The Mercury E-dition

Peugeot 208 hatchback stunner hits country’s showrooms

PRITESH RUTHUN pritesh.ruthun@inl.co.za

FINALLY, Peugeot’s stunning 208 compact hatchback has gone on sale in South Africa and we’re excited to see this chic French vehicle take the fight to the recently introduced Opel Corsa as well as its sister company’s car, the Citroën C3.

Peugeot says the new face of the 208 has been contoured and sharpened for stronger definition, the effect enhanced by an eye-catching grille now fully integrated into the bodywork. GT models receive gloss black mirror covers and gloss black wheel arches as well as 17-inch rims.

The latest incarnations of the 208 are powered by state-of-the-art PureTech 1.2 engines in naturally aspirated and turbocharged formats. The engines are mated to a variety of manual or automatic gearboxes, guaranteeing you pure driving adrenaline.

The 208 Active is fitted with a PureTech 3-cylinder engine

available in a naturally aspirated 1.2l, 55kW version.

The PureTech 3-cylinder is also available in a turbocharged 1.2l, 74kW version in the Allure Manual, and in 96kW guise for the Allure Automatic and range-topping GT.

The 74kW engine is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission, whereas

the 96kW is combined with an EAT 6 automatic gearbox (Efficient Automatic Transmission 6-speed) which uses Quick Shift technology for faster changing.

The vehicle is packed with technology, including an i-Cockpit 3D instrument cluster; something we got used to after spending some time in the recently introduced 2008 and 3008.

Away from ultra-luxury cars and the premium segment, the 208 is one of the most feature-rich compact hatchbacks you can buy in South Africa in terms of safety.

In addition to recognition of speed limit and end of speed limit, the vehicle’s system recognises the following signs: stop, one way street, no overtaking, end of no overtaking.

The 208 determines whether the vehicle’s behaviour reflects driver drowsiness or inattention. If so, a visual and audible alert occurs. If more than three instances occur, the driver will be advised to take a break.

Depending on lighting and traffic conditions, the system will also automatically switch between high and low beam headlights.

Standard-fit hill start assist prevents the 208 rolling on a hill when the brake pedal is released. Hill start assist acts by holding the vehicle stationary for around two seconds. In this time the driver can calmly move from the brake pedal to the accelerator pedal.

There’s also an active safety brake; when a driver fails to react to an impending collision with another vehicle, a pedestrian or animal, automatic emergency braking is triggered, limiting, or avoiding any damage.

Perhaps one of the coolest features in the compact segment is Visiopark. The system features a 180-degree video camera on the boot hatch, while Park Assist sensors provide information including an overhead view of the vehicle. |

DRIVE=360

en-za

2021-05-14T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-05-14T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://themercury.pressreader.com/article/281801401847721

African News Agency