What the French have the ability of doing is making anything that I wouldn’t normally take a second glance at … eye-catching … and I’m not just talking about their men.
Hatchbacks have never appealed to me, especially as a ‘sexy’ vehicle, but the French carmaker Peugeot (note to self: pronounced PER-JO) has made me doubt myself.
The 208 model makes the five-door car a part of a utility class of vehicles that is here to stay. This cute machine is small, slick and stylish.
The compact car costs almost the same as similar rivals but it beats them in the looks department. The use of chrome, the modern approach to the exterior body and the sharp styling of the interior puts it in the same league as feistier alternatives … yet with an affordable price tag.
As I zoomed through the traffic I felt almost invisible shifting through lanes and passing all the bigger cars that thought they were superior to me – yet I was the one in control, fitting into the tiny spaces that they couldn’t get into, with the car’s smiling front grille and written Peugeot badge mischievously telling everyone else who was boss.
The test car I was driving had a white exterior and was the top-of-the-range model, meaning it had black leather seats, a CD player in the decently-sized glove box which boasted two cup holders, my favourite – a panoramic glass roof (it’s a shame it didn’t slide open) and a 7-inch touch screen infotainment unit which dominated the dashboard and had a variety of music, photo storage and Bluetooth options.
This is the first time I have been in a car that asked me if I wanted to transfer my photographs from my iPhone on screen and have a swift look through them … this car is definitely made with a vain woman in mind.
Not to mention, ladies, the many different compartments have spaces for your make-up, perfume, sunglasses and phone – no more struggling to find room, there’s even an open section below the centre console deep enough to store a handbag!
My one issue I had was switching through the music stations. I’m sure there was an easier way to do it, but the five different options on how to choose the channel made it very confusing, especially whilst driving, that I just stuck to Radio Bahrain to avoid having to deal with the problem.
But, surprisingly the steering wheel helped massively with its buttons controlling the frequency, volume and even the Bluetooth options.
Steering was smooth and the wheel could be turned with just the touch of a finger. It is smaller than my usual mode of transport, making it easier to handle, which allowed me to even U-turn with just one hand.
While the car isn’t the fastest I’ve driven, even in sport mode, it was light and responsive with a lively little engine. The 1.6 litre 4-cylinder engine under the short hood sounds extra powerful, doing 120hp at 6,000rpm. The starting price for the Peugeot 208 is BD5,950.
