Starting from hatch
It’s been some time since we last ventured into the realm of group-testing a batch of small hatchbacks. Despite selling in vast volumes and accounting for much of the entry-level motoring market, the local small hatchback segment has seen few major developments in recent years. Maybe it’s an upshot of the pandemic and all of the chaos that’s come riding on its coattails. But the offshoot of those unsettled times – rising living costs and the tightening of financial belts in many households – means wallet-friendly motoring remains as important as ever. Thankfully, the past few months have revealed interesting movement in this segment. The fifth generation of the stalwart Volkswagen Polo has undergone a mid-cycle refresh. It’s also been joined by all-new versions of stylish alternatives from France in the Renault Clio V and Peugeot 208. So, we’ve pitted these comparable small hatches (all three-cylinder turbopetrol manuals in a similar price bracket) against one another, while throwing another relative newcomer in the Honda Fit into the pack as a family-friendly alternative. So let’s see what transpires in this small-hatch match…
The fashionable feline
PEUGEOT 208 1,2T ALLURE MT
For some or other reason, the latest 208 is one of those models that has managed to elude CAR’s testing schedule despite having landed here almost a year ago. It’s not as though we aren’t fans of Peugeot’s latest wares; the 2008 walked away with a win in a closely fought group test against the Mazda CX-30, Nissan Qashqai and Hyundai Creta in our May 2021 issue. We also spent six months in the company of what is essentially a reskinned version of this car – the Opel Corsa – and barring a couple of foibles arising from our example’s pre-launch-batch sourcing, it proved to be a solid and thoroughly entertaining little car.
Even when finished in our test unit’s metallic gunmetal hue, the 208 is an eye-catching addition to the small-hatch fold and is a far cry from its globular and rather po-faced predecessor. From the bold front-end treatment to the taut sheet metal and feline-inspired lighting features – such as the fang-like daytime running lights and claw-mark brakelamp elements – the 208 offers visual charisma that its rivals here struggle to match.
It’s a similar story inside, where the fascia, with its bold, sweeping lines, contrasting patinas and piano-key buttons for ancillaries make its rivals seem somewhat pedestrian by comparison. Allure specification also ushers in a bold 3D-effect digital instrument binnacle, but it’s a feature that some on the test team struggled to fully appreciate owing to the ergonomic problems presented by Peugeot’s i-Cockpit layout. This arrangement, comprising a small-diameter steering wheel and narrow instrument binnacle, proved a bone of contention in the previous car. When allied with closely spaced pedals and limited steering column rake in the new car, getting comfortable behind the wheel remains a challenge for taller folks.
