FULL REVIEW: OVER Scottish b-roads to Edinburgh in 1.2 puretech peugeot

Words Chris Chilton | Photography Sam Chick

• Full road trip review of Peugeot’s petrol 208
• 1.2 PureTech 130 is the punchiest petrol model
• Closest thing to a traditional hot hatch

I awake at Another Place on the banks of Ullswater and feel fresher than I have in months – amazing what a great meal, a solid night’s sleep and spectacular views can do for your energy levels.

Parked outside is a Peugeot 208 PureTech in GT trim, its rich Faro Yellow paint perfectly set off by the gloss-black wheel arch extensions. It looks noticeably perkier than the red Allure Premium-spec 208 HDi from stage two (Birmingham to the Lakes).

Since we arrived in darkness this is my first chance to see the epic 950m hulk that is Helvellyn from my balcony. It stirs memories of traversing the famous Striding Edge up there with my dad when I was young – though I recall base camp for that was a mouldy static caravan and not a luxury hotel with bathrobes softer than a blow-dried Bichon Frise.

208 aces the kirkstone pass

Time doesn’t allow us another crack at Helvellyn today, but we permit ourselves a detour into the heart of Lakeland, along Kirkstone Pass and down The Struggle, a road as intimidating as its name suggests, particularly with a fresh dusting of snow.

Fortunately the run from Another Place to the beginning of the climb up Kirkstone is clear and dry, and since holiday season is some way off, it’s almost completely traffic-free, so we’ve got it all to ourselves.

As we head off down the road that tracks Ullswater’s northern shore the 208’s little three-cylinder 1.2 thrums away happily, its cheeky bob-bob-bob burble just seeping through the bulkhead insulation. All three petrol engines in the 208 line up share the same 1.2-litre capacity, but while the entry-level 74bhp version breathes unaided, the next step up the ladder gets a turbo, and a useful boost to 100bhp.

Punchy petrol power

Not as useful as the 127bhp our petrol range topper makes, mind. Driving the front wheels exclusively through an eight-speed paddle-shift auto, this is the most powerful petrol engine you can get in Peugeot’s new supermini, and as a package, it’s the most obviously sporting of the 208s.

It’s not the fastest outright, though. While the petrol 208 can sprint from 0-62mph in a nippy 8.7sec, the fractionally more powerful (134bhp plays 127bhp), and substantially torquier (192lb ft versus 170lb ft), e-208 from stage one takes 8.1sec to reach the same yardstick.

But this Peugeot 208’s strength is its cohesion. Undercutting the e-208 by almost 300kg, it feels animated through Kirkstone’s undulating left-right sequences, with less heave over sudden crests. But it takes the M6 motorway in its stride too when we re-join it near Penrith: the three-cylinder burble fades to the background and we set off for Edinburgh confident we’ll get there without having to stop.

gt spec raises the standard

On top of the 3D i-Cockpit and Visio Park 1 reversing camera yesterday’s Allure Premium car offered over well-equipped lower trims, GT adds lime-green stitching on its sports seats and perforated leather wheel, eight-colour cabin lighting, wider 10-inch touchscreen and an upgraded collision-avoidance system that can spot cyclists and works in the dark.

VIDEO: watch our 208 video walkaround here

Options on our car include an adaptive cruise-control system (see Tech panel below) that soothes away those M6 miles. Lane-keeping assistance is standard right across the 208 range, delivering a visual and aural warning, and ultimately, steering correction, if it thinks you’re about to leave your lane unintentionally above 40mph.

But the adaptive cruise system (standard on GT Premium cars) actually places the car in the centre of the lane and maintains a safe distance between you and the car in front, right down to a stop.