FANS of the 205 GTi have been waiting a long time for Peugeot to develop anything to touch its boyish, carefree driving thrills.

But it has certainly been worth the wait.

There is simply nothing bad to say about the 208 GTi, it is the very definition of a hot hatch.

The driving experience is a delight, the 200hp 1.6 turbo engine thrums beautifully thanks to a reworked exhaust system and, if you rev it at the traffic lights, you can actually feel the unit move, like it’s straining at the leash. I did this quite a lot.

Let it off said leash and the thrills are never-ending; power is immediate and brutal, while it will pull in any gear – even from 30mph in sixth.

0-62mph comes up in seven seconds and there’s torque aplenty – the GTi will do 50-75mph in fifth gear in less than seven seconds.

It handles like a go-kart and the gear change is crisp and very satisfying.

Everything feels so plugged-in, with a firm-but-not-harsh ride quality, and the GTi is still highly-civilised when you’re not wringing its neck. Around town the uninitiated will be blissfully unaware of the terrors that lie beneath, yet one push of the throttle and you’re flying.

Consumption is decent for a performance car, claimed at 47mpg combined, and I managed to average 42 over about 100 miles of fairly-enthusiastic driving.

It’s reasonably clean as well, with CO2 emissions of 139g/km.

Looks-wise the GTi is meaner than its conventional sibling, with 17in alloy wheels, a widened track, body sills and wing extensions, along with GTi decals and nice red Peugeot lettering in the front grille.

The red splashes are everywhere, inside and out, and add to the special feeling.

Inside there are GTi touches all over the place, the sports seats hold you nicely in place and the smaller steering wheel gives a racing car feel to the whole experience.

The dials are set back away from the driver, so they can be seen more easily without taking your eyes off the road.

There is a feel and smell of quality and space is good.

It’s hard to convey fully in words how switched-on and fun this GTi is. It’s agile, powerful, great fun to drive, fast and modern.

That’s about the best I can do, you’ll just have to drive one.

Hot hatch? Peugeot has managed a scorcher.

Peugeot 208 GTi

From £18,895

1.6 THP 200hp

0-62mph – 6.8 seconds

Top speed – 143mph

Consumption – 47.9 combined

Rating – 5/5

Find out more at westovergroup.co.uk/Peugeot