Peugeot 208 GTi review - Telegraph Under the skin is a careful reworking of the 208's MacPherson-strut front and twist-beam rear suspension, with new lower wishbones, thicker damper tubes and a stronger subframe at the front, and a thicker torsion beam at the rear. The suspension is stiffened all round and lowered by 8mm, with stronger anti-roll bars and uprated damping; the track is increased by 10mm at the front and 20mm at the back. The 208 is already known for its luxurious cabin and this hot version builds on that standard. There's chrome-effect trim, red stitching and whizz-bang instruments, but the basics are all there; comfortable seats, decent amounts of head and leg room in the front and an aura of craftsmanship. The small steering wheel needs to be in your lap if you want to see the upper instrument binnacle; although the lower seating position on the GTi means it isn't quite the issue it is on standard cars, I still couldn't see the whole speedometer or rev counter. A DAB radio, Bluetooth, electric folding door mirrors, and automatic headlamps and wipers come as standard. The 208 is a small car and, unlike some superminis, it feels like one. The £400 sun roof is lovely, but it restricts headroom for taller rear passengers, who are already pushed for leg room. At the front, you touch elbows with your passenger when changing gear and the pedal box is too small for those with large feet. A little bit cramped, then, but on the road this close proximity to everything translates as a feeling of malleable initimacy. The titchy steering wheel doesn't exactly thrum with feedback, but the electronically-assisted system inspires confidence as you turn into corners. Once turned in, there's respectable grip: perhaps not quite as much as the Clio possesses on its optional 18in tyres, but the Peugeot's 17in Michelins are great communicators. Last year Alain Tranzer, vehicle project director for the 208, assured us that the GTi would "oversteer when you lift off the throttle." This year the dusty launch presentation intoned: "We are not having oversteer like the old cars." Well, there's still some good fun to be had out of the GTi, with a neutral-responding chassis that tightens its line if you lift off. This is great fun on open bends, where all four tyres will drift in the time-honoured way, if not method. It's the way the 208 rides smoothly through those curves that is such a classy combination, however. Gaëtan Demoulind, chief test driver for the product development team said: "I would rather have a good 17-inch tyre than a bad 18-inch option." He's right: the 208 is an agile and comfortable car, and it's reassuringly old school, achieving most of what it does though careful attention to suspension components, geometry and design. That said, the 208 does enhance turn-in to corners by trailing the inside brake caliper using data from lateral accelerometers. If this isn't torque vectoring it's a fine substitute that engagingly sharpens up the front end without appearing too artificial. The uprated front brakes (thicker and larger diameter discs and large-diameter pistons) are nicely done, too, with excellent and responsive performance. We're already familiar with this 1.6-litre twin-scroll turbo engine from countless Minis, hot Citroëns and Peugeots. It's powerful and refined, with a wide spread of torque, although to make sizzling progress you need to keep it above 3,000rpm, where it goes like blue blazes, sounds like a Hoover and drinks like one, too. The six-speed manual gearbox has well-spaced ratios and a fast and easy change quality. There's an aura of polish and refinement about the driveline as it slips effortlessly between cruising and scorching down the road. At high speeds the specially tuned exhaust is an improvement on the sound-pipe noise enhancers of the opposition. For the most part the torque delivery is smooth, although if you lift off the throttle after accelerating hard, the pressure build-up in the inlet tract pushes the car on for half a second before it begins to slow. We also noticed a fair bit of fourth-gear transmission whine. This is a comfortable, fast car with first-rate body control, which rather flies in the face of the GTi ethic, but is a very grown-up thing. I think it achieves what the engineers set out to do better than the Renaultsport Clio, and although the 208 might not have the same overall grip, it's probably the faster and more communicative car overall. So it's first place to the Peugeot for the moment. We'll be driving the Ford Fiesta ST in two weeks... Peugeot 208 GTi Tested: 1598cc four-cylinder in-line turbo petrol engine. Six-speed manual transmission, front-wheel drive. Price/on sale: £18,895/ April 18. Power/torque:197bhp @ 5,800rpm, 203lb ft @ 1,700rpm Top speed:143mph Acceleration: 0-62mph 6.8sec Fuel economy: 34.5mpg/47.9mpg/mpg EU Urban/Combined CO2 emissions:139g/km VED BAND: E - £125 for first year and £125 thereafter. Verdict: Times change and you couldn't sell a car like the 205 GTI to the 21st century public. The 208 is a different car - safer, faster, more refined; arguably less fun, but much more of a car you can live with day-to-day. It's expensive, but the specification is good. Is it worth the extra over the Fiesta? Well see. Telegraph rating: four out of five stars.