Peugeot 208

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At a glance

Who is this car for?

Couples who'd rather enjoy the drive than merely endure it — the 208 is the most alive-feeling small hatch in the fleet.

• Driving enthusiasts on a budget
• Couples
• Coast-road trips

The Peugeot 208 on Montenegro roads

Behind the wheel

The 208 Mk2 is the tighter, more Gallic alternative to the Clio, and it feels it from the first minute. The 1.2 PureTech 100 hp three-cylinder is the pick — keener than the 75 hp version, willing to rev, paired with a five-speed manual that is short-throw and positive. An eight-speed auto appears on some cars and suits the engine well. The cabin is the party trick: the small low-set steering wheel, the digital instruments you read above it, the piano-key switches. Some people love it, some never get comfortable; sit in one before committing to a week. On the road it steers quicker than the Clio, rides firmer, and feels about half a size smaller even though the external length is nearly identical.

On Montenegro roads

Montenegro suits the 208’s character. The Kotor–Lovćen hairpins reward the quick steering — you turn in, the nose obeys, and there is genuine mid-corner adjustability missing from the softer-suspended rivals. The coast road from Tivat through Budva to Sveti Stefan flows nicely; the firmer damping that makes broken urban tarmac around Podgorica noisier is the same damping that stops the body bobbing through the long curves past Petrovac. Where the 208 feels less comfortable is the long Piva canyon climb and the approach to the Tara bridge detour — the three-cylinder is audible at sustained 3,500 rpm, and the short gearing means the engine is busy where a Megane diesel would be loafing.

Space and load

The 311-litre boot is the smallest of the three French small hatches here and the shape is less useful than the Clio’s — a high load lip, some wheel-arch intrusion. Two cabin-size cases and a soft weekender fit; a third medium case needs the load cover out and the parcel shelf off. Hiking gear for two to Durmitor works with one rear seat folded — boots, poles, 40-litre packs, shell jackets — but camping kit for Biogradska Gora asks too much. Beach gear for Velika Plaža fits if you travel without a parasol. For two travellers packing reasonably it is adequate; for anything more, look up a size.

Best journeys for this car

The 208 belongs to the driver who actually enjoys driving. The returning visitor on a week-long coastal loop who wants the Kotor–Lovćen descent to feel like something, the solo traveller basing in Budva and carving through the Jaz–Bečići coastal section on Sunday mornings, the couple on a cruise shore excursion who would rather a car with personality than one that disappears. It also suits anyone short on patience with touchscreen menus — the piano keys give you climate and radio without submenus. It is the wrong car for tall drivers who dislike looking at instruments over a small wheel, for four-up luggage loads, or for anyone whose priority is a cabin to doze in.

Practical notes

Real-world petrol economy runs to 5.2 L/100 km, slightly better than the Clio’s TCe despite near-identical figures on paper, and the 44-litre tank delivers close to 800 km in gentle use. Parking is easy at 4.055 m — the bastion-gate bays in Kotor and the pedestrian-zone perimeter in Budva treat it as small. Front-wheel drive on all-season rubber handles the coast in winter cleanly; for Žabljak or Kolašin runs between November and March, chains are legally required on several passes and genuinely useful above Kolašin in heavy snow. Summer AC is strong and the digital climate panel responds fast; the electric compressor stays composed on a hot Podgorica afternoon.

The verdict

Pick the 208 if you want a small hatch with actual character under the bonnet and through the wheel. Skip it if you value load space, a conventional cabin layout, or the quietest possible motorway cruise.

Full specification

Inside the car

• i-Cockpit
• Apple CarPlay
• USB Charging
• Rear Parking Sensors