Road Test: Peugeot 208 1.4 diesel

God, it's a sweet looking car, writes Brian Byrne.

Even if they didn't do anything else, Peugeot knows how to put sexiness into pressed metal.

Their latest supermini has it in Brigitte Bardot levels. (BB? Long time ago, but nobody since has come close. Look her up.) OK, maybe I should have added in some male hunks, since it is probably mostly women who will buy this one.

The 208 is the latest in a line of Peugeot small cars which have a seriously creditable heritage.

The 206 would be regarded as the vintage in the series. The 207 got bigger, maybe was less appreciated for the quality it had.

They've made the new one shorter, a tad more svelte, but with more people room inside too, so the 208 doesn't give way to its main competitors in this respect.

Back to the looks. Swish and sculpted. Very neat nose treatment, various design elements in the profile sheetmetal which combine to a stylish attraction. Tidy rear. The pictures detail the reality, something that doesn't always happen.

Inside is a mixed bag. There's more angularity than I expected. Not aesthetically problematical. But a bit pushy, especially with the chrome-style detailing in the higher-spec review car. Shiny black plastics take getting used to after soft-touch has been the norm.

But they score a really nice idea in managing essential information for the driver. Instruments are generally read through the top half of the steering wheel. Which can cause problems depending on how tall the driver is. The 208 has its instruments readable in a binnacle set above the wheel. They have managed to do it without visual intrusion into the windscreen area, partly by making the steering wheel small. It just works. Shows head-up displays aren't really necessary.

Nor is discomfort just because you're a tall person in a small car. I'm that person. The 208 is that small car. And we never had a problem together. I used to have ergonomical problems in both its predecessor cars. This one, nope. And even at an age when I'm supposed to be shrinking a little (haven't noticed it), I can be an extreme test of a small car.

The driver's seat feels as good as anything I have used in much larger cars. Better than a couple whose blushes I will spare for now. But they're German.

Aft of the driver is also a decent space to be a couple of passengers in. And further back, there's a reasonable boot capacity. Under it, by the way, a full-size spare wheel, something which Peugeot in Ireland specifies as a matter of course. Very unusual in so doing.

The review car was financially up the road, powered by the 1.4 diesel and therefore costing from roughly €2,500 more than the basic 1.0 petrol 3-pot at €14,495. It is a really smooth and refined performer, although I have a personal gra for 3-cylinder motors. There's the attraction of up to 83mpg equivalent frugality.

I'm not so sure that the diesel is where major economies are to be made in this segment, because the key 1.0, 1.2 petrols and that diesel are all Band A. So the extra cost is only viable if you do annual distances which save you the cost of the more expensive engine. Still, the Irish importer believes up to 40 percent of buyers will choose diesel, much more than the average for the segment.

The car is available in 3- and 5-door formats, and with three levels of specification, Access, Active and Allure.

Cruise/limiter speed control is standard at the entry level, while among the extra features in the Active and above is Bluetooth phone linking.

The segment, which represents a fifth of car sales in the Irish market, has become much more competitive, with no less than 27 different models now available.

I have already noted that it is very comfortable. It also drives very well, that small steering wheel providing a quite fast response in the turns. The ride is what we expect from Peugeot in this size of car, accommodating rather than sporty.

Cribs? Yep. Two come to mind. The gearshift is wobbly, though not to the extent that it makes changing inaccurate. And the wipers in my car were noisy.

Small issues, really. But if they weren't there, this could be my favourite small car so far this year. And even with them, it might still make it.