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Fiesta ST200 vs. Peugeot 208 GTi Acceleration Test Shows Little Guys Can Punch

The days when the Peugeot GTi was the hot hatch of choice are long gone. That was happening all the way back to when the 205 came out, and in the meantime, Peugeot has reached the 208 moniker for its small hatchback.
Fiesta ST200 vs. 208 GTi 4 photos
Photo: YouTube screenshot
Ford Fiesta ST200 vs. Peugeot 208 GTi acceleration testFord Fiesta ST200 vs. Peugeot 208 GTi acceleration testFord Fiesta ST200 vs. Peugeot 208 GTi acceleration test
Not all subsequent generation had a GTi version, though, and some could say the French manufacturer had lost it and coming back would be a huge mountain to climb, but Peugeot put on its hiking boots and started the ascension with the 208 generation.

The car had mixed reviews and failed to make it back to the top, but it was solid enough to give Peugeot the necessary impetus to keep going and hope the next iteration will be even better. One of the most polarizing aspect was the car's tiny steering wheel, a feature dictated by the company's decision to make the instrument cluster visible above the wheel, and not through it.

That feature is part of the French brand's attempt at reinventing itself through a ballsy interior design. It might feel like reinventing the wheel at times, but at least it managed to set Peugeot apart from other manufacturers.

The Ford Fiesta ST200 is like that old teammember that you would want to get rid of, but is just too good to do without. The interior is a bit of a farce, and the exterior styling isn't exactly sharp either, but the Ford Fiesta still handles like a dream. It's simply one of the most fun cars you can have for a relatively small sum of money as long as you can get over the fact it feels like an old car.

So, piting the two together is a new versus old type of confrontation, even though the 208 GTi isn't all that recent itself. Care to make a bet? Well, don't bother, because the result in this clip is heavily influenced by the driver's gear changes - particularly the first one - but it does show you these cars don't shy away from doing 200 km/h (124 mph) and beyond.

What it doesn't show, though, is what they're best for: finding a winding road with light or no traffic and having a blast. A hot hatch is at its best near and above the red line while also making use of that short wheelbase.

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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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