Peugeot 208 review

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 A1 or Seat Ibiza, and it's not as keen to switch from left to right.

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.

All 208s come with a 10.0in infotainment touchscreen. It's standard definition on entry-level Active trim and high definition on other trims. 

Neither is as high definition as the equivalent in a Seat Ibiza or Polo, and Peugeot's operating system isn't as intuitive to use. Fortunately, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay come as standard so you can use your phone apps through the screen.

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, although a Mini feels even more sturdily screwed together.

Interior overview

Strengths Great and classy-feeling interior; good build quality; comfortable seats

Weaknesses Eccentric steering wheel design and position; few physical controls

Although it’s a small car, the Peugeot 208 has enough space in the front for even tall drivers. That said, the VW Polo and some other rivals offer more head room.

The 208 is narrower than the Polo from door to door but there's enough width for you and your front passenger to both rest your elbows on the central armrest comfortably.

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 in a Mercedes A-Class.

If you need the added boot space often, you’ll want to turn your attention to the Honda Jazz. It has unique rear seats with a special folding mechanism that allows them to fold totally flat.

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

The 208 has a 311-litre boot, which is a decent size for the class. It's beaten for capacity by the Seat Ibiza and VW Polo, but there’s enough room for a few holiday bags. We managed to squeeze in five carry-on suitcases below the parcel shelf – the same number as in an Audi A1 and Renault Clio.

Peugeot as a manufacturer finished a fairly underwhelming 21st out of 32 in the 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey. That's below Seat and Skoda but above Audi, Renault, Vauxhall and Volkswagen.

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.