Peugeot 208 III: What We Know About the Next-Gen City Car

Peugeot is working on the third generation of its 208 supermini, expected from 2027. The car is set to introduce a new design language, a modernised platform and a cockpit with a rectangular steering wheel.

A new look built on horizontal lines

The styling was previewed by the Polygon concept and, more recently, by the E-T16 and RCZ concepts shown at the Paris motor show. The next 208 is expected to rely on horizontality, with front and rear light signatures made of three horizontal bands running across the car. They will replace the lion-claw lights of the current model, which themselves took over from the lion-fang design of the early second-generation cars.

Dimensions should barely change, at roughly 4 metres in length, but the light signature should make the car look wider and give it more presence. It will need it: rivals in the segment have sharpened up, including the aggressive Cupra Raval, the modern Volkswagen ID. Polo and the nostalgia-driven Renault 5 E-Tech.

Hypersquare steering and electric-only platform

Inside, Peugeot is expected to launch its latest i-Cockpit with the rectangular "Hypersquare" steering wheel and steer-by-wire, meaning no mechanical link between wheel and road wheels. Controls will be built into the wheel, within the four round cut-outs that form the grip.

The new 208 should use the STLA Small platform in electric versions only. That mirrors Volkswagen's approach, which launched the Cupra Raval and ID. Polo as EVs while keeping the combustion-engined Seat Ibiza and Volkswagen Polo. Peugeot is expected to keep selling the current 208 with petrol and mild-hybrid engines as an affordable entry to the range.

What comes next

That current model could receive a third facelift. Its exterior has aged reasonably well, but its cabin looks dated, particularly in the e-208 GTI, priced at 42,900 euros. Peugeot could reveal more next year, with a presentation in the second half of 2027 and a market launch in 2028.