Smooth riding supermini

New Car Review
Peugeot 208 XYPeugeot 208 XY
Peugeot 208 XY

Peugeot 208 XY

With its 208, Peugeot has developed an unusually smooth riding supermini which lends itself extremely well to a well-specified upmarket version like the XY.

With an upmarket look and feel, there’s something delightfully old-school Peugeot about this resolutely modern hatch.

Interior of the Peugeot 208 XYInterior of the Peugeot 208 XY
Interior of the Peugeot 208 XY
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One of the most common excuses trotted out for not finishing small cars just like miniaturised big cars is the “it’s pointless because they’ll never ride as well” line and in the most part it’s true.

The Peugeot 208 is a small car that doesn’t necessarily agree with that train of thought. There’s a genuinely expensive feel to the way that it rides, with polished damping and accurate yet quiet steering which all serves to lend itself well to the idea of a luxury version.

The XY is available with a choice of four engines. The entry-level unit, the 1.6-litre diesel e-HDi 92 FAP is offered with a choice between a five-speed manual gearbox and a six-speed EGC sequential box.

Step up to the 1.6-litre diesel e-HDi 115 FAP and that gets a six-speed manual transmission and it’s much the same story with the petrol cars.

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The 1.6-litre petrol VTi 120 gets the five-gear manual box while the range-topping 1.6-litre petrol THP 156 gets six cogs for you to drive the stick between.

The 208 XY is certainly an interesting car and the visual changes visited upon the XY model are actually quite restrained.

There’s a definite purple theme going on here with purple paint being the signature paint tone of the six colours offered.

The 17” Anthra Mercure alloy wheels house feature a purple-edged alloy centre cap and there’s purple overstitching punctuating the cabin.

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Should you choose a little more personalisation, Peugeot will sell you some extrovert roof decal sets.

Some cars don’t leap off the page at you but actually turn out to be extremely easy to get on with in real life.

With the Peugeot 208 XY you get brilliant ride quality, a real sense that some effort has been put into the way the car looks and feels and some very good engine choices.

Peugeot has built some great small cars down the years and the 208 has the definite potential to join a distinguished list.

The Peugeot 208 XY starts from £16,600 to £17,895 and can be purchased from Motorhaven Peugeot on the A259 Bexhill Road, St Leonards on Sea. (Tel: 01424 444442 www.motorhaven.co.uk)

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