couple of six-foot passengers didn’t mind an hour-long trip in the back when I had one on test.” – Doug Revolta, Head of Video

The Peugeot 208 is an attractive prospect for cash buyers. Its starting price is lower than the equivalent Audi A1 and VW Polo, and only slightly higher than the Skoda Fabia. The 208 is predicted to depreciate at the same rate as the Fabia, so PCP finance rates should be competitive, too. 

Running costs are pretty good. In our real-world tests, the 1.2 PureTech 100 petrol averaged 47.9mpg (versus its official figure of 58.2mpg), which is more than similarly powerful engines in the Renault Clio and the Polo. The hybrid versions should be more efficient but not by a huge amount – officially, the Hybrid 110 averages 65.9mpg.

If you’re chasing the lowest possible CO2 emissions, to keep BIK tax down for your next company car, you'll find an electric car cheaper to run. To read about the fully electric version of the 208, see our Peugeot e-208 review.

Even the 208's cheapest trim level, Style, is quite well equipped, but it does come with wheel trims rather than alloys. Highlights include heated wing mirrors, automatic lights, air conditioning and a leather steering wheel. 

Allure trim is our pick, which adds dual-zone climate control, privacy glass, automatic wipers, power-folding door mirrors and extra parking aids.

GT adds 17in wheels, wireless phone-charging, keyless entry and start, and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, while GT Premium adds heated front seats and some Alcantara interior trim – but these top two trims push the price up.

Peugeot as a manufacturer finished a decent 11th out of 30 manufacturers in the 2025 What Car? Reliability Survey. That's below Honda, Kia, Mini and Toyota, but above Audi, Skoda and VW.

Every 208 gets a three-year warranty, consisting of two years of unlimited-mileage cover from the manufacturer and an additional year that's provided by Peugeot’s UK dealer network. Kia and Hyundai offer longer standard warranties, while Toyota’s 10-year/100,000-mile offering is unrivalled by everyone except Lexus.

The 208 was given four stars out of five when it was safety tested by Euro NCAP in 2019, while the Clio received the full five stars. If you drill into the details of the test, it's almost as good in most areas, such as chest protection and whiplash protection for those in the rear, but not as good at protecting people outside the vehicle.

All models come with a basic form of automatic emergency braking (AEB) as standard, but you'll have to go for GT trim to get a more advanced system that works at night and can recognise cyclists as well as pedestrians.

Traffic-sign recognition and a driver attention alert system are both standard on all versions, as is lane-keeping assistance. Blind-spot monitoring is only available as part of the optional parking pack on the top two trims.

“I think it’s a shame heated front seats only come as standard with range-topping GT Premium trim, or as an option on GT trim.” – Doug Revolta, Head of Video

Buy it if...

- You want a small car with a classy interior
- You enjoy a comfortable ride
- You want a punchy and efficient petrol engine

Don't buy it if...

- You haven't tried out the 208's unconventional driving position
- You need maximum passenger space
- You need the biggest boot available

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