DFF53 back again - PEUGEOT 208GTI

[DFF53]

Hi All, Back again with my latest acquisition and it will be my daily driver. My third Frenchy  but first Pug. Two weeks ago i was in the market for something smaller than my then Mazda 6 Sport with 6spd. I was tossing up between the usual suspects, Ford Fiesta ST, Renault Clio RS, VW Polo GTI and Pug 208 GTI. Tried to convince myself that it was time to buy an Automatic car this time so didnt immediately dismiss the Polo or Clio. But my inherrent need to manually shift  got the better of me and i proceeded to test out a 2015 Ford Fiesta St with 38,000km.
I took it for an extended test drive up to Kaukapakapa and back to the Albany dealership. The drive was fantastic and i could see myself owning the car  except it was too loud in the car (apparently some engine/exhaust noises are synthesised through the speakers) , the interior was your typical drab Ford Interior. And every shift of the gear stick was followed by a noise from the engine bay, perhaps a shift linkage that needs to be adjusted. I  am not a fan the fiesta's kicked in the arse design. Also forgot to mention that having big feet meant it is not unusuall for my left foot to get stuck under the dash when releasing the clutch, stalled the fiesta a few times because of this, twice even when leaving the dealership.

This left me with just the Peugeot 208 gti, which was the only car i hadnt yet tested as there were none in Auckland, as soon as i found one in Tauranga which i left work on "urgent family matters" to test drive. Got to the dealership on Tuesday arvo and tested the car, and what a car, i was immediately impressed, nice deep burble from the exhaust, fantastic interior except for the armrest which is awkwardly placed, and it drove really well.
The best thing about the car was the gearbox, even though first is a little notchy, it's  sixth which was a revelation. Previous two cars that had 6spds had the top gear ratio the same as most other five speeds,so usually i had only ever used fifth gear a hand full of times so usually short shift from fourth to sixth. With the Mazda6 Sport and my Alfa 156 v6, when you are in top gear, at 80kmh, the engine usually revs around 2000rpm, and at 100 kmh, 2500rpm. With the Pug, it is 90kmh doing 2000rpm and 100kmh at  2200rpm in top gear. I suppose this is not of any significance when you are driving through twists and hairpins etc where you mostly use second,third and fourth, but if you are going to consider this car as a daily driver like i am then you will be well pleased with this.  Also, the car has way too much chrome, might see if i can wrap the shiny bits satin black.

Also if you are considering this car yourself and have poured over all the reviews on youtube you may wonder about the most common remarks by most journalists.

The instrument binnacle being obscured by the steering wheel. - I haven't found this to be a problem because of my driving position where the seat is lowered to the minimum, rolled back and with the steering wheel in the lowest rake and reach. The only part of the instrument binnacle that is obscured for my is the bottom middle switches.

The steering wheel having not enough feel - To start with, it is defininetly not over assisted, and with our rutted rural roads probably not a bad thing anyway. Never had the car understeer at all even on hairpins, though there is mild torque steer when accelerating into a corner in third gear. The factory Michelin Pilot Exalto tyres are also really grippy, though noisy ,there is also still plenty of life in them even after  22,300kms. 













Also digging the led driving lights






Also i find it mildly fascinating that my two past and current Frenchys are in the colours of the French flag, in the right order too.

Please help me name her, previous frenchys were The two Citroen BXes, Red 19TRS-Grenouille Rouge, White 19TGD-Escargot Blanc, Blue 208GTi-.......... Bleu

[Mungous]

What a great looking car!! I really like the dark blue -  not a colour I've seen before on a 208.

Good luck with keeping your licence points-free... 😁

[DFF53]

Thanks Mungos, wouldn't have minded a black one either but the blue sure is different, must not be a commonly specced colour as even google images doesnt bring up that many results.

Well i have to be extra carefull to not double up my points in the next year and half 😭
I just drive with the cruise control on when ever i can now.

[BigPete]

I was going to say the same thing. Looks really good in that colour and don't recall having seen that colour before.

[DFF53]

Thanks Pete, in some lights the colour actually looks more purple than blue.