Peugeot 108 1.2 Allure Top 5-dr

Since it went on sale in July 2014, more than 5,000 orders have been placed for the new 108. Of those, 50 per cent have been five-door hatchback, 24 per cent for the three-door hatchback and 26 per cent have been orders for the Cabrio Top model.

Peugeot continues to appeal to an increasingly younger audience thanks to the brand’s innovative ‘Just Add Fuel’ leasing option, which is the principal reason why 108 buyers are, on average, seven years younger than those of the previous 107 model.

The original Peugeot 108 was a joint project with sister company Citroen and also Toyota, creating three brand-new city cars. Now in 2014 it’s time for the second generation version.

The basic underpinnings remain the same, although the 108 is now a little longer overall, while under the bonnet there is now the option of a more powerful 1.2-litre engine alongside the previous 1.0-litre.

On the inside there’s a new dashboard with smarter materials plus a touchscreen system on all bar the entry-level model.

Peugeot has done a good job of giving the little 108 some character. It manages to wear the new family grille with ease and with standard 15-inch alloy wheels and tinted windows on Allure models it manages to look smarter than you might expect of a humble city car.

It feels more classy inside too, and although there’s the odd flash of body colour it all hangs together well. There’s also a stack of personalisation options inside and out.

The 108 is less than 3.5 metres long but still manages to offer respectable space inside. Up front it’s nice and airy, with comfortable front seats and plenty of space. In the rear it’s a bit tighter – adults sitting behind big front seat passengers might grumble – but kids will be happy. The boot now offers 196 litres too, and as long as you pack sensibly you can fit a decent week’s shopping in there.

The view out from the driver’s seat is excellent thanks to the big windows and the dashboard layout is clear and attractive. The 1.2-litre three-cylinder fires up with an enthusiastic thrum, and while it’s not the quietest engine at low speed it is smooth and the sound is pleasant enough. It’s also quite a perky unit and although it needs some revs to get going it does so happily.

The steering is faithful and accurate while remaining light at low speeds and the ride is good for such a small car. The only demerit is that pulling away smoothly requires a delicate left foot on the clutch.

An Allure with the 1.2-litre engine checks in at £10,995 and for that you get a good specification; features like a reversing camera are still quite unusual for a car in this class, and there’s leather on the steering wheel and air-conditioning too. The 7-inch touchscreen uses phone mirroring so you can use your smartphones connectivity although you do need to download some new apps to get features like sat-nav.

For the first time, Peugeot’s smallest car is available with a retractable fabric roof, which surprisingly can be opened and closed electrically at any speed. Called the 108 Top, it’s available in Active and Allure trims. Active cars have colour-coded door handles and mirrors, manual air conditioning, electric front windows, height adjustable driver’s seat, 7-inch touch-screen infotainment system with Mirror Screen, DAB digital radio, Bluetooth and steering wheel-mounted controls.

Allure adds 15-inch ‘Thorren’ alloy wheels, front fog lamps, auto headlights, tinted rear windows, reversing camera, electric heated door mirrors and Peugeot Open & Go.

The 108 would suit a range of buyers; newly-qualified drivers can get behind the wheel of the 1.0-litre Acess model for just £8,245 while older buyers can enjoy the low running costs and small-car convenience with high equipment levels on the top spec models. Families might find it a bit too tight on space for holidays but it could handle the school run with ease.

At a glance

Peugeot 108 1.2 Allure Top 5-dr

Price: £12,245 (108 range from £8,245)
Engine: 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol unit producing 82bhp and 86lb/ft of torque
Transmission: Five-speed manual gearbox
Performance: Top speed 106mph, 0-62mph in 11 seconds
Economy: 65.7mpg combined
Emissions: 99g/km of CO2