Yesterday we brought to you the first official picture of the Peugeot 208. And today we have Peugeot’s official words and some videos of the car for you.

“With the 208, Peugeot has given itself the means to recreate an icon.” said Laurent Blanchet, Product Range Director, Automobiles Peugeot.

He does have a point. After the legendary 205 and the iconic 206, we had the terrible 207 which never lived up to the expectations. Now, turns out all Peugeot needed to get back on track was some inspiration from Citroen. This new 208 looks pretty special.

It’s not just the design. Everything about the 208 is better than its predecessor. It is is light (110kg lighter on average compared to the 207, and as much as –173kg! with a range which starts at 975kg), aerodynamic (Cd of 0.29, CdA of 0.61), and very compact (-7cm in length, -1cm in height), yet more spacious. It offers more room in the rear seats (+5cm at the knees) and a more generous boot (+15 dm3 in volume).

The interior is even better than the exterior. You can still feel the Citroen impact there, what with the fancy dials and the artistic dashboard, but it’s not as busy and vulgar as say a DS3.The small steering wheel is what Peugeot says will introduce new standards of ergonomics and results in a whole new driving experience.

We just hope the quality of the interior trims are as good as they good.

Peugeot 208 comes in 3 and 5-door versions, with five models, four of which are equipped with the new generation Stop & Start System (e-HDi), the diesel range starts at 87g/km of CO₂ (delivering fuel economy of 83.1 mpg) and never exceeds 99g!  The 208 introduces a new range of 3-cylinder petrol engines, 1.0- and 1.2-litre VTi, which are particularly efficient, with a range starting at 99g/km of CO₂ (delivering 65.7mpg).

The new Peugeot 208 will be launched in mainland Europe in the spring and for the UK in the summer of 2012. Check out videos of its exterior and interior for more details:

And here’s the pictures again: