2015 Peugeot 108 European Journal - They say the simple cars, affordable and fun are not doing these days, but maybe we were looking f...
They say the simple cars, affordable and fun are not doing these days, but maybe we were looking for them in the wrong places. Maybe affordable fun is still there, buried under a skin not cool enough to capture the interest of petrolheads ...
James Dean behind the wheel of his Porsche 356 Speedster, tear Mulholland Drive, a cigarette coldly hung from the side of his mouth, his hands fighting the wheel without help. The barking of four air-cooled flat. Tires screeching. That's the dream petrolhead. That is the legend.
And as an important part of this mythology, something driven by epitomes cool as Dean and McQueen, the 356 Speedster (or any other 356, for that matter) is revered and treasured. Buying a good example requires the kind of money that you get a new brand 911. Or three. Or 911 and a plane perfectly.
But you do not want a 911 and you do not want a Boxster because, as they say, every 911 is worse than the last. It's faster. It is more comfortable. It's gotten better soundproofing. It is better to isolate yourself from what's going on. And you do not want to be isolated. You want to experience.
So engineers spend months and adjustment years end electric power steering to feel as a possible hydraulic . They play around with the suspension to make the car fast enough, but in the same space of time off for you to spend effort. They design the exhaust and sound insulation in just a way to get the sound you want.
And we moan about it being too artificial.
We talk about old times old cars where everything was for real. Or, to be more precise, we dream about them. Because most of us have never even sat in a 356, let alone drive.
Why was the 356 so great? Or was it still a great car
No - ?. It was horrible
I know you're probably about to blow the rest of the article and jump right to the comments to shreds me. But please, wait a moment and listen to me.
The Porsche 356 was not much more than a VW Beetle, and shortened slightly with a sleeker body. The Beetle was the pinnacle of automotive engineering in the Third Reich, but in the 1950s America, its main virtue was that it was cheap, reliable and well built. It was something you bought for your wife for the weekly shop. Or your teenage son as a birth control method. It may have been a typical family car in Europe, but Europe was, at the time, and poor recovery of war.
The Beetle was cheap. It was horrible suspension - even by the standards of the day. And it was slow
The Porsche 356 was a bit faster -. Not by much. Buick station wagon Grandma whip his ass in a drag race.
But it has become legend because of how predictable he was, how he treated the limits of both the driver and his own abilities. To make the most of it, we had to try. It gave you the feeling of being alive.
With each new generation of Porsche, the numbers on the speedometer develop, but at the same time, the feeling of connecting with the machine decreases. The feeling of being the hero tame the wild machine is lost. And there is no Porsche. First of all, it affected the "great" and sportscars GTs. Later, he arrived with "the people sportscars' and hot hatches. And today, almost everything that said" sport "is too fast for you to really make the most of his abilities on the street.
Take the Peugeot 208 GTi I drove last year. it is said to be a spiritual successor to the first, exhilarating 205 GTi. But in reality, it is more of a GT car smooth, packed in a hatchback body. It is great if you want a damned fast car for a (relatively) modest amount of money. But if you want to enjoy the feeling of driving as a superhero and drive the car limitations in everyday traffic, you should be a psychopath or Ayrton Senna. the 208 GTi is too fast to really make the most of it on public roads.
Vojta seems impressed by 2015 Peugeot 108
and that is why most of the complaints petrolheads today throw to the current crop of sportscars. They are too fast. They isolate you from the driving experience too much (in the words of a normal human, they are too comfortable). They have fake experience with artificial exhaust sounds and similar tricks. They are too big and heavy. They have too much grip.
But we're just looking in the wrong place? What if the problem is in our fixed idea of how a car should look like fun? After all, we tend to forget that some of the most famous sportscars in history had humble roots - whether the 205 GTi, the original Mini or even 356 Speedster we mentioned at the beginning
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What is the right time to finally start getting to the point - the Peugeot 108.
We'll start with some dull numbers. The base 108 weighs 840 kg (1,850 lbs) and its three-cylinder engine has 69 hp. The lightest, most basic 356 Speedster weighs 771 kg (1700 lb). And four flat, in its most potent form, offered 75 horses.
Replace Speedster Convertible with a base or simply reflect the smallest available engine and you have a nearly identical power to weight ratio as small city car today. Of course, numbers are not everything.
The three-cylinder engine has a nice, sound hoarse. It is not nearly as special as the hollow groan four boxer made by engineers Strength Through Joy before World War II, but it is interesting enough to make you revving up. And because you are sitting in a small car cheap city with little soundproofing, you can enjoy the natural engine note without having pumped through the speakers.
The shift is fairly light and precise (at least for a cheap French car), but its mechanical roughness remind you that you are driving a machine and not a video game.
The electric power steering no points for communication or feeling, but it has a natural stature. The large thin wheel, steering feels pleasantly old-school - in fact, it is much more comfortable to hold the tiny in the 208 GTi hot hatch
And then there is the suspension of tiny narrow wheels and high. rubber profile. It is surprisingly comfortable even on rough roads, but as expected, it does not provide much grip. In cornering, the body rolls a little more modern driver is used for and it certainly does not invite you to test its limits. But something like 80 percent, it is surprisingly fun to drive.
I'm not talking about casting adrenaline and squealing tires. I speak of a player a little go at speeds may not be entirely legal, but at least socially acceptable, which still gives you the feeling that you really have to drive. You must work the gearbox to keep the tiny engine at its best, you have to look braking and lines turns to ensure you will not many loose rhythm -. because gain back will not be easy
you can drive as fast as you want - or can - without risking your driving license. When you arrive in a straight line, you do not have to think about how long you can keep your foot down. Ten seconds? Twenty seconds? No, you can keep the pedal to the metal almost all the time. Corners? Do not worry. You're not going fast enough.
And because everything is going to sound speeds and engine revving hard is a meager one liter four, you can do this dance all day. You will not stop because your hands shake and your forehead is sweating or you interrupt the pleasure of a trip to the gas station. Even in "sporty driving", the 108 is very happy with some 6.0-6.5L / 100 km (35-40 mpg). In normal driving, it is to score as 5.0L / 100 km (over 50 mpg).
All this suggests that the 108 is more than a toy that you buy for pleasure. It is most definitely not. First, it is a practical city car completely rational, for 10,000 sales under $ USD at current exchange rates. Its main virtue does not lead fun, but the fact that it is small, cheap, efficient and easy to park. It a bit like the original VW Beetle - just at least 1000% better thanks to decades of development. And compared to its predecessor, the 107, it is hideous to watch.
Negative. First, the Peugeot 108 is not as cheap as it probably should be. Like all new PSA products, it's expensive, pending massive cuts occur. This time, it is still more expensive than excellent Up!, VW, while smaller inside, underperformed and probably even slower. But it seems a little more fun to drive.
The real problem is the 108 and its many peers are in a similar position to that of Mitsubishi Mirage in America. Not the same position, of course - small cars are pretty much the norm in many parts of Europe, and these are much less ugly, and probably much more fun to drive (I did not push the Mirage but opinion is enough for me). But certainly not in the position of "style icon". You will not look like James Dean driving one of them. Not even in a white shirt and a leather jacket. On the other hand, are not able to withdraw driving a tiny cheap vehicle the ultimate sign of freshness today
Thus, our pro-board :? If you want to be as cool as James Dean, skip the old Porsche. It would not buy today, he bought it because it made sense then. Today, it is the old fart collectors. Buy a Peugeot 108. Three doors hatch. With a canvas roof. If possible, choose a rose with floral stickers. This will allow other that you do not need to prove anything. And you enjoy the drive, because it is always more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow.
is @VojtaDobes Motoring journalist from the Czech Republic who has worked for local editions of magazines Autocar and TopGear. Today, he runs his own website, www.Autickar.cz, and writes for various other Czech outlets. After a failed adventure with the importation of classic American cars in Europe, it is quite broken, he drives a ratty Chrysler LHS. His previous cars included a Caprice New York Taxi livery in 1988, hot rodded Opel diplomat, two Dodge Coronets, a Simca, a Fiat 0 and Austin Maestro. He never owned a diesel, manual trolley
Photograph: David Marek
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