French used cars will never be a favorite among Norwegian car buyers. The Peugeot 208 is no exception, but can still be a good buy.

Good price as used

There are both good and bad sides to the cars - which we will return to - but the biggest advantage is the prices. French cars are not particularly popular on the Norwegian used car market, which is reflected in the prices. A quick look at cars for sale in Norway and France gives me the impression that prices are actually lower in Norway than in France. The Peugeot 208 at approximately NOK 100 can therefore be a favorable purchase.

Model history

The Peugeot 208 - model 1 - was produced from spring 2012 to summer 2019. The 2016 model received a facelift with, among other things, changes to the front, a wider grill, new rear lights that illustrate the claws of a feline, a new dashboard and a stronger diesel engine. As a facelift often also involves corrections of hidden defects, you should choose the facelift model if you can.

About the petrol engines

Leaving aside the GTI edition, the 208 was delivered with advanced 3-cylinder VTi engines (Variable valve timing and injection) which are also referred to as PureTech. The motors provide low consumption and a nice noise profile, but unfortunately have a serious design flaw (1) which started appearing a few years ago. The engines are designed so that the timing belt spins in hot engine oil - not in a dry timing compartment. It reduces internal friction in the engine, but unfortunately it turned out that the belts could not withstand the oil and began to crumble so that the intake to the oil pump could clog. The fault could also result in a loss of servo power to the brakes. As a result, Peugeot has shortened the intervals for changing the timing belt from 180 km and 000 years to 10 and 100 years, - as well as recommended oil changes every year. The French car magazine Argus discovered that timing belts produced from 2017 are not as dissolvable as the old ones, but still cannot be renewed. A factor which also exacerbates the problem is that several people have experienced that the French manufacturer and the Norwegian importer take a restrictive and partly arrogant line towards affected owners.
 
The engines in question are 1,0 68 hp, 1,2 82 hp and 1,2 110 hp.

About the diesel engines

The HDI, e-HDI and BlueHDI diesel engines are widely used in PSA's model range. They belong to the DV6 family of engines which previously had problems with carbon deposits, but these were resolved well before the Peugeot 208 went into production. The 1,4 liter/68 hp and 1,6 liter/92 hp diesel engines are probably the most reliable options. The facelift version received an upgraded BlueHDI 1,6 engine with 100 hp. Although diesel is not particularly popular at the moment, the 100-horsepower engine appears to be the safest engine option.

Gearboxes

I have only driven Peugeot 208s with 5-speed manual gearboxes. These are a bit “truck-like” where you have to allow the gears in the gearbox to fall into place before you move the lever into gear. There is no “click-clack” gearbox. The 6-speed gearboxes are supposed to shift faster. As for automatic gearboxes, you could get cars with robotic gearshifts (ETG5) up until the 2015 model. After the facelift, the robotic gearbox was replaced with a conventional automatic gearbox from Aisin (EAT6). I can confirm that this gearbox is a good choice if you prefer an automatic. Cars with the ETG5 robotic gearbox are not recommended. It has caused trouble for many owners.

Known issues

The Peugeot 208 was produced at two factories in France and one in Slovakia. In recent years, Norway received cars from Trnava in Slovakia. If you find a "T" in position 11 of the VIN number, it is a Slovakian car. It is common for car models to have several recalls. The Peugeot 208 has had several, and some of the faults have been able to create serious and sometimes spectacular situations - such as vital components coming loose, such as the rear axle, parts of the front wheel suspension, the steering stem or the rear spoiler. A problem associated with Slovak cars was that the bonnet lock could come loose, which could cause the bonnet to fold around the windscreen at speed. Keep in mind that these recalls only apply to a limited selection of cars produced in short time intervals and are likely to be fixed without concern for new owners.
 
A mistake you should worry about, is that the infotainment screen has tended to die. It can be expensive to replace.

Life with the Peugeot 208

For several weeks we have been allowed to borrow a Peugeot 208 from a good friend in France. The car is a 2019 model equipped with a 1,2 liter PureTech engine with 82 hp and manual 5-speed gearbox. The level of equipment is "Signature" with, among other things, glossy mirror housings, parking warnings and a navigation system. You sit well in the seats. I found a fairly high and upright sitting position where I could comfortably see the instruments above the steering wheel. On paper, the interior space conditions are the same as in the competitors, but a few years ago we transported a kitchen table and a narrow coffee table together with 2 passengers in another Peugeot 208. I don't understand how we managed it, but the 208 is without a doubt a small space wonder .
 
When you take over the car for the first time, you notice that the clutch throttle takes some getting used to so that the engine does not limp and stop - or rev up. Normally I let the clutch take hold before I follow up with gas, but on the 208 you have to have a little gas before you let the clutch take hold. I have also noticed it on other models with the PureTech engine. The engine needs a few extra revs above idle to get going.

On the road

The suspension is comfortable for a small car - without rocking and dove as French cars often do. We have driven some really "crappy" sections of road where the car floats surprisingly well. What kept me going was the sound of the undercarriage working. The 82-horsepower engine normally works in a nice and warm soundscape, but when you push the engine, the sound and vibrations from the three-cylinder engine propagate well into the passenger compartment.

Checklist

Of course, buying a 10-year-old Peugeot 208 requires more general research than choosing a 2019 model. I only mention what is specific to the Peugeot 208.
 
For cars with petrol engines 1,0 and 1,2 litres:
 
Ask the owner if the car has gone into emergency mode recently. When the oil filter for the oil pump clogs, exactly that can happen.
 
Find out when the timing belt was changed. New change intervals are 100 km or 000 years. I have found several advertisements on Finn.no where the seller refers to old shift intervals. If the new intervals are exceeded, the risk of having to dismantle the bottom pan, drain and clean the oil strainer increases. In that case, choose another car.
 
If the timing belt has not been changed recently, you should have it checked at an independent workshop or dealer. They use a special key that they stick down through the oil filler cap to check the width of the belt. One sign of crumbling is that it swells out.
 
It is a good sign if the owner has at one point or another chosen to change the oil every year on the advice of dealers.
 
For all engine options:
 
The service booklet is extremely important for this model. Even if not all services are taken from a brand dealer, it is important that some services are taken there. The dealer system can follow up errors that are not conveyed through other channels.
 
During the test drive, have the person next to you press a lot on the infotainment screen. Check that it works just as well after the trip when it is warm.

Conclusion

Do you think there was a lot of negative information? In terms of quality, the Peugeot 208 is considered a major improvement compared to its predecessor, the 207. It is worth noting that the car's biggest weaknesses are shared with several other popular models in the PSA group. We have seen that Volkswagen has also struggled with construction problems (1) in its engines. The Peugeot 208 has no particular weaknesses and is not particularly prone to rust. The biggest advantage is the price. If you find a facelifted car with low mileage and pay attention to maintenance, you can have a cheap car for many years.

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