If you didn’t hear, Peugeot has relaunched in South Africa with 2 new vehicles and a promise to do things right. Peugeot has launched the 108 and the 5008 SUV in South Africa and both have made quite the name for themselves.
I spent a couple of days driving the new Peugeot 108 and surprisingly, I enjoyed my time in what is the perfect city car. Let me tell you why the new Peugeot 108 is the perfect city car!
A compact city car:
The Peugeot 108 is a 5 seater compact car. Cousins to the Toyota Aygo and Citroen C1, the 108 is a cute little vehicle that is certainly easy on the eye, and to park!
You will find the front to be sporty with a chrome grille while the rear middle sports exhaust adds a nice sporty feel.
The front has LED headlights while the rear has a three claw light design. You also get reverse and fog lights.
There is also wind deflectors, which allow you to have your windows slightly open but avoid wind getting in.
And a Chrome Peugeot branded Step Sill:
Interior:
Inside, you get an infotainment system with a 7-inch touch screen that supports Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, hands-free calling with Bluetooth and you can even play music from a flash drive. You can mirror your phone screen in the car to view multimedia and load applicable apps. On the steering wheel, you will find hands free calling buttons and buttons to control your music.
The seats come in stylish grey cloth, which looks great and are easy to clean.
I am just under 6 feet tall and I can comfortably sit in the driver’s and passenger’s seat, but that limits the space behind me. If I was sitting at the rear, the person in front better be on the shorter side. That being said, I think the 108 would best be suited to medium-sized individuals if there are tall occupants in the front.
The boot has space for 868 litres which is enough for 2/3 small packets of groceries. But not to worry you can drop the back seats, which fold in a 50/50 set up, and put your groceries or bigger items there. There are lots of storage compartments for all your goodies.
You also get a spare temporary wheel, a jack and tools:
The 108 comes in 4 colours: Gallium Grey, Lipizan White, Scarlet Red and Smalt Blue. I had the Lipizan White to review which has a Matte finish to it and looks great!
You also get 14-inch wheels with a Xavier Wheel trim:
The engine:
The 1L 3 cylinder petrol engine produces 53kW and 93Nm of torque and is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. You can’t expect to get massive power from this engine but for city driving, there is more than enough oomph to get you going. Don’t be fooled by the small engines ability to get up hills. I took the 108 up very steep hills in the Bo Kaap and the 108 made it up, even with 3 adult males in the car! I did have to drop into first gear and I heard engine strain but she made it up! The 108 borrows the same engine from the Toyota Aygo so this should give you some added peace of mind.
This lighter and more compact engine has optimised combustion and reduced friction which delivers greater efficiency. This small engine is also easy to maintain and run, thanks to its 4.3L per 100KM fuel efficiency. Even with my heavy foot, I got around 5L/100KM!
Features:
Where the Peugeot 108 really outshines her competitors, is with her features. The 108 is the only compact car that I know of that comes with hill assist, so you don’t roll back on steep hills when you move your foot from the brake to the accelerator. I tested this in the Bo Kaap and the 108 and hill assist ensured that I didn’t roll.
You also get automatic windows in the front (the back are pop-out windows) and central locking.
To keep the temperature just right, you get automatic mono-zone air conditioning which controls and optimises the temperature, airflow and distribution to keep the temperature just right for you.
Safety:
You don’t often get 6 airbags in a compact car but the Peugeot 108 is here to change that. You get 2 airbags in the front, 2 in the front side and 2 curtain airbags. The rear also has 3 seatbelts and 2 ISOFIX points. To add to this, you also get Electronic Stability Control as standard which is made up of Anti-Lock braks (ABS) and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBFD), to keep you safe on the road.
Peugeot Pride:
When you buy the Peugeot 108 you aren’t just buying a vehicle, you are joining the Peugeot Pride. This is Peugeot’s promise to make sure that you can have peace of mind when buying a Peugeot. For example, Peugeot will fly in parts if necessary and will loan you a courtesy car if needed. All new Peugeots come with a 5-year/ 100K KM warranty and service plan! They are also offering a 24-hour customer contact centre, roadside assistance plus more, which you can see here:
The price:
You can get all of this for R179 900. You also get a 5 year / 100K km warranty and service plan thanks to Peugeot Pride.
The verdict:
The Peugeot 108 really impressed me. I like its sporty looks, how easy she is to drive and park, how light she is on fuel and her overall French flair. I did find that the 108 took a bit of strain on very steep hills. I found the hill assist saved me from rolling many times. Considering the price, you are getting a lot of bang for your buck and that is why the Peugeot 108 is the perfect city car.
