Chris Evans reviews Peugeot 208 GTi 30th: Small but (almost) peu-fectly formed: It has an epic pedigree

By Chris Evans Event for The Mail on Sunday

Published: 22:01 GMT, 31 January 2015 | Updated: 22:02 GMT, 31 January 2015

Peugeot 208 GTi 30th                                                                             ?????

I’m getting fit. There’s a reason. Well, there may be, I’m not 100 per cent sure yet. I’ll tell you more in a few weeks if I’m still at it. 

But for now let’s just say that losing a bit of timber around the old midriff has more than heightened my awareness of what else might be helping and hindering my efforts to stay in shape.

Particularly troublesome was a recurring stabbing pain just above my right butt cheek, which gave cause to my hunting down a local (and rather brilliant) chiropractor. 

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Outside I liked everything a lot… except for the curiously incongruous bonnet, which looks like it’s been blown down the road off a Renault. An unwelcome and conspicuously conservative blip

‘It’s all about speed,’ Phil assured me.

After only one visit he’d already worked wonders on what has become my increasingly twisted and groaning middle-aged frame. 

By the way, for the more squeamish among you, chiropractors don’t crack your bones – those are pops of air you can hear exploding, in case that helps.

I can’t recommend regular adjustments highly enough. 

When I lived in Los Angeles, I became what is mischievously referred to as a ‘crack addict’, attending the Wilshire Blvd pop shop twice a week. 

Several further Dr Phil sessions later and I am currently feeling better than I have done in years.

But of course, the more you get sorted, the more you notice what’s wrong. Like, for example, the chair I sit in every morning, from which I host my radio show. 

I love the über-cool interior door handles, complete with (for once) elbow rests at the perfect elbow height – hallelujah! It’s amazing how often this is not the case. The controls, too, are clear, simple, neat and elegant

Nothing wrong with the seat per se, except for the stupid headrest that’s anything but restful. 

Not only is it at the wrong height, but instead of having a hollow in which to place your neck, it has a ridiculous bulge that pushes your head forwards and then down.

This got me thinking that headrests have been rubbish basically for ever – at least as long as those hotel teapots. You know, the faux silver-plated ones that are too hot to hold and then proceed to pour tea everywhere but in your cup.

A little unfair, perhaps, that I dump my entire headrest ire in the lap of this week’s car, the new Pug, but the fact that Peugeot has the audacity to suggest three people might fit in the back of this new bundle of mayhem, let alone find themselves actually comfortable enough to then contemplate employing the minute, useless, inch-high headrests provided, is ridiculous beyond belief.

From the ground up, she transmits fantastically sensitive and accurate feedback to the driver, from the road surface through the toes, to backs of the legs, the backside, the spine, the arms, right through to the fingertips

And that’s ignoring the fact that the three rear seats look like they have been made to measure for Action Man, Barbie and Woody from Toy Story.

Headrests aside, the vast majority of what else is going on with the Pug is pretty impressive. 

Congrats Peugeot – you still have an absolute zinger on your hands here

In direct contrast to the god-awful rear seats, the big-boy front sports seats, with their excellent side support and snazzy mixture of hard and soft finishes, really look the business, as well as feeling snug and secure to sit in.

Plus, I love the über-cool interior door handles, complete with (for once) elbow rests at the perfect elbow height – hallelujah! It’s amazing how often this is not the case. 

The controls, too, are clear, simple, neat and elegant. Lovely.

Outside, the A1 design credentials continue. I liked everything a lot… except for the curiously incongruous bonnet, which looks like it’s been blown down the road off a Renault. 

An unwelcome and conspicuously conservative blip in an otherwise full-on, fearless contemporary mélange of sweeps, scoops, tips and flicks.

Now forgive me for reminding you, but it’s been 30 years since the first release of the now famed 205 GTi – the good old Grand Tourer Injection. I wonder if they ever thought its like would last this long? 

Although this is the all-new 208 GTi, three digits on from the original, a direct reference to the current horsepower rating.

Give me a minute while I take off my anorak! There, that’s better.

Let’s finish by celebrating the 208’s marvellous little engine, a stonking 1.6-litre power plant puffed up to the max and producing more than 200hp. This thanks to the weeniest, cutest little turbocharger I’ve ever seen

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It’s on in my gym all the time – the one where the Pug is seen heroically out-manoeuvring an Apache helicopter. 

Could happen, I suppose, but more likely, back in the real world, the 19-year-old keen to impress will find himself attempting to outmanoeuvre an oncoming fleet of rampaging Eddie Stobart 18- wheelers.

No one can deny Peugeot has definitely recaptured a sense of what made the original Pug hot hatch the catch of the Eighties and Nineties with its latest offering – and not without a nod to its legendary rallying pedigree either. 

She is fabulously agile, which can make for a seriously on-the-edge driving experience. 

From the ground up, she transmits fantastically sensitive and accurate feedback to the driver, from the road surface through the toes, to backs of the legs, the backside, the spine, the arms, right through to the fingertips. 

Vision, therefore, is only required by those not accustomed to driving ‘using the force’.

Long haul however – well that’s a different story, and one where things begin to unravel somewhat. 

With the need to constantly correct the steering combined with the onslaught of the ultra-firm suspension, journeys over an hour or so can get a little wearing, to say the least. 

I began to feel every little suspension movement, eventually in the back of my throat. All good fun when one is ‘in the zone’, but when merely wanting to get from A to B, not so much.

I found myself willing a ‘comfort plus’ setting to magically appear out of nowhere. My major Post-it note for the Peugeot customer feedback box.

Not-so-major but still irritating enough to warrant a mention include: the driving position, which, although very comfortable, renders the binnacle unreadable unless you adjust the steering wheel so it becomes part of your lap while having the seat pumped up till your head becomes part of the roof lining. 

Retrieving the seatbelt will be an ongoing issue unless you have tentacles instead of arms.

£21,995, peugeot.co.uk

Engine 1.6-litre

Transmission Six-speed manual

Power 208hp

0-62mph 6.5 seconds

Top speed 155mph

Fuel consumption 52.3mpg

CO2 emissions 125g/km (£110/year tax band)

The interior courtesy lights are dimmer than most reality TV stars. 

And finally, the one-touch wipers are more than a little confused about the whole ‘one touchness’ aspect of their remit.

But let’s finish by celebrating the 208’s marvellous little engine, a stonking 1.6-litre power plant puffed up to the max and producing more than 200hp. 

This thanks to the weeniest, cutest little turbocharger I’ve ever seen. 

Not at all reminiscent of the original, but with today’s emission controls, noise concerns and all the other compliance nonsense, I think it more than delivers.

That said, beware the resultant torque steer, which is easiest remedied by a solid foot to the floor approach in between suitably assertive gear changes.

‘A stonking power plant of an engine, big boy front seats, and fabulously agile: a boy racer’s dream’

Congrats then, Peugeot – you still have an absolute zinger on your hands here, with the latest pocket-size thrillseeker in your oh-so-famous lineage of motoring legend. And at £22,000, a very affordable one.

There’s always been Lambo to take on Ferrari, and Bentley to take on Rolls. Please God, let there always be at least one Peugeot GTi to take on... the rest of the world.

DRIVE TALKING

WHAT'S HOT ON THE ROAD THIS WEEK

With Nick Bagot 

VIVA LA VIVA! 

You’ll remember the name - but you might not recognise the car... the new Vauxhall Viva will make its debut at this week’s Geneva Motor Show, over 50 years after the first Viva was launched. Far smaller, and with considerably more plastic on board, than its predecessor, the city car comes with a 1.0-litre three-cylinder Ecotec engine, five-speed transmission and IntelliLink infotainment system for connecting your mobile. Will it also be considered a classic half a century from now?

IN QUAD WE TRUST 

Renault has confirmed its all-new crossover will be called the Kadjar. Likely to incorporate design elements from the crossover Kwid, above, the car’s moniker is apparently inspired by ‘quad’, meaning a go-anywhere vehicle, and ‘jaillir’, a French word representing agility. It’s the French firm’s version of sister brand Nissan’s Qashqai, and will share much of the same architecture (ie chassis and powertrain). Like Vauxhall’s Viva, it will be premiered at Geneva this week. 

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