Verdict

The Peugeot 108 makes an utterly convincing city car, as does its Citroen C1 and Toyota Aygo siblings. With light steering, plenty of visibility and a tight turning circle making driving in town a doddle.

Venture outside of the urban sprawl and the comfortable suspension masks most road issues. However, hitting the open road in the 1.0-litre engined version is a little painful, as there’s really not enough power to cope, but upgrade to the 1.2-litre engine and the extra 13PS available makes more of a difference than you might expect.

The high level of standard equipment, plus the fabric roof if you specify a Top! model like our test car, makes the inside of the 108 a pleasant enough place to spend time – especially if speeds remain low. Close the top, something that can be done at motorway speeds and the interior is almost as hushed as it would be with the metal roof.

In my opinion, the 108 is the smartest looking of the trio, if not the most exciting. So it’s a shame then, that the ambience is let down by cheap feel to the plastics in the cabin. Even the optional coloured or patterned panels can’t hide the fact that the 108’s interior plastics all feel a bit brittle and shiny.

The 108 makes a convincing case for itself if you rarely venture out of the city, where the positives do outweigh the negatives. The depth of competition is tough for the Peugeot to get over though, with the Volkswagen up! offering higher quality levels, the MG3 offering more space and fun, and the Hyundai i10 with its lengthy warranty.

The Low Down on the Peugeot 108…..

…..and what it costs