Peugeot 208 hatchback - Practicality & boot space

There's been a significant growth spurt in the supermini class, with cars like the SEAT Ibiza and Skoda Fabia now the size of family hatchbacks from a few generations before. The 208 has bucked this trend somewhat, however, so it’s now one of the smaller cars in its class. This makes it light, manoeuvrable and easy to park, but also limits interior space.

Given the compact dimensions, taller occupants may struggle in terms of head and legroom. Every 208 now comes with five doors, though, so it’s much easier for passengers to access the back row than in three-door versions of the previous model. Peugeot has also paid more attention to storage, putting a large cubby under the central armrest, along with a tray in front of the gear-lever and another space in the centre console, designed for charging a smartphone. Another downside is poor rear visibility, which Peugeot has tried to counteract by including rear parking sensors on all models.

Boot space

Measuring 311 litres, the 208’s boot is slightly below average for the class, matching the Ford Fiesta but failing to match the 380 litres of the Fabia or vast 391 litres found in the Renault Clio. Fold the rear seats down and there’s up to 1,106 litres of space.

A facelifted version of the Peugeot 208 is due later in 2023, but it’s not thought any changes will be made to boot space or interior packaging.

Towing

If you need to tow a trailer, steer clear of the e-208 as it’s not homologated for towing, while the PureTech 75 is only rated to tow a 500kg trailer. The PureTech 100, 130 and BlueHDi 100 versions are all able to tow a braked trailer of up to 1,200kg, making them far better suited to the task.