Appreciating Depreciation Peugeot 208 GTI
cool dials, the option of a panoramic glass roof, and
is pleasingly old-school in the fundamentals: manual
gearbox, a proper handbrake, an actual key. Peugeot
did a good job with this one. And if you stick a private
plate on it, your neighbours will think you’ve got a
brand new car.
Then: £18,
Now: £5,
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Scorpion non-res cat-back, Airtec intercooler, Forge BOV, Bilstein B14s, RamAir induction
Peugeot have just announced the second-
generation 208, and you know what that means...
the fi rst-gen cars are going to get cheaper! The
model’s been around since 2012, and because of
that, the early GTI models are already very affordable
- if you shop around, you can fi nd 2013 GTIs for as
little as £5,500 which, for a car that was essentially
a current model until a few weeks ago, is pretty
spectacular value.
When this car was launched, the reviews were
very keen to tout it as ‘the new 205 GTI’ – a welcome
return after the astonishing crapness of the 207
GTI. And thankfully, it did turn out to have a lot of
the charm of the retro classic; not just the pastiche
C-pillar badges, but the tactility and chuckability,
and swells of eager acceleration. It’s not the most
powerful car out there (although 200bhp ain’t bad!),
but it follows the 205 GTI’s route of offering just a
little more power than you need. This makes for a
very entertaining drive. It also has great seats, super-
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Citroën celebrates its centenary this year, and to mark the occasion
they’ve launched a promotion by the tag #BornAndre. To honour
company founder André Citroën, they’re on the lookout for babies of
the same name who were born on his birthday... although to give it a
bit of leeway, they’re accepting entries from parents of babies named
André, Andre, Andree, Andrée, Andrew or Andrea born between 1st-
7th June this year. So if you’ve squeezed out a sprog that fi ts the bill,
you might be able to swap it for a shiny new Citroën C3! (Not really.
But you might win one, which you can then sell to pay for nappies –
search #BornAndre to see...)
Scorpion non-res cat-back, Airtec intercooler, Forge BOV, Bilstein B14s, RamAir induction
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defi ning car culture 009
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