Peugeot has released a slew of official images and information about the new 208 hatchback, more than a week before its full public debut.
The new 208 is a completely new vehicle, marking the first use by Peugeot of the new CMP platform — shared with the next generation of Vauxhall/Opel Corsa. Along with new petrol and diesel engines, the new 208 will also employ a fully-electric drivetrain for the first time in a B-segment Peugeot vehicle.
Visually it’s quite a departure from the previous 208. Peugeot has taken inspiration from the larger 308 and 508 in the exterior design. This includes the triple headlight and tail-light design — which Peugeot refers to as the claw — with full LED technology.
Higher grade models, like the GT and GT Line, gain gloss black window surrounds and wheel arch extensions. The EV model also includes a color-changing lion emblem on the nose, using a polarizing surface to refract light depending on how you look at it.
Peugeot is quite keen on emphasizing the new 208 with bright colors. That includes the Faro Yellow and Vertigo Blue you see here, and a bright red shade it calls Elixir Red. We’re sure that, despite the car’s social media hashtag of “#unboringthefuture”, the 208 will also be available in some more drab hues.
There’s a new interior too. This will be largely familiar in feel to the outgoing 208, but with significant updates throughout. The 208 features Peugeot’s new “3D i-Cockpit” design, which includes a three-dimensional instrument display panel. This uses technology similar to a head-up display, but casts its images in front of the main instrument panel, for a hologram effect.
The 208 also gets a traditional head-up display, which is user-configurable. All cars get a seven-inch touchscreen as standard, with a 10-inch model on higher grade cars.
In the center console there’s a neat set of seven satin chrome toggle switches, with infotainment shortcut one-touch buttons. You’ll find more extensive dashboard padding and a carbon-fiber finish section too. The e-208 gets model-specific gray Alcantara seats.
Power comes from a traditional set of Peugeot engines. There’s a suite of 1.2-liter, three-cylinder petrol models with 74hp, 99hp, and 128hp. The lower-power model gets a five-speed manual gearbox only, with an eight-speed auto the only option on the higher-power car. Customers can select either the auto or a six-speed manual for the 99hp model.
There’s also diesel power, with a 1.5-liter, four-cylinder turbodiesel “BlueHDI”, producing 99hp. This is exclusively paired to a six-speed manual. But the real headlining power unit is the electric version.
The e-208 is only Peugeot’s second electric vehicle, after the iOn — a rebadged Mitsubishi i-MiEV. It packs a 100kW (75hp) motor driving the front wheels, with a 50kWh battery pack beneath the vehicle floor. This gives it a range of 211 miles by the new WLTP range and fuel economy testing method. There’s an eight-year, 100,000 mile warranty on the battery pack.
Customers can charge the e-208 from a domestic supply, but a home-charger reduces the maximum charge time to eight hours. It’s also compatible with 100kW rapid chargers, which will top the battery up to 80% charge in just 30 minutes.
Through the use of the MyPeugeot smartphone app, owners can remotely active the e-208’s charging. It’s also possible to pre-program the car’s climate control and windscreen defrosting.
In fact there’s a lot of technological assistance throughout the 208 range. The navigation system gets TomTom traffic assist, there’s adaptive cruise, active lane-keeping and lane positioning, and smart headlights. A “full park assist” function with the 8-speed automatic gearbox manages all driving inputs when entering or leaving a parking space.
Peugeot will officially reveal the 208 and e-208 at the Geneva Motor Show on March 7. It will also open the car’s order books, ahead of first deliveries in summer 2019. Although we don’t have any pricing or grading information yet, Peugeot should also announce this at the same time — but we expect a significant hike over the current car’s £14,600 entry point.
There’s no word yet on a 208 GTI model on the new platform, but Peugeot hasn’t skipped a GTI in 35 years…
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