What is it

The new 208 GTi is the sportiest version so far of Peugeot’s 208 super-mini. But it’s much more than that, of course – it’s the closest thing there is to a true successor to the French company’s most highly regarded car of modern times – the 205 GTI.

That means it has a lot to live up to after sporty versions of the 206 and 207 didn’t quite hit the mark in the same way as their legendary predecessor did.

At least Peugeot had some decent raw material to work with this time around; the mainstream 208, introduced last year, was generally well received.

The GTi is part of a two-pronged upward expansion of the 208 range. The other element is the 208 XY, a more luxuriously trimmed model available with a wide array of diesel and petrol engines, which aims to compete with rivals such as the Citroen DS3 by offering a high degree of personalisation.

The XY shares some of the GTi’s suspension tweaks and can be seen as a successor to the old high-spec 205 Gentry.

What’s hot

• A strong, torquey 200 horsepower engine related to the one found in the hottest MINIs, which delivers a broad spread of power and excellent performance
  

  

• Agile handling which isn’t achieved at the expense of delivering decent ride comfort; the small steering wheel – a 208 hallmark, because its instruments are designed to be read over the top of the wheel – really comes into its own in the sporty GTi
• Generous equipment levels on the single GTi model, including seventeen-inch alloys, a rear spoiler, chrome tailpipes, body-colour wheel-arch extensions, a colour touchscreen, a DAB radio and dual-zone air-con
• The residual cachet associated with the Peugeot small hot hatch line

What’s not

• Although the GTi enjoys a number of pleasing visual tweaks compared with more ordinary 208s, it could probably do with a bit more to make it stand out from the standard car
• While the 208 GTi represents quite good value, it’s a bit pricier than its most obvious rival, Ford’s Fiesta ST

Business Car Manager road test verdict

Peugeot has been through a bit of a thin patch since the days when the 205 GTi was the hot hatch that everyone wanted. Recent models such as the RCZ and 508 have hinted at a return to form but now the 208 GTi provides much more convincing evidence that Peugeot is recovering its former vim.

Like the best Peugeots of old, the 208 GTi has great handling but manages to offer a pretty compliant ride as well, a rare combination that was characteristic of the company’s products when they were at their best.

The Peugeot 208 GTi is good enough to vie with the recently-introduced Ford Fiesta ST to be considered the best small hot hatch on sale in the UK.

The Fiesta has the edge on price but the 208 GTi is plusher and has much of the goodwill that still attaches to the famous 205 GTI to fall back on. The Pug will cost £10 a month more in company car tax than the Fiesta, but hardly a deal breaker. Let the battle commence.

The Low Down…

…and what it costs