Next Peugeot 208 hatch will have a radical square steering wheel

Steering wheels were always circular. That was until someone (Audi perhaps?) flattened off the bottom to create the D-shaped wheel. Thereafter, others flattened the top and bottom, fashioning the first semi-square-shaped wheel which has become outrageously popular. MG were early to go with this, thanks to their octagonal badge. These days most new Chinese offerings seem to favour a square-shaped wheel. 

Now Peugeot is going one further in its Polygon Concept with a Hypersquare steer-by-wire system. And it is set for production next year.

The Polygon previews the third-generation Peugeot 208 hatch and it will take the square steering wheel into production. The radical design that’s similar to rectangular wheels in race cars, was first previewed on the Inception Concept of 2023.

The Hypersquare will also use a steer-by-wire system, a first for any Stellantis car.

Peugeot CEO, Alain Favey, said this will be “the next step in the saga of i-Cockpit”.

Peugeot’s distinctly different interior design features a small steering wheel set below the instruments. Instead of peering at data through the wheel, you view instruments above its rim. This system can also be thought of as an alternative to a head-up display.

Peugeot says the new set-up is all “about agility” and will give future Peugeots a unique driving feel.

The Polygon also features a 21-inch ‘floating’ display, which is likely the same curved design as the e-3008’s. That also indicates the Polygon concept interior is a dead ringer for the upcoming production 208.

Favey said “designers have worked with a lot of very, very creative ideas” regarding the Polygon concept. However, Peugeot is sharing few of these novelties at present. It’s likely the Polygon and 208 will share the new Stellantis STLA Small platform.

This can accommodate hybrid or electric powertrains. But given the next Corsa will be exclusively electric, the 208 may be the same. That said, Peugeot traditionally likes to offer a choice of powertrains, dubbed its “multi-energy offer”. Alternatively, the second-gen ICE 208 model may continue in production alongside the electric 208.

“Our strategy is to leave the choice to the customer which energy they want to use.”

The new 208 is due out a year from now. Production of this and new Corsa will take place at Stellantis’s Zaragoza plant in Spain.