It’s been an interesting few days with the @peugeotsa 208 GT Line. It’s trite that the 208 range hasn’t performed as the brand would have hoped it would. That’s because the 208 is a decent offering in the segment. The gorgeous 208 GT Line in particular offers standard features that aren’t synonymous with the segment. You’ll find rain sensing wipers, automatic lights, electric folding mirrors, programmable cruise control and dual automatic air-conditioning in there. The car is also stylish with and assertive grille that features red details and a gloss black finish. That’s not all, the black mirrors stand out and the back LED claw lights communicate that the 208 is ready to pounce on would be challengers. Inside, the leather cloth combo with red stitching looks and feels good. The ride quality is decent and the 208 GT Line takes the uneven city surfaces well. Take off from the 1.2 81kW/205Nm turbo engine is slightly delayed but the 208 finds its element as you shift to the second and higher gears. Highway driving is a breeze and you are rarely required to change down to overtake. The Peugeot GT Line is priced from a competitive R269,900. #peugoet208gtline #peugeot #208 #gtline #peugeot208 #frenchcars #french #hatch #bsegment #city #johannesburg #jozi #capetown #durban

A post shared by The Car People (@khulekani_on_wheels) on Apr 22, 2018 at 11:14pm PDT

By Khulekani Dumisa

It is true that the Peugeot 208 range hasn’t performed as the brand would have hoped it would. It has played second fiddle to popular choices like the VW Polo, Ford Fiesta and Toyota Yaris. We suspect that this is not due to the car’s own doing but rather due to how the brand is perceived in the country. Now that that’s out of the way, let us look at the 208 GT-Line. It may be your cup of tea in the segment.

What is it? The 208 GT-Line joins a rather aging Peugeot line-up. To address the menial matter of the 208’s sales, the top of the range Peugeot 208 GT-Line has been brought in to bring some hype to the range and, it actually does just that from a looks and performance perspective.

The Peugeot 208 GT-Line is stylish with an assertive grille that features red details and a gloss black finish. That’s not all, the black mirrors stand out and the back LED claw lights communicate that the 208 GT-Line is ready to pounce on would be challengers. Inside, the leather cloth combo with red stitching looks and feels good. The small steering flat-bottom wheel feels good and provides additional room for the driver. The low position may come in the way of some drivers, unfortunately. Although adjustable, it is designed to be quite low.

There are nice quality materials on the dash including carbon-fibre finished material in the middle of the dash that goes from one side of the car. The touch screen in the middle looks good but, I struggled to use it whereas my fellow tester found it to be quite user friendly. I thought it let down the elegantly presented instrument cluster with Peugeot’s i-Cockpit. Another let down was the sound system, at the price, I expected more. It’s adequate but far from what you get from likes of the Polo and Fiesta.

The stylish 208 GT Line offers standard features that aren’t synonymous with the segment. You’ll find rain sensing wipers, automatic led day running lights, cornering assist fog lights, electric folding mirrors, programmable cruise control and dual automatic air-conditioning in there. This is a positive as the segment now caters to more discerning buyers. Gone are the days when cars like the Peugeot 208 were almost exclusively for campus parking lots.

The Peugeot 208 GT-Line is a practical hatch. Initially I felt as if it was compact but, after getting used to the generous sports, I realised that there was ample legroom for me, the front passenger as well as the back passengers although, in reality, you can comfortably sit two adults back there. The boot is decent, with 311 litres of space that increases to 1152 litres when the back seats are folded flat.

There’s a long list of standard safety features in the car which include, ABS, EBD, curtain and side airbags, driver and passenger front airbags, ISOFIX and automatic activation of hazard lights in emergency braking.

The ride quality is decent and the 208 GT Line takes the uneven Johannesburg city surfaces well. Take off from the 1.2 litre 81kW/205Nm turbo engine is slightly delayed but the 208 GT Line finds its element as you shift to the second and higher gears. Highway driving is a breeze and you are rarely required to change down to overtake. Fuel consumption sat an impressive 6.4 litres/100 km. This was in no doubt aided by the stop-start system that is standard in the Peugeot 208 GT-Line.

The Peugeot GT Line is priced from a competitive R269,900. The price includes a three-year/100 000km warranty and three-year/45 000km service plan.