Peugeot 208 GTi

The Peugeot 208 is a supermini car (B-segment in Europe) produced by the French automaker Peugeot. Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2012 and positioned below bigger 308 and above smaller 108. The 208 replaced the 207 in 2012, and the car is currently at its second generation.

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First generation (A9; 2012)

The first 208 models were three door hatchbacks produced in November 2011, at the company's new plant in Slovakia. In June 2012, as five-door hatchbacks became available, production of the 208 also commenced at Peugeot's French plants at Mulhouse, and at Poissy.

The 208, developed under code name "A9", is built on the PSA PF1 platform and the weight is to be reduced by ( on average) compared with the 207 and still offer more space than the predecessor.

The boot offers ( VDA) of space, more than the 207, and the leg room in the rear seat increases . The design was led by Pierre Authier, with Sylvain Henry as exterior designer.

The interior design is by Adam Bazydlo, and the colour and trim is by Marie Sanou. The car features a tablet computer like screen, and panoramic glass roof surrounded by LED lights. The car is relatively aerodynamic with a drag coefficient, C_d, of 0.29.

A high performance 208 R was to be positioned above the 208 GTi in the lineup, but was never released.

In mid-2018, the three-door model was discontinued. In 2019, Peugeot ceased the production of the first-generation 208 in Europe. The first-generation 208 has been produced in Brazil from January 2013 to March 2020, when the second-generation model imported from Argentina was released.

Engines

All the petrol engines comply with the Euro 5 norm and the diesel engines have emissions of 99 g/km or lower. In addition to the four cylinder petrol engines carried over from the previous model, from September 2012, the 208 has been offered with two new three cylinder units with variable valve timing – the 1.0 VTi (68 hp) and 1.2 VTi (82 hp).

The 1.0 comes with an advertised fuel consumption of , and a emissions value of 99 g/km. A 1.2 L three cylinder is available with a turbocharger designated as the PureTech 110 S&S (available on the GT Line models and the allures) or without designated PureTech 82 S&S (available on the active, VTi, or XS).

This engine is coupled to a five speed manual or a six speed automatic. The 208 GTi is fitted with a 1.6 litre turbo (1,598 cc) four cylinder in line turbo petrol Prince engine producing at 5,800 rpm and of torque at 1,700 rpm, and is fitted with a six speed manual transmission.

This first GTi model has since been replaced by the 208 GTi by PeugeotSport which is directly derived from the limited edition '30ème Anniversaire Edition' which put out 208 bhp with revised suspension and an optional two tone paint job, along with a facelift of the original bumpers and other small changes.

The GTi's Prince engine is shared with the Mini and various Citroëns.

The range of diesel units starts with the four-cylinder 1.4-litre e HDi unit, originally introduced in 2010 for the 207, which provides of power coupled, in the 208, with published fuel economy and emission figures of and 87 g/km.

Trims

The 208 comes with a range of trims and specs. Starting from the entry model as of 2019:

* Active – Available with either a 1.2L Puretech 82 S&S Petrol or a 1.5L BlueHDi Diesel, both come with a five speed manual.
* Signature (also known as the Allure) – Comes with the same engine and gear box as the active but has different styling and alloys.
* Tech Edition – As well as coming with the same engine as the active and signature it also comes with two additional engine variants. A 1.2 litre Puretech 110 turbocharged manual and an automatic version known as the EAT6, both three cylinders
* GT-Line – This is the top of line model that is available from Peugeot. Coupled with the 1.2L 110 engines both six speed automatic and manual as well as the 1.5 litre diesel. This trim offers all the styling of a hot hatch, it has 16" alloys which are diamond cut.

Safety

The 208 in its most basic Latin American configuration with 2 airbags received 4 stars for adult occupants and 3 stars for toddlers from Latin NCAP in 2014.

The 208 in its most basic Latin American configuration with 2 airbags and no ESC received 2 stars for adult occupants and 3 stars for toddlers from Latin NCAP in 2016 (one level above 2010-2015).

Second generation (P21; 2019)

The second generation Peugeot 208 was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2019, and officially went on sale across Europe over the summer. A fully electric version, named e-208, was also revealed at Geneva. The 208 offers a choice of powertrains, using conventional petrol or diesel engines, or an electric motor.

Technical

The drivetrains and platform of the 208 are shared with the Peugeot 2008, the DS 3 Crossback and Opel Corsa. The conventional petrol engines branded "''PureTech''" are all 1.2-litre, three-cylinder naturally aspirated EB2FA with , or turbo EB2DT with , or turbo EB2DTS with , except the versions made in Argentina which use the 1.6-litre naturally-aspirated EC5 either petrol-only or ethanol-capable flex fuel for export to Brazil.

The diesel model will come in just one engine variant, a 1.5-litre four cylinder engine producing . Moroccan buyers have the option of the old 1.6 HDi engine producing . Peugeot have yet to announce the Sport models and what engine they will be using, such as the GTi which has been part of the family of the 208.

However, Guillaume Clerc, the project manager for the second generation 208, stated that development of a petrol 208 GTi ended in 2017, because it was impossible to meet the corporate average emission targets with the larger 1.6-litre engine used in the previous generation 208 GTi. Clerc hinted the next GTi could be based on the e-208.

The 208 and e-208 are available with optional advanced driver-assistance systems, featuring adaptive cruise control, lane centering, automatic parking, and blind spot monitoring. Models equipped with a manual transmission feature cruise control down to a minimum speed of ; the automatic and e208 models can control the car down to a stop.

e-208

Unlike competing contemporary vehicles such as the Renault Zoe and Volkswagen ID.3, the e-208 shares a common chassis with the conventional petrol/diesel powered 208. Peugeot chose this deliberately to enable potential buyers to select the drivetrain that best suits their requirements.

This also allows Peugeot to assemble the e-208 on the same line as the 208, in Trnava plant. Compared to the conventionally powered versions of the 208, the e-208 is approximately heavier, and has a slightly wider rear axle, to accommodate the battery pack.

The e-208 has a heat-pump controlled 50 kWh battery, a motor, and a 6.6 kW charger. WLTP range is . It is equipped with a CCS Combo Type 2 connector, and can charge at a rate of up to 100 kW from a suitable DC fast charging station.

Charge rate can be 70kW up to 40% state of charge, then decreasing to 50kW. The onboard charger is limited to 7.4 kW, but may be equipped with a three phase 11 kW charger as an option. In the e208, the gear selector is used to choose the level of regenerative braking.

Shortly after it went on sale in October 2019, demand for the e-208 was strong. Peugeot had anticipated making approximately 30,000 e-208 cars per year, 10% of the planned annual production of 300,000 for the entire 208 product line, but of all pre-orders received were for the e208. Maximum production for the e-208 is 60,000 per year.

The electric e-208 was voted "Most Desired Electric Car" in North Macedonia at the Golden Steering Wheel awards at the beginning of 2021.

Powertrain

Safety

Euro NCAP

The 208 in its standard European configuration received 4 stars from Euro NCAP in 2019.

South American model

In July 2020, Peugeot started the assembly of the second-generation 208 in Argentina in its Buenos Aires plant. The production at this plant is intended for South American market. It only produces internal combustion models, as the e-208s sold in South America are imported. The Argentinian-made 208 is equipped with the 1.6-litre VTi engine producing .

In 2020, it is claimed to be 95% equal to the European version (but the engine is different, for starters) and 40% of its parts are made in Argentina. 60% of its production is exported.

In May 2022, following the merger of PSA and FCA to form Stellantis, Peugeot released a naturally-aspirated 1.0-litre 208 as an entry-level option for Brazilian market, using the Firefly engine from the Fiat Argo with .

Safety

The Latin American 208 has front disc brakes.

= Latin NCAP

=
The 208 in its most basic Latin American configuration with 4 airbags and ISA received 2 stars from Latin NCAP in 2021 under its new protocol (one level above 2016-2019, similar to Euro NCAP 2014).

Sales

Peugeot announced the 300,000th 208 was produced in February 2013.

Motorsport

208 T16 Pikes Peak

In April 2013, a 208 T16 was tested by Sébastien Loeb at Mont Ventoux. Loosely based on the shape and design of the production 208, the T16 is a lightweight vehicle that uses the rear wing from the Peugeot 908, and has a 3.2 litre, twin turbo V6 engine, developing and 0–100 km/h in just 1.8s with the aim of competing at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The engine was derived from racing variants of the PSA ES/L V6 built by Sodemo, which were used in the Courage C60 Le Mans race car between 2001 and 2003.

At Pikes Peak on 30 June 2013, Sébastien Loeb used the 208 T16 to break Rhys Millen's record time, set in 2012 on the first fully paved roads in the history of the competition. The previous record of 9:46.164 was shattered, and a new record time of 8:13.878 was set.

The car also won the hillclimbing race, at the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed in June 2014.

Racing

In 2018, a Peugeot 208 GTi 30th Edition model won the overall award in the inaugural ''Classic Sports Car Club Turbo Tin Tops Series'', for forced induction front wheel drive cars.

Rallycross

Team Peugeot-Hansen won the manufacturers title at the FIA World Rallycross Championship in November 2015. Jérôme Grosset-Janin was runner up in the FIA European Rallycross Championship in the same year.

In the FIA World Rallycross Championship, Timmy Hansen won the drivers championship with a Peugeot 208, and Hansen MJP won the teams championship.

Rally

Juha Salo won the Finnish Rally Championship in 2015 and 2016.

Notes

References

External links

*

Peugeot 208 design story

Peugeot 208 Official UAE Website

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