MG ZST vs Peugeot 208

What's the difference?

Will the MG ZST Essence fit a small family? Absolutely, and all but the middle seat passenger will be comfortable but there are areas open for improvement. Like it's safety, laggy tech and adding a few extra items in the back seat.

Yet, it still offers a good host of features and an attractive package for a reasonable price tag. Unfortunately, my son missed having the basic amenities but did like the sun roof.

The 208 GT-Line is hardly a car purchased on its value offering; it’s an emotional purchase. Fans of the brand know it, even Peugeot knows it.

Here’s the thing, though, the GT-Line looks the part, is true-to-its-roots in how fun it is to drive, and will surprise most with its spacious dimensions and decent spec level. So, while it might be an emotional buy, it’s not necessarily a bad one.

Being the newer and shinier version of the ZS, the ZST presents as a nice little package with its full suite of LED exterior lights, shiny chrome accents and its well-shaped body.

The front is distinctively different from its design muse with a darkened grille, and redesigned fog lights that feature new air intake vents. Other highlights include the 17-inch two-tone alloy wheels with sporty red brake calipers lurking behind them.

The interior is pleasant with a massive sunroof creating a light-filled space and giving the illusion that the cabin is larger than it is.

The synthetic leather upholstery and trims seem robust and perfect for families, but also feel quite plasticky under hand. The red badge embossing on the headrests is lovely, though.

The dashboard is well-proportioned and headlined by an upgraded 10.1-inch touchscreen multimedia system and fully digital instrument cluster.

The gearshift feels a tad too skinny and tall for the general aesthetic but the circular air-vents add some cute personality.

It might not be for you, but I had come around to the 208’s design by the time I handed the keys back. It’s a bit more upright and frumpy than the slick, conservative design of the Volkswagen Polo, or the swish, cutting-edge lines of the Mazda2.

It’s undeniably a European city car in its short and upright stance, but blazes its own path, even compared to French competitors. I grew quite fond of its weird, slopey bonnet, unconventional face and tough rear wheel arches. The way the rear light clusters clasp the rear to bring the design together is quite satisfying, as are the aluminium-brush alloys, recessed lights and the single chrome tailpipe.

It could be argued that this is a path well-travelled, with this 208 mirroring the design cues of the 207 that came before it, but I’d argue it holds its own, even in 2019. If you’re after something radically different, the styling on its replacement, due next year, is one to look out for.

On the inside, things are… unique.

There are cushy, deep seats for front occupants, with a super vertical dash design, leading up from the deep-set shifter (an older look) to the top-mounted media screen, which is slick, with its chrome bezel and lack of buttons.

The steering wheel is awesome. It’s tiny, strongly contoured and covered in nice leather trim. Its small, almost oval shape is super satisfying to wrangle, and enhances the way you interact with the front wheels.

What is extra strange about it is how far separated it is from the dash cluster. The dials are perched way atop the dash in a layout Peugeot refers to as the ‘iCockpit’. This is all very cool and aesthetic and French if you’re my height (182cm), but if you’re particularly short or particularly tall, the wheel begins to obscure vital information.

Other strange things about the cabin mainly involve little bits of plastic of varying quality strewn about the place. While the overall look is very cool, there are some odd bits of chrome trim and hollow black plastics about that probably don’t need to be there.

Practicality is hurt by a lack of individual storage options and a back seat that has only two USB-A ports for its amenities.

The cabin space is spacious, though, and both rows have a decent amount of leg- and headroom despite the massive sunroof.

The steering wheel features height but not reach adjustment and to accommodate I have to sit much closer to the wheel than normal thanks to my poor little T-Rex arms.

Individual storage is the best up front with a small middle console and glove box, two cupholders and two drink bottle holders. The doors also feature large storage bins, which is great to keep the cockpit feeling neat.

The rear row gets two map pockets and a small storage bin in each door. There is also a (very) shallow storage nook at the back of the middle console… think a packet of gum or small wallet size.

My seven-year old isn't as comfortable in the rear because it lacks directional air vents, reading lights and a fold-down armrest. All items which will hinder an adult's comfort, too.

The boot space is a good size at 359L but you can bump it to 1187L with the rear seats folded, the backrest featuring a 60/40 split.

The height of the floor is adjustable and when set in the lowest position creates a deep well to tuck larger items, like luggage, into.

The hard cargo cover can be awkward to shift around or store but is otherwise out of the way when it counts.

Other amenities accentuate the premium-feeling the Essence is going for with the heated front seats and electric drivers seat offering well-padded comfort but on longer journeys, I miss having adjustable lumbar support.

The rear seats aren't as comfortable as the front only because the synthetic leather feels slippery, which is accentuated when you hit corners!

In terms of technology, you get two USB-A ports in each row but the front also gets a 12-volt port. You miss out on fast and wireless charging options.

The multimedia system looks great but can be sluggish to respond and the apps can be slow to load but I like the built-in satellite navigation.

The upgraded sound system has six speakers instead of four but the sound quality is a bit tinny with music and calls.

It was simple to connect to the wired Apple CarPlay. It also has Android Auto, Bluetooth connectivity and AM/FM radio.

The 208 hit me with some surprises here. Firstly, don’t drink and drive this car. And, by that I mean, don’t even begin to think you’ll find a good spot for a decently sized coffee. There are two cupholders under the dash; they are about an inch deep, and narrow enough to accommodate maybe a piccolo latte. Place anything else in there and you’re asking for a spillage.

There’s also an odd little trench there that barely fits a phone, and a top-box arm-rest thing that’s tiny and bound to the driver’s seat. The glovebox is large and also air-conditioned.

The front seats offer heaps of room, though, for arms, head and especially legs, and there is no shortage of soft surfaces for elbows.

The back seat was also a surprise. I was expecting it to be an afterthought, as it is in many cars this size, but the 208 delivers, with excellent matching seat trim and generous legroom.

Sadly, that’s where back-seat amenities end. There are tiny trenches in the door, but no air vents or cupholders. You’ll have to make do with just the pockets on the backs of the front seats.

Don’t be fooled by the 208’s cropped rear, the boot is deep and grants a surprising 311 litres to the shelf, and maxes out a 1152L with the second row folded down. Also surprising  is the inclusion of a full-size steel spare, stashed under the floor.

This Peugeot is never going to be as cheap as a Mazda2 or Suzuki Swift. The current range spans from $21,990 for the base Active to $26,990 for the GT-Line, and that’s all before on-road costs.

Safe to say you’re looking at a $30k hatch then. For the same money you could be hopping into a decently specified Hyundai i30, Toyota Corolla or Mazda3, but Peugeot bank on the fact that this car appeals to a special kind of customer; the emotional buyer.

Perhaps they had a Peugeot in the past. Perhaps the quirky styling calls out to them. But they aren’t interested in value… per se.

So do you at least get a decent standard spec? The GT-Line comes with a 7.0-inch multimedia touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, built-in sat-nav, 17-inch alloy wheels wrapped in some seriously low-profile Michelin Pilot Sport rubber, panoramic fixed glass roof, dual-zone climate control, self-parking function, front and rear parking sensors with a reversing camera, rain sensing wipers, sports bucket seats, auto folding mirrors and GT-Line specific chrome styling touches.

Not bad. The styling is certainly turned up a notch over the regular 208 range and the spec list makes it one of the better-equipped cars in the segment. However, there are some notable omissions which hurt on a car at this price. For example, there’s no option for push-start or LED headlamps.

Safety is okay, but it could use update. More on that in the safety section.

The Essence variant has a 1.3-litre, three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with a maximum power output of 115kW and 230Nm of torque.

It's a front-wheel drive and features a six-speed auto transmission. Overall, it has enough power to keep up with traffic on the open road but you have to be firm with the accelerator to keep your speed consistent.

The regular (that’s non-GTi) 208s are offered with just one engine now. A 1.2-litre turbo petrol three-cylinder, which produces 81kW/205Nm. While that doesn’t sound like an awful lot, it turns out to be plenty for the little 1070kg hatch.

Unlike some notable French manufacturers, Peugeot has seen the light and dumped single-clutch automatics (aka automated manuals) in favour of a six-speed torque converter auto, which does its best to have you not notice it.

It also has a stop-start system, which might save fuel (I couldn’t objectively prove that it did) but will definitely annoy you at the lights.

The official combined cycle fuel figure is 7.3L/100km and my real-world average came in at 7.7L. That is after a good mix of urban and open-road driving, so the usage is good.

Based on the combined fuel cycle and the relatively small 45L fuel tank, expect a driving range of around 616km.

The claimed/combined fuel number for the 208 GT-Line is a slightly unrealistic-sounding 4.5L/100km. Sure enough, after a week of city/highway combined driving, I produced a number of 7.4L/100km. So, a solid miss. Slightly less-enthusiastic driving should see that number drop, but I still don’t see how you could get it down to 4.5L/100km.

The 208 requires a minimum of 95RON mid-range fuel, and has a 50-litre tank.

The ZST Essence has an okay amount of power relative to the car's small size.

It's an adequate cruiser when I ferry just my husband and son around, but feels a full load of luggage and people.

The steering is responsive and it's an easy car to manoeuvre in tight car parks or city streets, which is great. The visibility is pretty good despite the chunkier pillars and you feel confident when checking your blind-spots.

While the suspension is fairly forgiving and ride comfort is decent, you will still notice the bumps, especially when seated in the back.

The cabin suffers from some wind and road noise and at higher speeds we had to find we raise our voices a bit to be heard. Around town, you don't notice it.

This is just a personal preference but the brake and accelerator pedals are skinnier and more centrally positioned than I prefer. You get used to it, though.

The ZST is pretty easy to park and it's great that you have a 360-degree camera system but the image quality can be grainy. You get rear parking sensors, too, but miss out on ones at the front.

The 208 is good fun, and lives up to its heritage of making the most of its lightweight dimensions and small figure to make for an agile city-slicker. The engine outputs might look like just any other hatch in this class, but the turbo comes on nice and strong in an impressively linear fashion.

It makes for reliable and strong acceleration, with the peak 205Nm of torque available at 1500rpm.

A featherweight at 1070kg, you’ll find no complaints from me about its performance. It’s no GTi, but it will still be warm enough for most.

Despite its upright figure, handling is fantastic, too. The low-profile Michelins feel planted at the front and back, and, unlike the GTi, you never really feel at risk of understeer or wheelspin.

This is all enhanced by the intense helm, with the small steering wheel giving it a thoroughly engaging feel. You can chuck this car into corners and down alleyways with enthusiasm, and it feels like it loves it as much as you do.

The suspension is stiff, especially at the rear, and the low-profile rubber makes it noisy on coarse-chip surfaces, but you’ll barely hear a peep out of the little engine. Other notable downsides include the slow-to-react stop-start system (which you can turn off) and the lack of active cruise, which would be nice at this price.

On the topic of active cruise, this car is showing its age in the safety department. Available active safety is limited to a camera-based city-speed auto emergency braking system (AEB). The lack of a radar, even optionally, means no active cruise or freeway-speed AEB. There’s also no option for blind-spot monitoring (BSM), lane-departure warning (LDW) or lane-keep assist (LKAS).

Sure, we’re talking about a car which largely dates back to 2012, but you can get cars a full size up with all those features for close to the same money from Korea and Japan.

On the more impressive side, you get an above-average set of six airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners and rear ISOFIX child-seat mounting points, as well as the expected set of electronic braking and stability aids. A reversing camera is also now standard.

The 208 previously held a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from 2012, but that rating is limited to four-cylinder variants, which have since been phased out. Three-cylinder cars remain un-rated.

The ZST Essence comes with a seven-year/unlimited km warranty, which is on par with coverage offered by a growing number of its rivals.

There is a seven-year or up to 70,000km servicing program for a total cost of $2339 or an average of $334 per service, which is very competitive for the class.

Servicing intervals are at every 12 months or 10,000km, whichever occurs first, but could be annoying if you travel a lot.

Peugeot offers a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty on its entire range of passenger cars, which is up-to-date and in-line with most segment competitors.

The 208 requires servicing at yearly or 15,000km intervals (whichever occurs first) and has a fixed price to the length of the warranty.

Servicing is not cheap, with yearly visits costing between $397 and $621, although there’s nothing on the optional extras list, that price is all-inclusive.

Total cost over the five-year period is $2406 for an (expensive) average of $481.20 a year.