Peugeot 208 GTi review (20/11/2013)

I MAY be in danger of showing my age here, but back in the day I covered a lot of rallying for this newspaper and I have lots of wonderful memories of that time. Of course the mid-eighties was a period of what might be termed ‘rallying in extremis’ for it was of course the wild and very dangerous era of Group B cars which was ultimately banned in the wake of the deaths of such stars as Henri Toivonen and Attilio Bettega.

While it was with us though, Group B provided fans with an unrivalled spectacle as manufacturers produced a series of super-prototypes as they tried to outdo each other in terms of power and traction. Peugeot joined the fray with the legendary 205 T16 which went on to win multiple championships in the hands of Juha Kankkunen and Timo Salonen. This car — although bearing little mechanical resemblance — was borne of the 205 GTi which was, of course, to become a cult in its own right.

I have particular memories of the T16 in the 1986 Circuit of Ireland which was driven by the then latest Finnish wunderkind Mikael Sundstrom as part of Peugeot’s effort to win that year’s British Championship. Myself and a couple of mates saw him in action on a Good Friday stage just north of Armagh and I particularly recall his driving that day.

Sundstrom died tragically of a heart attack in 2002 aged 43, but on that sunny April day his driving summed up the phrase coined by his fellow countryman Markku Alen — ‘maximum attack.’

We were stood on a 90-left bend with a view a couple of hundred metres back to a semi-skew bridge over which Sundstrom flew his T16. You could tell he was left-foot braking as he kept the engine revs high, even though down-changing and slowing for the corner ahead. The car was completely sideways — although pointing correctly in the direction he would ultimately continue — for at least 100 metres before the bend and as he hit the apex the Peugeot exploded up the road in a welter of turbo flames and gravel being spat from its four fat, slick, Michelins.

For rally fans though, such exhibitions of driving engendered in us the belief that we could all be rally stars, particularly if we got our hands on the road-going versions of these cars — in this case the 205 GTi which, as I said, actually bore little or no resemblance to the rally versions.

Nevertheless while we wanted to believe they did and persuaded ourselves as much, the 205 GTi was a genuine cracker of a car and although the original 1.6 litre version was a tad weedy, the later 1.9 version was definitely the berries.

Unfortunately for Peugeot they rather rested on their laurels after that and subsequent siblings — 206 GTi and 207 GTi — never really had the same cachet about them. Now, though, Peugeot has come up with the latest in this line of hot hatches, the 208 GTi and I am glad to report that the French outfit has managed something of a return to form.

The trouble for Peugeot, though, is that it has quite a number of rivals right now and the competition is rather tough — particularly Ford’s sensational Fiesta ST.

That said though, Peugeot has done a fine job in beefing this machine up from its somewhat humble origins. It looks fantastic and with its 147 kW (200 bhp) 1.6 litre THD engine, it does not only look the part, it acts it too.

This engine is one we are familiar with via the RCZ coupe, but in this instance it does without the trick exhaust of its sibling which does rather lessen the aural experience. In truth, however, there is not much to complain about in a package which delivers quite a punch.

As you might expect the revisions to the styling — 17” alloys front grille and airdam, wheel arches, skirts and rear wing — add a meanness to exterior proceedings while the interior is added to with such as sports seats, bespoke gear knob and sports steering wheel, all of which combine to make this quite a purposeful looking bit of kit. Under the skin too much has been adapted, what with up-rated springs, dampers and struts, upgrades to the steering rack and anti-roll bars and bigger brakes.

On the road it has bags of grip and no undue understeer when you really hang it out. The handling is pretty much spot on.

For all that, however, this GTi lacks a bit when it comes to raw excitement. It is fast, certainly; secure, yes; and cocky too. But it lacks that ultimate adrenaline rush that characterises a classic in this genre.

Undoubtedly the late Mikael Sundstrom would have been able to demonstrate his other-worldly talents to us were he able to take the wheel of this car, but I fear that even he might admit that it does not have the same edginess — and appeal — of the original.