It’s always the quiet ones
And so to the Peugeot, perhaps the most understated of this trio. Devoid of retro styling flourishes, the nearest the 208 gets to looking backwards is the C-pillar kink that references the windowline of the much-loved 205, this magazine’s car of the ’80s. Unencumbered by modish influences past or future, it’s a design that works well in the here and now.
The Peugeot is the only car here that busts the four-metre mark on a tape measure and is correspondingly the roomiest inside, with genuine space in the back for adults. Its loadbay is the most capacious, and if you value roominess and practicality it’ll be the easiest car here to slot into your life. Peugeot’s insistence on sticking with its Lilliputian i-Cockpit interior design means those not familiar with the tiny steering wheel/ raised instrument layout may be flummoxed, but it’s easy to adapt. One nice touch is the layered, three-dimensional graphics on the digital dials – clever design; a simple trompe l’oeil to give the appearance that some of the readings are floating.
This is an interior that for the most part is simple and effective. Quality of materials and design is surprisingly high for a car from a mainstream French manufacturer, and although it can’t match the expensive polish of the Honda’s space-age cabin, we’d rather spend time in here than in the Mini’s paean to plastic. We aren’t fans of the 208’s faux carbonfibre strip across the dashboard, however, and the shiny piano-black trim on the centre console attracts fingerprints within minutes. The infotainment system is convoluted and slow to respond, lagging behind the simplicity and modernity of the controls in the Honda and Mini.
But what is the Peugeot like as an electric car? Just as the 208’s footprint is a size up from the other two, so is battery capacity. A 50kWh lithium-ion pack is slung under the seats, providing a considerable advantage for range and performance, and this will appeal to users who aren’t intending to keep their EV as a second or third car purely for short shopping trips around town. We struggled to drive the Honda from Peterborough to Cambridge and back on a single charge – and that’s a (largely flat) journey of 41 miles each way. With the Peugeot, such trips are no longer a complication requiring ZapMaps and blagging access to friends’ three-point plugs.
Even when fully charged, though, we never got the Peugeot to anything like its quoted 217-mile range – a flaw that every one of these cars shared (although we tested them in the hottest week of the summer). We’d be cross if we’d bought one and were never able to get close to the advertised distance. After charging the Peugeot overnight, the range settled at 149 miles and that fell to 130 after our standardised 26-mile route. Energy usage stood at 3.9 miles for every kilowatt hour, putting it just ahead of the Honda on consumption but behind the frugal Mini.
Slip behind the wheel and the Peugeot is a sprightly car to drive. Each car here responds briskly to the accelerator and the e-208’s 0-62mph time of 8.1sec is actually quicker than its 205 GTI 1.6 great grandfather. Steering response from the shrunken wheel is quick and eager, the supermini turning in smartly, and you’re left thinking that the forthcoming performance versions could be quite something. Peugeot execs have already confirmed that future GTIs will be electric and we suspect they’ll take the pocket-rocket sector by stealthy storm.
The e-208 rides with a comfortable pliancy, riding out the bumps and lumps of British blacktop with a smoothness that eludes the Mini if not quite matching the polish of the Honda’s chassis. Although it has the least powerful electric motor, you’ll rarely want for more than 134bhp, and the front axle doesn’t tug and fight like the Mini’s. One black mark against the Peugeot is the strange absence of regenerative engine braking – the e-208 never operates as a one-pedal driver, and you end up dipping into the friction brakes where its rivals let you harvest kinetic energy during deceleration by coasting. No matter how we played with the Normal, Eco and Sport modes and selected B for Braking in the transmission, the e-208 never had more than modest regen. Porsche argues high regen is obtrusive and gimmicky. Seems Peugeot agrees.
It hasn’t stopped Peugeot hitting the bullseye with this electric car. It’s attractively priced and designed, generously packaged and equipped, and above all decent to drive and with the best range here. Could this baby lion cub be the one that’ll tempt sceptics to take the plunge and plug in? On this evidence, it’ll stand a very good chance indeed. ⊲
The 0-62mph time of 8.1sec is actually quicker than its 205 GTI 1.6 great grandfather