Auto Focus | Car Review: Peugeot 208 GTi 2017

Even if regular Filipinos didn’t exact connect with its sporty heritage, Peugeot has been rolling out the memory of its legendary 205 GTi in marketing its hot hatch offering, the 208 GTi. Keen to trade on the appeal of its predecessor, the latest GTi keeps close to its namesake by offering a fun-to-drive experience without compromising the broad requirements of an everyday driver. From a glance, the 208 GTi doesn’t strike you immediately as a sporty machine. Aside from an arresting paintjob, it looks like a three-door hatchback with larger rims. Dig deeper though and you’ll appreciate the extended wheel arches, side skirts, prominent rear spoiler, the detailed front grille, and of course, the raft of GTi badges. Once you get its attention, you’ll immediately want to step inside. Settling in, you’re held firmly in place by the red-and-black sport seats. They cosset and cradle superbly—an appetizer of things to come. The petite-sized leather steering wheel with a red center stripe creates a sense of danger while the right hand falls into place of that indented metallic shift knob. The all black cabin also has the right amount of chrome to keep things interesting along with high-gloss accents that change hue from black to red. Beneath the 208 GTi’s hood lies the best secret of all: a turbocharged 1.6-liter engine with an even 200 horsepower and 275 Nm of torque. With a light curb weight, it rockets to 100 km/h in just 6.8 seconds. The 6-speed manual does require some coaxing to make it work smoothly, but a slight adjustment in how you hold it removes most of the indifference. The 208 GTi may be down on outright power as some of its rivals, but there’s enough grunt for repeated blitzing on long stretches of open road. And as great as it is on the straights, it’s even better on twisty roads. The revamped steering, reinforced sub-frame, fatter struts, sportier springs, tauter dampers, beefier rollbars and bigger brakes all help you control the show. It effectively behaves like a go-kart.