MOTORING
PEUGEOT 208 GTi SPORT something that l have not experienced for years. Power into a tight bend and you can even make the back wheel cock its leg up just like in ye olde days. After all this excitement, you then encounter the French penchant for going their own way, for refusing to toe the line and taking pride in being different. All good if your way of doing things is right, or cute, but alas, we encounter the opposite. Take the dash. Was there not a French designer somewhere who might have noticed that you cannot see it? No matter what you do
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with the rake of the steering wheel, it hides the dash. Isn’t this basic car design? The centre
f you still hanker after that youthful joy of a hot hatch having spent fun summer days with the 205 GTi, then you are in for a treat.
little pocket rocket that goes like a scalded cat
screen seems a tad of an afterthought and the
when pushed. It handles well, is built well and
dash display tells you whenever you turn the
The 205GTi was credited with the turnaround
deals with the vagaries of British roads, which
wipers on or off - l know, l can see them. Big
of the French manufacturer’s fortunes,
is not something that Peugeot’s are particularly
black things going back and forth - l really don’t
following their habit of producing large saloons
known for.
need to be told. Then there’s the high beam.
such as the 504 and 505. Big lumbering
Wait no longer, as the 208 GTi is a cracking
You can rev the boots off this thing and it will
Flash someone out of a side turning and the
nightmares that seemed, and indeed were,
really fly. With beefed-up anti-roll bars, bigger
high beam comes on - and stays on until you
from a bygone age. The genesis of the 205 lay
brakes, taut dampers, roof spoiler and sports
notice it, having infuriated all oncoming cars.
within Peugeot’s 1978 takeover of Chrysler’s
springs, it also manages to stop and go round
These little foibles are not cute; they are just
European division Simca and the former Rootes
corners without feeling that you are about to
bloody annoying.
Group, which had the necessary expertise in
meet your maker. Fun is the best word to use.
making small cars, including the Hillman Imp.
As with all fast front-wheel-drive cars, you
The 205 went on to be hailed as the Car of the
get that horrible wheel spin when you try to
Decade in 1990.
accelerate and corner at the same time, and
But it has been a long wait.
TECHNICAL STUFF Model Tested: 208GTi Sport Engine: 1600cc Power: 208 bhp Performance: 0-62 6.5 seconds Top Speed: 143 mph Economy: 52.3 mpg Price: £21,940.00
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you need to fight the torque steer, which is
That said, it is a rapid wasp of a car that can be great fun to drive, will nip round town with ease or blast up the motorway at speed. Fun. Welcome back, Peugeot. You’ve been gone a while.