The model year 2017 Peugeot 208 brings with it the Brazilian debut of PSA’s 1.2-litre/122 cubic inch, three-cylinder, flex-fuel engine which has earned a triple-A grading from the Brazilian Labelling Programme (PBE) – it gets the best fuel economy of any car sold in Brazil.
First deliveries were on 1 May. The Pure Tech powerplant replaces the ancient, 1,449-cc/88.4 cubic inch TU4M flex engine which will be phased out with the locally made Citroën C3 next in line, soon, for the I3 1.2 developed specifically for Brazil with 12.5-to-one compression ratio, four valve combustion chambers and double overhead camshafts with variable timing for both intake and exhaust.
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A power output of 83bhp/89bhp (on ethanol) at 5,750 rpm and 12.2 kgf/m/88.2 lbf-ft at just 2,750 rpm (all but the same as the outgoing motor – its torque peaked at 3,000rpm) means better performance than the outgoing engine because that maximum torque comes earlier and the engine itself weighs 25kg/55lb less.
Smoothness is above average for an inherently imbalanced three cylinder powerplant.
Fuel economy is simply astonishing on both ethanol and petrol: city, 9.2 litres/100km/25.6 mpg and 6.6 litres/100km/35.5 mpg; motorway, 8.6 litres/100km/27.5 mpg and 5.9 litres/100km/39.8 mpg, respectively, on Brazilian driving cycles, which are more severe than NEDC’s. Besides delivering a more attractive cost-per-kilometre relative to the city driving cycle than rivals’ flex engines, it should not be much of a challenge to achieve five litres/100km/47 mpg in real-world motorway driving on petrol.
This new engine is imported from France and will be produced locally only when production would be profitable – about 100,000 units a year, including exports.
PSA nonetheless regards the motor’s launch as a landmark of its 15 years here in Brazil.
The Brazilian 208 has been given a slight mid-life cycle update – it was launched five years ago. The grille and front bumper, DRL lighting, LED tail lights and a seven-inch tactile multimedia screen are the main changes.
