Peugeot 208 - The Little Car than Can

If you've just started out in life and money doesn't come easy, a little pocket-rocket like the Peugeot 208 would be out of the question. But give it a few more years and, God Willing, this little beauty would be within reach.

Priced at just above RM80,000++, the Peugeot 208 is designed to meet the trendy needs of the young (young at heart). It's fast, it's stylish and it's jammed packed with electronics or as I'd like to call it "drivertronics".

Right from the get-go, the Peugeot salesperson will tell you to test drive the 208 hard and I mean really hard; rev it up high and quickly, zip it around corners and fly it over humps, so that you instantly feel how nippy and sturdy the car feels for a one-point-something-litre-engine small thing.

And I must admit, for someone who really isn't a Peugeot fan, the experience was exhilarating.

Not for the first time, Peugeot has produced a great little small car. But in the 208, Peugeot has outdone itself.

"This car was built for you to drive with your body," said the salesperson.

I didn't get what he meant at first. But after the test drive, I got it. I really got it.

The sheer thrill of driving the Peugeot 208 made me feel like I just had to keep driving the little thing. But alas, I already have enough good cars under the porch. So, I won't be buying the 208 any time soon...sigh!

Just so that no one gets the impression that the Peugeot 208 is only a driving enthusiast's wonder of a car, inside, it has many of today's life-comforts e.g. fully digital in-car entertainment system with a reasonably large touch-screen display, comfortable bucket-like seats, and a spacious cabin with enough headroom, leg-room and elbow-room to make you feel like you're in a compact class car (instead of a sub-compact).

This means that the passengers you bring along would be in for an entertaining and comfortable ride, provided they have the stomach for your fast driving (and not throw up half way through). And believe me, in the Peugeot 208, all you want to do is drive fast most of the time.

In a nutshell, the Peugeot 208 makes other small hot-hatch/hatchback cars appear to be less than value-for-money.

Then again, if you're not a Peugeot fan like me, you'd think twice or even three times.

Why? Well, personally, I don't really like Peugeot's styling choices. To me, they look really odd.

The one thing in particularly that really turns me off about the Peugeot 208 is its front grill design. It's "carved" out of the front bumper, making the 208 look like it's sticking out its lower lip in grim sadness.

It's like the little thing is complaining, "Help! I'm being driven hard and I don't like it!"

Oh! Well. Peugeot can't please everyone with its design choices, I suppose...