Those NEDC fuel consumption figures provided by the car companies can prove handy when comparing cars, but they have about as much to do with the real world as a politician's speech.
The tests are, after all, done in a laboratory at an average speed of 33.6km/h.
The PR staff at Peugeot South Africa thought far out the 'lab' when seeking to prove how economical the 1.2-litre 208 can be under 'real world' conditions - they challenged the media to an economy run.
The scenario that awaited us looked rather like a conventional car launch - pick a fellow journalist with which to share the driving and navigation and embark on a route that includes some nice open roads, hills, twists, turns and a smidgen of urban driving in the Magaliesberg region.
Except here we'd be tasked with driving the 208 as economically as possible, but not at all cost. You could, for instance, attain top-notch economy figures by slipstreaming a stoned hippie's Kombi at 30km/h, while helping him to hold up a long line of frustrated drivers up a hill with no overtaking lane.
CONSUMPTION vs CLOCK
Instead, and as with any good Economy Run, they'd expect us to make reasonable time and those who came home late would receive hefty time penalties.
The short of it is that despite only posting the ninth-best economy figure, my co-driver and I won the Gauteng event because we were the least late for lunch. We came home 12 minutes after the cut-off-time, while many emerged half an hour to an hour after cut-off.
There were some astoundingly good economy numbers achieved though and the best Gauteng figure was a super-frugal 3.382 litres per 100km. We recorded 5.194 l/100km after driving as economically as we could within the time constraints.
This, of course, meant taking maximum advantage of the car’s momentum down hills and around corners, taking it relatively easy up the hills and changing up briskly - and at low revs - from each pull-off.
Peugeot also kept things interesting by providing a quiz that forced us to pay very close attention to certain signs and landmarks along the way - probably to emulate putting a hyper-active spouse in the car.
OPEN ROAD CRUISER
The car itself met the challenge of being a comfortable road trip companion. While its 60kW/118Nm 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine can feel somewhat restrained at altitude, it will provide acceptable performance when you ask it.
We seldom went too far north of the 100km/h mark though, but even at that speed the rev needle was ticking around the 3000rpm mark, basically begging for a longer fifth-gear ratio or the addition of a sixth.
Swopping cogs is a pleasure though, thanks to a gearbox that's smoother than Bill Clinton on a cheaters' chat line, and fast, efficient gear-changes can be performed with a simple 'flick'. This, and the small-diameter steering wheel, give it a sporty feel on the road that's lacking in modern small cars.
The seating, ride quality, noise levels - all fell within very cushy levels, so the 208 is a refined car whether in town or country.
The 1.2-litre model is better suited to town driving, if we're to be fair, and that's exactly what we'll be subjecting it to soon.
Our prize for winning the event is the use of one for three months, and we look forward to putting it through its paces in the urban grind. Stay tuned.