I’ll never get used to the driving position in the 208 GTi, or the lack of steering feel but there’s no denying this pocket rocket majors on fun.

The 1.6 turbo engine serves up lashings of torque, so you can tootle along at city speeds, then quickly dip into the full potential of the car when the road opens up.

You get the feeling the beefed up suspension would allow the GTi to take even more performance. However, it feels a lot faster than it is – partly because you can’t actually see the bonnet from the driving seat! The Tarmac just zings by in front of you.

Issues? Well, really most of it comes down to price. The Peugeot is much more expensive than the Fiesta ST and that’s a killer blow. Unless you really want a French car with a performance heritage, that £22K price tag might look well out of reach…