Peugeot 208 review: A stylish, economical supermini with a thrilling drive

I was reading an interview with a band that had just completed an album, but not before they had terrible difficulty finishing one track. They could not get a guitar solo to work; they even brought in different personnel.

In desperation, they called in an old session guy, who they reckoned was probably past it. But he came into the studio, set up his gear and in 10 minutes had nailed it. The song was complete.

The producer was asked if he had been worried that the track wouldn’t be recorded and he admitted that he had been.

But, then, as he watched the old session man go about his business, he just knew they’d get the result they wanted.

“Aw, shucks,” he said, “you know Johnny: He’s just an egg-sucking dawg and he got it done.”

An egg-sucking dog. What an unusual compliment. It suggests everything from cleverness, to competence, to an ability to complete even the most unusual task.

I mean, when was the last time you saw a dog successfully suck an egg?

Quite what, you might well wonder, has this got to do with cars and our testing of them? Well, I’ve just driven one that could well merit the soubriquet ‘an egg-sucking dawg’.

The car is the new 208, which was facelifted just last year and comes from a long line of excellent small Peugeot cars. Its lineage can be traced back to the fantastic 205 from the 1980s, which will be long remembered by legions of rally fans and van drivers.

The 205 T16 was an all-conquering World Rally Championship car, a mid-engined Group B monster with 4WD.

It won all round it and inspired the road-going GTi versions, both with 1.6 and 1.9 engines, which were hugely popular. For the van driver, the 1.7 and 1.9 XUD diesels were the berries: Quick, economical and great to drive.

With the 206 and the 207, which came subsequently, the gloss wore off and they were not as successful, or as good. But in 2012 came the 208 and it was an instant hit.

It remains so, well in to its second generation, and was Europe’s top-selling car in 2022, before being facelifted in 2023 and given new-era hybrid-engine options.

Even the electric version was a winner, and that was not true of every car that transitioned. Not only did it stir the emotions with its visual beauty, but it has a half-decent range and defiantly pinpointed a future for such things.

This latest 208 is simply beautiful; in its vivid canary yellow overcoat it certainly stood out from the mob. Even so, it looks just right and is possibly the best-looking supermini around right now.

And, with a wheel at each corner, it looks perfectly balanced, while the colour-coded 3D grille gives it a presence few of its competitors can boast and the ‘claw’ LED lights also marked it out.

The latter have been adapted from the original concept and now look better than ever. The 208 is premium looking.

Inside, too, the upmarket trend continues and the comfort and décor are at premium levels, while the technology is top drawer, much more than any of its rivals’.

The 208 is also one of the best handlers in its class and so you have a package that not alone appeals visually, but is easy on your pocket and is pretty much a thrill to drive.

These are not characteristics found in too many superminis and they mark the Peugeot out as something special.

And it is.

On the road, the car is not as stiffly sprung as some of its rivals, which makes it a really comfortable highway cruiser — much more so than most small cars — and while this does not make it feel like a hugely sporty B-roader, it still has grip aplenty and doesn’t understeer, like so many.

It has a tenacious mien about it on poor surfaces and while it does lean a little into corners, it is predictable and confidence-inspiring and can be great fun.

There are petrol and hybrid versions and it was one of the latter we tried: The 100bhp 1.2 Hybrid 100, which came with an automatic gearbox that was perhaps not the best choice for the enthusiastic driver. It tended to delay a little on kick-down and was not so smooth on the up-changes.

The manual option might be a tad better for those who like their sauce spicy.

This has a 0-100 km/h time of 9.8 seconds, which is just OK these days, but the stand-out figure is on economy.

It will give you somewhere in the region of 5.9 l/100km (47mpg) on motorway driving and 5.09 l/100 (55 mpg) in town.

And, of course, there are the times it will drive on electric only (you can tell when, because the instrumentation turns from white to blue), giving you added economy.

There are one or two things to consider with the 208, though. One is visibility, because the A-pillars are quite thick and can be obstructive on sharp turns; and the sloping roof lessens the rearward view.

Also, the i-cockpit, which will not suit everyone and has to be taken in to account when purchasing.

All told, though, the 208 is a really good little car and one which will find a happy home in many driveways. It is good-looking, economical, well specced, well priced and good to drive.

Indeed, in many ways it is that rarest of automotive things: An egg-sucking dawg.