Peugeot’s little sister grows up much too soon
The 2008 has room, three engine options and a muscular look but Campbell Spray asks if it’s just a little overdressed
GROWING up, my little sister was just that. Seven years junior to me and nearly nine younger than my elder sister, she was never part of our play or social circle. And it really wasn’t until I had finished my degree, was working and had bought a house that she presented as an adult in her life when she came to stay while beginning her nursing training.
Thankfully, she is one of the rare ones who still look up to me and just last Sunday asked me for advice on changing her car. Her Fiesta is giving up the ghost and years of nursing have taken a toll on her back.
She wants a well-priced, reliable second-hand car with easy access, good seating, about five or six years old, to be used daily for getting to the hospital where she still works.
I had told her before about the Nissan Note and have no problem about reiterating that advice. It was a much overlooked car that was ideal for people who wanted quite a lot of comfort without pretension. It was especially good for people with a bad back.
She’s now bought one and it arrives this week. I checked out other car columns and they agree it would be good for her. It should also be considered for anyone who wants a good, reliable car for getting to work and avoiding public transport during the present health crisis.
Giving advice to my dear sibling put the 1961 song Little Sister by Elvis Presley into my mind. It came out four years after she was born. Neither of us then would have really understood the lyrics, which basically involve a guy not wanting to be dumped by a little sister the way he had been by her elder sibling.
However, while I was looking them up, I discovered they are absolutely ideal for the car I am reviewing this week. A middle verse goes:
Well, I used to pull your pigtails
And pinch your turnedup nose
But you been a growing And baby, it’s been showing From your head down to your toes.
The Peugeot 2008 has always been rather a favourite of mine, a nicely understated but very competent SUV which had good room, versatility and excellent driving characteristics. It also could come with the Grip Control function that gave this 2WD car almost 4WD ability.
It was an extra that many colleagues raved about, even the rather curmudgeonly Honest John in Britain’s Daily Telegraph.
However, since it was launched in 2013 — and one million units have been sold in those seven years — the 2008 became overshadowed by the rather more stylised looks of its big sisters, the 3008 and 5008.
Both picked up big awards and really moved Peugeot ahead as a brand that was going upmarket and had real road and style appeal.
But, as Elvis sang, “baby you been a growing”, so the 2008, like a stunning butterfly emerging from a chrysalis, now presents a really aggressive silhouette with lots of lines, creases and a very inyour-face snout. It is available in full EV mode, as well as petrol and diesel. And the electric version, which has a range of just more than 300km, doesn’t suffer any space constraints compared with the other formats.
The eye-catching design is especially pronounced as you move up the trim levels. As the test car was in topof-the-range GT format, it was very striking. It was as though your little sister had gone from playing with dolls to being Barbie herself, with plunging top, short skirt and boots. It might be a bit much for some people.
However, very upmarket design touches continue inside the car, which is high-end and will make competitors rather green around the gills.
The Peugeot i-Cockpit fascia has a great display, but the small steering wheel splits opinion. I like it but with the rather light road-feel it needs your attention, although the safety measures on board keep you nanny-like on the straight and narrow.
The cabin is incredibly spacious and has a particularly large split-level luggage area that also, in petrol and diesel versions, has a spare tyre. I’m very drawn to automatic gearboxes these days and the Peugeot one is among the best on the market. I would go down that route.
The 1.2 Puretech petrol engines are the best option — if not the very fast EV, which comes in at about €8,000 more than the first price point in all the trim levels until the top level, where, at €38,135, the GT EV it is only €3,185 more than the petrol model.
It’s a jump that many would consider worthwhile as that car is considerably bigger and better specced than the massively popular Hyundai Kona EV.
But the big plus of the Korean car is that its range is almost 50pc more than the Peugeot’s. The French firm expects around 1,000 2008s to be sold next year, split 45pc petrol, 30pc diesel and 25pc electric. I think they might be underestimating the latter in the long run.
The 2008 range starts at €23,900 before p&p in Active level but ignore it and pay another €2,000 for the Allure trim or even add €1,500 for the GT-line level, which is likely to be the big seller across the water. The Grip Control, at €390, should be factored in as well.
The 2008 is a quiet, wellbuilt and safe car. Obviously the higher-powered 1.2 engines (130bhp and 155bhp against 100bhp) are less economical but you can still expect around 6.2 litres per 100km. (The 1.5 diesel is less than 5/100km). However, the least powerful petrol engine is a snail in the 0-100km stakes at nearly 15 seconds compared with around 10 seconds in the others and an impressive 8.7 for the automatic 155bhp petrol car.
In all, it’s a good car and a massive leap forward against the previous model, but be careful of the options list as it can make the package a bit pricey. The impressive bigger alloys look good but that’s all.
Yet I’m not sure if it’s for me now. My wife did much prefer the more understated lines of the Kia XCeed PHEV we took on holiday. The 2008 probably ticks all the right boxes but I think I might tire of the aggressive statement that the car makes. Maybe I still want my little sister with pigtails and turned-up nose.