New Peugeot 208 revealed

And the next best-selling car in Europe is...

Both 5 and 3 door versions look great, it's taken Peugeot a while but finally they're getting a range of more desirable cars, the RCZ, the 508, 5008 and now this. I can see the 208 being a top seller in Europe, the next Clio needs to be something very special to challenge this.

It's good also to see a return to more normal supermini size, and the weight savings are impressive too.

By JFalck on 2 November, 2011, 9:47am

Sorry but on the evidence of what we see here and the rhetoric we heard before the launch (which in Peugeot’s defence all manufacturers are guilty of) this is decidedly mediocre.
The detailing is messy and just not cohesive. One good thing though is that Peugeot’s ridiculous designs with comical faces and unsophisticated surfacing are hopefully not going to return.
I wouldn’t say it’s a return to form (you’ll have to get Pininfarina style to achieve that). Probably will look better in the flesh, but like I said it’s just not that wow.

By nissanman on 2 November, 2011, 11:29am

Gorgeous

A return to form for Peugeot thanks in kind to a designer from Citroen. Much better looking then what Nissan can come up with at present also. Losing 17 Stone in weight is good also, which should mean more agile handling and better MPG's for the conscience thinking motorist.

By THREEPOINTEDSTAR on 2 November, 2011, 12:34pm

katyB

Have we not seen this car before? Hyundia i20 with bits attached and without the five year warranty. The 208 does not appear to move the sector forward in any aspects. Poor build quality and materials with be the order of the day.

By katyB on 2 November, 2011, 2:49pm

Great

206 was a stunning little car in it's day (still is) and I would say this is a modern day equivalent the 207 was horrible.

By marc100 on 2 November, 2011, 3:55pm

looks like...

...the bad dude from terminator 2 splashed on the car!

Interior looks hideous. Trying to be high tech is one thing, looking like this...

By giorikas81 on 2 November, 2011, 4:07pm

You just know this car is going to sell in there millions. just like the 205, 206, 207.

I just hope theirs at least a five speed automatic not the 4 speed. arrr!!!

By rmanmay on 2 November, 2011, 6:19pm

I saw this on the A1 in Lincolnshire last Sunday in complete 100% non-disguise ;)

By danielcrawford on 2 November, 2011, 7:16pm

... cont.

OK, I may have been a little over-enthusiastic first off, but these days find me car that doesn't have 'over-fussy detailing'? Guess we have that Bangle chap and his 'flame-surfacing' to thank for that design movement.
For what it is, it looks pretty smart, and thankfully lacks that bloated look the Fiesta or Jazz has, or the play it safe look of the Polo, Yaris. Sadly yes the Pininfarina and Giugiaro supermini designing days are long gone so let's just make the best of it!

By JFalck on 2 November, 2011, 8:20pm

A Little Jewel

The 208 looks like a little jewel of a car! It makes the Fiesta by comparison look like a bit of shop bling and the Polo, spartan.

katyB, I'm curious, have you own any Peugeots recently? My wife and I purchased two cars recently, a ix35 and a 207. And it's the ix35 with the hard plastic dash and the first to have a warranty claim filed, when the air vent on the passengers side popped out of the dash!

By mjgray100 on 2 November, 2011, 11:40pm

Meh.

Outside looks bland, like cross between a Ford and something Korean, inside OMG, I've not seen a dash that bad since the 80's!
...and it's a Pug, which means it's a Citroen, so it's put together with spit and chewing gum. It'll drop its value so fast it'll make your head spin.

By FactoryWorks on 3 November, 2011, 7:01am

Better

Lighter and smaller than the previous would be something new. Yes, it looks more stylish, even more upmarket. The lights are too artsy fartsy IMO though.

By voyager on 3 November, 2011, 7:54am

Again

Yes Peugeot have done it again !! what a great looking car this 208 is , the disign of the Fiesta now looks a little odd.

By mikelorna on 3 November, 2011, 8:46am

Grossly overstyled

Sometime less is more....

By simon9350 on 3 November, 2011, 9:14am

Some of you need glasses! Hideous!

Clicked on the email link expecting something wonderful... but all i can see is something marginally less ugly than a new bmw1 series! Sorry but this just looks like a complete dogs dinner. Current 207 is pretty handsome but you wouldnt get me in one if these. The first thing i though when i saw it was that it looks like a cheap copy from a chinese manufacturer!

By chrome500 on 3 November, 2011, 9:16am

Honda Toyota and Hyundai rolled into one

The seem to have taken the Yaris added a pinch of Honda and Hyundai to the mix. Not sure this a bad thing but I don't expect usual Peugeot customers to go for it. Perhaps they're trying to bring other customers to the brand.

By Arrowsmith on 3 November, 2011, 10:46am

Reliability,reliabilty..

But where will this car finish in the JD Power survey?
Think we all know.

By toycollector on 3 November, 2011, 1:04pm

Dissapointed.

I love my pugs. But what is this? I don't like it. Looks like a mix between a Ford Fiesta and Fiat 500 to me (which are fine cars on their own, however...). Peugeot normally get it right. But they are trying to hard with this. Stick to your French roots and philosophy on design...I say. Better for it.

By badboyrocco on 3 November, 2011, 1:05pm

Not bad

Cetainly better than the 207, but a bit fussy looking, especially the lights. Oh for the days of something with simple good looks like the original Corsa.

By Ian2861 on 3 November, 2011, 3:22pm

Tacky

The dash looks like a cheap ghetto blaster, all shiny plastic. Should appeal to boy racers with the drilled pedals though, 9/10 for tackiness.

By stevie on 3 November, 2011, 5:05pm

Pretty Ugly

The outside is pretty (guess the cheap versions won't look so great) but what happened inside? VILE!
And it WILL BREAK DOWN ALL THE TIME.

By IronChicken on 3 November, 2011, 5:21pm

Finally a good looker!!

Finally Peugeot have listened and designed a car that doesn't have a gaping mouth!! My first thought of seeing the front, especially the lights area was a Toyota Yaris, but still a very good job! There are a lot of retro design elements, the rear bumper light and body lines from the 206, the c-pillar chrome like the old 205 and the binacle/dash design similar to an '80s citroen... all of which look great too me!! Plus the quality of plastics in the new Peugeots is far superior to most current japanese cars. I would definetly buy a 208!! although probably an SW, lets hope they can deliver the same quality on that one too.

And to anyone that has actually owned a Peugeot will know they are not as bad as people make out, I have had 306, 206 with no problems and now had a 307SW for 6 months with no faults (touch wood) as yet.

By karlrj_86 on 3 November, 2011, 8:45pm

Weight Loss

It needed it as it was one of the heaviest supermini's,still no where near as light as a Mazda 2 or Fiesta.
it's an improvement on the old one outside anyway.

By armac31 on 3 November, 2011, 10:46pm

Not a Fan

I'm not a fan of Peugeot, normally. However, of late, they are building some 'nice looking' cars. How they behanve on the road and what they feel like I'm not too bothered about as I'll probably never buy one. This however looks rather nice for the same reasons the RCZ did when it came out. For a company like Peugeot to make the effort to improve their line up as much as this and the other recent efforts -okay, I'll have to list them: RCZ, 508 saloon and estate, 4008, HX1 Concept, SR1 Concept, EX1 Concept, definitely the 2008 RC Concept. Peugeot are moving up, and according to your report on this 208, especially where it counts, interior quality. Well done to another manufacturer that has begun to listen to its customers. All you others, take note!

By bob809 on 4 November, 2011, 5:48pm

Peugeot

Don't like this car, you don't need to be outlandish surely to sell cars, don't think the french do quality.....anyway not a french car lover after having two french piles of junk.

By harryg on 4 November, 2011, 10:19pm

Looks believable but what about Reliability ....

The only Peugeot I've owned was an SRi 405; generally beautiful car and comfortable but maddeningly unreliable (my bro's 206 was definitely worse). Same I 'm told of the 207, 307/8 etc .
Unfortunately left a deep-seated distrust for any Peugeot, and here seems to be the danger (hopefully unfounded of late models) i.e .however good looking, there's still going to be that nagging fear, will this new car bite, so much so that I' for one rather take a KIA/Hyundai just 'to be on the safe side'.
A pity otherwise, as there seems to be genuine effort to lift this 208 to 'old school' (80-90's) Peugeot charm - slightly radical touches inclusive (dashboard in point). Just hope the reliability is/will be an aspect definitely not of the 'old school' kind.

By jossjjew on 5 November, 2011, 12:10am

I like

Great car! Big improvement over the 207, but I don't get how the steering wheel is so low, it looks like you should be steering with your knees??

By jamieh2591 on 5 November, 2011, 10:36am

ugly as sin instrument binnacles

OMG we forgot about somewhere to put the instruments.( flash of inspiration!!!!!!) I know glue em on the top of the dash nobody will notice. If you put that amount of junk on the dash of most cars the old bill would be talking to you about obscuring your view through the screen, still it stops the sandwiches & fags sliding around eh ! What are they thinking it's a car not a fairground ride........

By briandi on 5 November, 2011, 11:35am

beautifull

inspired design and perfect interior

By christosxx on 5 November, 2011, 2:46pm

Mediocre Uninspiring Design

Will please the masses no doubt, but for design connoisseurs like me it doesn't stand up to scrutiny or critical design standards. The front end in particular looks unfinished, lacks cohesion without any clear design focus or direction. The overall design is a annoying haphazard affair with conflicting themes and shapes. Giugiaro's Fiat Punto design is far superior to this and is still to my eyes, the best-looking supermini.

By Kevin1982 on 6 November, 2011, 1:56am

Unimpressed

For example, there’s an indent scored into the bonnet which is continued with a small protrusion at the top of the windscreen and finishes with an unmistakable dip in the roof spoiler at the rear.

WOW I must get my chequebook out right away ....not .

By bjbchelsea on 9 November, 2011, 11:57am

Horrid

This is awful, the "detailing" as AE say, amounts to no more than throwaway cuts and creases on a blob of a body that could just as easily be a Citroen, Kia, Hyundai, Renault etc etc etc. Shambolic and no doubt a best seller...

By JamesRiley on 16 November, 2011, 6:06pm

Its growing on me

When I first saw the initial photos I was disappointed. This design does not stand up to the previous releases of the 200 series at their time. However, I am beginning to like it a lot. It appears solid on the street and although not aggressive it looks interesting. I'll wait to see it in live to decide.

By PAAdam on 28 November, 2011, 5:34am

OVER DONE

too much make up and glitter

By liverpool on 22 December, 2011, 9:24pm

I really hate peugeot with a passion. There cars are ever so ugly.

By NeilR on 22 January, 2012, 7:17pm