FRENCH FANCY

Enjoyably pleasant Peugeot e2008 upgrade

IT feels awfully early for the arrival of a facelifted e2008, Peugeot’s electric subcompact crossover, but I guess that’s the Covid effect. Everything that feels like it happened last month actually is years ago, because the first e2008 went on sale in 2020.

Now, it gets a slightly bigger battery, 54kWkh instead of 50kWh, increased power from 134hp to 154hp, and better range, with 406km instead of 310km.

Range claims often feel like wishful thinking, but this actually now seems to be sticking a little closer to reality. Even in cold weather this week, I noticed a drop off of maybe 10% in predicted range on longer journeys involving motorways, while nipping to the shops used more or less exactly what I expected.

In fact, Peugeot claims 568km on a single charge in urban driving only, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that actually was achievable, especially in summer.

In all its variants, including electric, petrol and hybrid, the 2008 was Europe’s bestselling small SUV in 2021, and if anything, it looks better now than in its debut form. There’s a new grille design, and a triple-claw light signature front and back.

When I say small car, though, it quite clearly isn’t – or at least never feels like it. Yes, you could argue that legroom for rear seat passengers is a little miserly, but cargo space is very good indeed at 434 litres to the window line. Certainly, it easily swallowed the dog’s bed, and she was more than happy to occasionally stand up to peep out the window.

With the rear bench folded, you get 1,015 litres of cargo space, again to the window line, and a whopping 1,467 litres if you pack it to the roof. There’s further benefit in the overall length, which at 4.3 metres makes parking a doddle, not least in trim levels fitted with the excellent 360-degree parking video monitor. I’ve driven premium brands that don’t deliver the clarity of image present here.

Like all Peugeots, you get the compact, sporty steering wheel, and it’s one of the characteristics of the French carmaker’s models that I love. It just sits happily into your hands, and you never feel less than comfortable with it.

There’s a new infotainment screen too, which is bigger than before, but I still have issues with the fact that the temperature controls are so fiddly, especially in a week like this when you demand an initial blast of really hot air to counter the chill (it’s spring, you say?!) before dropping it down to a more sensible 21 or 22 degrees.

We didn’t get snow in my part of the world, so I don’t know how much that would have impacted on the car’s performance and battery life.

My test car came in Selenium Grey, which is a nice shade. We’re pretty obsessed in this country with grey cars, and while I would prefer a bit of colour, I found that this shade actually added some visual heft to the proceedings, conferring a beefiness that maybe wouldn’t be so apparent in white or red.

Acceleration is listed at 9.1 seconds from 0-100kph, but the car feels a lot more nimble than that, and there’s an S Class Mercedes-Benz driver somewhere in Co. Wexford who probably still is smarting over the fact I overtook him with the greatest of ease.

Genuinely, there is great power on tap here, and while the top speed is 150kph, the car feels happy as a clam cruising at the motorway max of 120kph, with no perceptible external noise intruding in the cabin.

There are three selectable drive modes, but all you really need is Comfort, though if you’re running low on charge, Eco will add a little to range, and if you want to be max Verstappen, Sport will chew a little more power.

Above all, though, Peugeot makes some of the most comfortable mass market cars, with enjoyably sturdy seats, and plenty of storage dotted about the cabin.

My test car was the top-ofthe-range GT trim that checks in at €40,230, breaking that psychological €40k barrier. You’ll be happy to know that the entry-level version is €35,610, again net of the SEAI grant and VRT rebate, though the PureTech petrol version starts from €30,740, so the choice to go electric rests solely in your hands.

Regular readers will know I’m a big fan of Peugeots, and they shuffle around in my mind when it comes to favourites. I’m not quite sure this leapt to the top of my list, because I love the look of the 408, but it’s certainly well up there. It’s a very pleasant car indeed.