The strong, silent type
Electric 2008 doesn’t shout about its powertrain; just gets on with the job
Coffee in hand, strolling back to the e-2008 during a fast mid-journey charge for both me and the car, and the will of the cosmos sees a previous-generation BlueHDi 2008 parked next to the new electric one I’m driving. How times have changed for Peugeot, eh?
It’s hard to reconcile that the two are from the same bloodline: the frumpy MPV design of the old one versus the clean, Gilles Vidal-penned lines and glowing fangs of its crossover replacement. Then there’s the powertrain: the diesel engine from the black pump-crazed 2010s is now at significant odds with both EU emissions regs and the prevailing mood.
But while the design is radically different from the Mk1, there’s very little to distinguish petrol, diesel and electric variants of the Mk2 from one another. Your only clues that our car is electric are some ‘e’ badges here and there and a colour-coded grille. Boot space is the same, too, as is the dramatic, well-built interior; Peugeot’s 3D dials, piano-key buttons and widescreen infotainment inject real grandeur.
Get in a Puma after this and you’ll wonder what Ford’s interior designers are playing at. Only the laggy, fiddly infotainment lets the side down in an otherwise stellar cockpit.
The e-2008 is quick, if not with quite the punch of some EVs. Sure, there’s a whump of torque that’s uninterrupted by a gearbox juggling cogs, and it’s still capable of leaving boy racers trailing during trac-light drag races, but the surge of acceleration is rounded and smooth; more ‘oooh, nice’ than ‘holy crap!’
While range anxiety may be less of an issue here due to the e-2008’s claimed 206-mile range, Peugeot should recalibrate its range-o-meter for better precision; the range drops in blocks of eight miles at a time, and I’ve read more accurate horoscopes than the range predictions. Our use suggests a realistic 150 miles between stops, including a buffer so you’re not down to zero.
Shift the drive selector to B and you’ve got near-one-pedal driving; the regeneration is fierce enough to do most of the braking for you,
PRICE POWERTRAIN
As bold inside as out; mostly a very good thing
without any need to use the brake pedal.
The e-2008 is not built for B-road antics, but bodyroll is impressively limited. At a motorway cruise, our GT Line test car is untroubled by wind noise, allowing the roar of the tyres to encroach into the interior ambience. A pity that the suspension isn’t great at soaking up the jarring from bumps and potholes.
Keep this lion prowling suburbia silently instead, because the school run won’t know what hit it.
First verdict
A Hyundai Kona Electric has more range, but Peugeot’s baby electric SUV is low on compromise and big on kerb appeal #### # 50kWh battery, single e-motor, front-wheel drive
PERFORMANCE
134bhp, 221lb ft, 9.0sec 0-62mph (est), 93mph
WEIGHT
1548kg