The Peugeot 108 GTi (Is Not Real. Yet.)

"KirkyV" (KirkyV)
02/23/2014 at 14:56 • Filed to: peugeot, french, gti, 108, 106, concepts, clarkson

I so very desperately want this car to actually happen, and to look something like this fan-made rendering. The old 106 GTi was an absolutely amazing car - truly, perhaps one of the best hot hatches ever made - and we are long overdue for a replacement.

And now, for a little something to whet the appetite. The top one has Clarkson, the middle's the most fun to watch, and the last one... Has Coldplay. Also, awesome rally action.

DISCUSSION (11)

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > KirkyV
02/23/2014 at 15:02

I owned as my very first car in this life, a lowered 106 1.4 'Quiksilver' Edition which had 97bhp. Oh yeeeeah! I used to fly around the country roads in Devon in that. It was fantastic, like a little go-kart. My friend had a Saxo VTR for a bit too.

HOWEVER... they were easily the worst made cars we ever owned. Literally fell apart, it was something new every month. I was driving my 106 once and the left-rear break cable snapped and locked the wheel up. The car was stranded. The Saxo meanwhile blew up every few weeks.

These things are hardly likely to happen now, but Peugeot's famously poor service and reliability issues doesn't help ease my fears. I do think we need more basic small quick cars on the market though, 130bhp in a small car is great fun. It just needs to be light enough. I hope this 108 GTi is born in the future, i'd love to see what it's capable of!

duurtlang > KirkyV
02/23/2014 at 15:04

I like the idea, however I consider the 108 as too tall and narrow for such a thing. Assuming it's like the 107. Besides, I consider the 106 to be closer (in concept) to the 208 than the 107/108.

KirkyV > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge)
02/23/2014 at 15:11

I've never had any such trouble with my 106, and I've had it for around a year and a half now. I haven't exactly been kind to it, either—I, too, can be counted among the many who had a 106 as their very first car. So, it's coped with sloppy maintenance, the worst clutch work the world has ever seen, and all manner of teenage yobbery, with nary a complaint. The only thing that's ever gone wrong is a leaky seal on one of the rear lights. Oh, and I had to clean out the idle control valve to make it, well, idle pleasantly. Compare this to my friend's experience of a Polo of similar vintage: it's cut out on the motorway, rattles constantly, and has a speedometer that might best be described as 'playful'. This is all anecdotal, of course, but looking around the Internet I've never been given reason to believe they're all that unreliable, really.

I've two concerns about the 108 GTi:

1 - It might never exist. That'd suck.

2 - It might suck. Nineties Peugeot knew how to make, in the words of his Clarkness up there, 'The finest handling small cars in the world'. 2014 Peugeot? I'm not so sure.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > KirkyV
02/23/2014 at 15:15

I don't think it helped mine that it had been lowered. My brake failed, I had a puddle in the peddle bay everytime it rained, I even had it starting to lose all will to live on the way to the garage I traded it in at! Perfect timing. I know people who bought a brand new 407 and it failed its first MOT because the suspension had broken. It had only been used to do shopping, and Peugeot were none to helpful about it. I think they came 26/31 in customer care in a UK survey?

Modern Peugeot's aren't bad, I drove a brand new 308 and it was a nice place to be, but as you say the handling wasn't very good, I found it very vague. I was however very comfortable!

KirkyV > duurtlang
02/23/2014 at 15:18

I'm actually kind of with you on the old 106 GTi being substantially closer to the original 205 and new 208 in terms of intent. While small, it wasn't really seen as a 'baby hot hatch' at the time, like say a Panda 100HP. It was a proper GTi, and was considered a 'supermini' rather than 'city car' like the 107.

The main reasons I'm excited about the idea of a 108 GTi are my attachment to the nameplate - I love the 106 - and the potential for Peugeot to effectively sneak out an old school, lightweight, twitchy and kinda crazy hot hatch. Will the car - assuming it's ever actually made - be that? I don't know, it's unlikely, but I like to dream.

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > duurtlang
02/23/2014 at 15:18

And the 205.

KirkyV > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge)
02/23/2014 at 15:24

I've never had to deal with their customer service before, but I'm willing to believe it's kinda cruddy. Nineties Peugeots - your 106 excluded, obviously - have actually proven fairly reliable, by and large. There are a lot still about, and most people seem to find them quite easy to keep running. Garages - or, at least, the garage I get mine serviced at - seem to like them too; they're easy to work on.

I'm completely with you on early 2000s-onwards Peugeots being less than stellar in terms of reliability - and, well, everything else - though. When they stopped making the 106 and 306, the company kind of went off a cliff so far as I can tell. From the 206 until fairly recently, they've just been making utter crap. And their most modern cars, while - as you say - perfectly 'fine', just don't have the zest of the older ones. Back then, Peugeot were known for cheap, everyday fun, even in their dullest models. These days, they're just cars.

Timmy - MINI With a Big Blower > KirkyV
02/23/2014 at 15:29

I have no experience with any of these. Although, 10/10 would hoon.

KirkyV > Timmy - MINI With a Big Blower
02/23/2014 at 15:33

With the exception of the render up top - which, sadly, doesn't exist yet - they're all variations of the same car, the Peugeot 106/Citroen Saxo. They were making the bloody things for around 13 years, had a facelift in the middle, and a great many performance and workaday - but always fun - variants besides. All of which were fucking superb.

Timmy - MINI With a Big Blower > KirkyV
02/23/2014 at 15:35

I wish we had hot hatches like that in the states. I would have a billion of them scattered all over my an in pieces, just to keep it American.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > KirkyV
02/23/2014 at 16:06

I'd certainly rather have a Peugeot to repair than anything German! Peugeot's definitely don't cost too much to maintain. I'd like to see Peugeot rethink their philosophy really. They make very good diesel engined cars, that's not under question, but that alone won't make them successful, the RCZ was a bid to rectify the image problem they have, and it would be nice to see them do some more cars based around the idea of 'fun'. The RCZ is just a TT after all.